Participatory budgeting in Russia and the Vologda Region: Common and specific features

Participatory budgeting has a high potential to improve the efficiency of budget allocation and can contribute to the development of community self-organization, increase citizens’ contribution to the development of the territory and their inclusion in budgetary processes. Our study aims to analyze the Vologda Region experience in the sphere of participatory budgeting and identify regional trends in comparison with the all-Russian ones. The information base consisted of scientific literature devoted to the study of initiative budgeting and data from the official websites of public authorities and local self-government bodies. The study reveals the main national trends in the sphere of participatory budgeting: a steady growth in the number of participatory budgeting projects at all levels of government; the financing of projects is increasing at a faster pace than their number. The key trend in the development of initiative budgeting is the increase in the share of municipal practices starting from 2018. We conclude that similar trends are observed in the Vologda Region. Participatory budgeting becomes a tool of hybrid management, combining budgetary resources and local initiatives. However, there are its regional peculiarities. In the course of analyzing the practices of proactive budgeting in Cherepovets and Vologda, contrasting trends were revealed. “People's budget (people's program)” in Cherepovets demonstrates significant growth in all key indicators, confirming its effectiveness and compliance with the all-Russian trends. The experience of the city can be considered a successful example of scaling and development of initiative budgeting at the municipal level. At the same time, the “People's budget of TOS” of Vologda is characterized by instability, a decrease in the number of supported projects and funding, despite the increase in the average amount per project.