Participatory Budgeting in Cuenca

Participatory Budgeting is a cooperative instrument, a form of decision making which actively involves citizens in the spending of public resources. Cuenca counted between 2017 and 2019 693 Participatory Budget (PB) projects on an infra-municipal level with the aim to better include and benefit predefined deprived areas such as rural districts of regional or national cities. The Cuenca canton is divided into 15 urban and 21 rural parishes, a unique form of PB was introduced in its 21 rural parishes. There, PB processes make a significant contribution to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The area is severely affected with torrential rains leading to heavy flooding, thanks to PB, many massive water-related projects have been implemented and approved.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Agreement-based or cooperative instrument›Community-based agreement with the support of the government

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Soil quality
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Landslide risk
Social cohesion
Social equity
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

In Cuenca, the changes in rainfall regime lead to runoff and lack of water availability. It causes rivers to overflow, also affecting urban areas. Therefore, in flood-prone areas, they combine road improvements with drainage systems which are crucial for citizens or rural communities. Other projects support local food chains and short agro-ecological circuits, e.g. projects to support the cultivation of native species.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Green areas for water management

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Autonomous Decentralised Municipal Government (GAD) of Cantón Cuenca

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

Both the Parish GADs and the Cuenca GAD are involved in further designing the instrument. The Mayor, Councillors, President and Vocals of the Parish Boards interact in this process. The implementation is based on a strong local government and citizenship relationship. One main objective of PB is the inclusion of citizens in the decision-making process and implementation of projects, e.g. through community dialogue. Various community participation mechanisms were introduced, such as Parish Assemblies, community meetings, and empty seats, among others.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Type of actor involvement:

Co-planning or co-design of instrument (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Expert task force consultation

Civil society consultation through e.g. workshops, surveys

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

Parish GADs, academia and other possible stakeholders are included in the implementation process. Particularly different groups that are traditionally excluded shall be involved, processes provide spaces for gender equality and ensure an inclusive and intergenerational representation. Furthermore, external knowledge from international organizations or NGOs strengthens the implementation process. Citizens participate in so-called "community mingas" both in the planning and in the execution of projects. They are involved in at least 10% of the project.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen councils or consultation for co-planning (e.g. workshops, surveys)

Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Co-design of NBS, implemented by government

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Citizen monitoring and review

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public regional budget

Budget:

Above 10 000 000€

Details about instrument financing:

By 2020, the programme reached US$ 19.5 million due to its success.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

Rural communities also participate in the follow-up processes that were generated through transparent policies and accountability mechanisms. A follow-up instrument is the creation of a citizen oversight office that provides information directly to the parish assemblies.

Did an evaluation take place?:

Yes

The evaluation is carried out at two institutional levels, the Municipal GAD of Cuenca and the Rural Parochial GAD. The Board of Directors of the Rural Parochial GADs appoint commissions that evaluate the planning, participation, execution, management, budget and other aspects. In addition, the final report on execution and closure of the use of all resources until January of the following year will be presented to the General Financial Directorate and the General Directorate of Participation and Governance of the Municipal GAD of Cuenca.

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The study highlighted the achievements, best practices and provides background information on PB and related projects in Cuenca, e.g. an innovative climate justice index for PB spatial allocation of resources. Overall, by 2020, 20% of the population has participated directly in the PB process, with 60% of the attendees being women. From 2017 to 2019, 514 projects out of 693 had an impact on climate change adaptation (89%) and mitigation (11%).

Success factors and lessons learned:

One success factor in Cuenca, was the approach of a combined space-based and actor-based PB, its exclusive focus on residents from the 21 rural parishes with the highest levels of poverty and migration who are highly at risk of suffering from environmental hazards.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

OIDP-UCLG. (2020). Contributions of Participatory Budgeting to Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: Current Local Practices Around the World & Lessons from the Field. Available at: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10113102/1/2020%209%20PB%20contributions%20to%20ClimateChange%20adaptation%20and%20mitigation.%20Cabannes.%20medium%20RES.pdf (Accessed: 30.01.2023)

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311886.2020.1779507

https://oidp.net/en/practice.php?id=1265

https://latinno.net/en/case/8208/

Photos

@bpb.de