Online engagement in budgeting

• Bristol Budget Conversation– Attempt to engage people on council’s main

budget

• Online PB in a neighbourhood partnership– PB to determine spending of £15k well-being

fund– www.itsmybristol.org

Focus on

Bristol Budget Conversation

• Leader wanted early engagement • Coalition gov deficit reduction plan • One week turn around • No budget for project• Reflect the spending challenge

Aims of budget conversation

• Raise understanding of council services and spending

• Reality check about reductions in spending • Bristol spending challenge

– More for less opportunities – Things we don’t need to do / others could do– Ideas to save money

• Stimulate public conversation

Budget conversation: how

• Used wordpress.com – link• Phased release of major spend areas –

link • Offline – comment forms and boxes in

libraries• Public information videos from directors• Extensive use of social media to spread

the message

Budget conversation

Feedback• Page views – 14,300 • Response – 806• Management

consideration and feedback

• Some ideas being carried through

• Webcast of budget meeting

Lessons Learned• Does work online • Don’t need to spend

a fortune • Senior officers /

councillors need to join the conversation

• Good feedback needed

Neighbourhood PB online

www.itsmybristol.org

About here

Pilot Neighbourhood online PB

• Bristol has 14 neighbourhood partnerships

• £1.7m devolution of budgets – section 106

• Cabot, Clifton and Clifton East decided to allocate £15k to a PB online pilot

• Ideas for how to improve life in the neighbourhood

• Used Delib’s Dialogue App product

It’s my Bristol

• Ideas crowd sourcing • Open to all • Minimal log-in requirement • Vote / comment on others ideas• List by: Latest, Highest rating, Most

Comments• Comments post-moderated

Itsmybristol: Lessons Learnt

• Users: 502, comments: 397, ideas: 68, ratings: 513

• Needed more time to establish the site – offline work

• Better links with social media to promote • Randomiser of ideas – positive feedback

loop on highest rated / commented• Can you do PB completely online?• Identity of online respondents?

Outcomes

• Not full PB as NP board decided the eventual winners

• £15k split between 2 front runners• Integrative Art & Nutrition and Street

Play Events  • £7,500 each as they both can close in

the voting and the Partnership decided that they would reward both schemes.

Philip Higgins – Thank you for listening • www.askbristol.com• www.twitter.com/askbristol• www.facebook.com/askbristol