„Bugetare participativă în județul Vrancea – premisă pentru promovarea

dezvoltării la nivel local” Cod SIPOCA/SMIS2014+: 914/151444

„Participatory Budgeting in Vrancea County – promoting the development at the

local level”

Local Public Policy Document

OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC POLICY

CHAPTER 2. PROBLEM DEFINITION

CHAPTER 3. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

CHAPTER 4. BENEFICIARIES OF PUBLIC POLICY

CHAPTER 5. OPTIONS FOR RESOLUTION

CONCLUSIONS

ANNEXES
 INTRODUCTION

Express your needs, prioritize them and get involved in your community!

The experience of the last 25 years has shown us that public administration in Romania
tends to be rather non-transparent, with little capacity to adapt quickly to citizens'
needs. Laws, reforms and, in general, public policies have been intensely marked by
terms such as citizen, participation, transparency, partnership, principles that have not
materialised in the practical functioning of institutions in most cases and have remained
only at the level of wishful thinking.

This gave rise to the need for change in communities, which took the form of
participatory budgeting. This is a process through which the ideas and initiatives of the
community are manifested and turned into reality. It is an open, inclusive and
transparent process through which community members are directly involved in
formulating decisions on priorities for spending local budget money. A parallel can be
drawn with a family budget and how money is acquired and spent. Thus a family several
thousand times larger is the local community that has to collect and spend a larger
amount of money (the local budget). Participatory budgeting is a similar process, which
aims to improve the quality of life by encouraging citizens to get involved in defining
priorities and investment objectives in the local budget.

As with many widely used concepts, there is currently no single definition accepted by
all experts, but there is general agreement on the main types of processes that can be
labelled as participatory budgeting. By synthesising the views in the literature, we can
find a definition that sums up the commonalities of the specialists. Thus, participatory
budgeting aims to involve citizens in a democratic process of co-creation, deliberation
and decision-making to determine the fair way of spending part of the local budget and
implies a joint assumption by authorities and citizens of a participatory role in defining
and addressing the problems of city communities.
The common element in the definitions and concepts is the involvement of citizens in
decision-making. Thus, we can conclude that participatory budgeting is the process by
which citizens, through their direct involvement, contribute to the development of the
localities in which they live, this development being made possible through a
partnership between local authorities and citizens. The partnership between public
administration and citizens is possible through a bilateral act, i.e. on the one hand the
local administration allocates the necessary financial resources (part of the institution's
annual budget) and on the other hand citizens propose projects that contribute to
solving problems/needs and at the same time make possible the development of the
localities in which they live.

This type of process is of potential interest in many national contexts due to

several characteristics: flexibility, clear benefits for all participants, positive public
impact on local authorities organising such processes and the potential to reduce
existing social tensions.
 CHAPTER 1. DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC POLICY

The field of public policy (public policy research and analysis) is the study of political-
administrative decisions to allocate various forms of resources (material, financial,
know-how, symbolic). Public policies are actions taken by authorities (central or local)
in response to problems arising from society.

In other words, public policy can be said to exist when a public authority, whether
central or local, aims, by means of a coordinated action programme, to change the
economic, social and cultural environment of social actors. At national level, public
policies can originate from any of the major institutions of the State (Parliament,
President, Government, central or local authorities). To better understand this term, a
few additional definitions:

 Thomas Dye: Public policy is "whatever a government decides to do or not to do"

 William Jenkins: Public policy is "a set of interrelated decisions, made by a
political actor or group of actors, about a set of goals and the means necessary
to achieve them in a given situation."
 James Anderson: Public policy is "a course of action followed by a political actor
or actors, with a purpose, in an attempt to solve a problem."

The definition of public policy can vary depending on the perspective and context in
which it is used, but there are some common elements:

 Decision-making: Public policy involves the process by which central or local

authorities identify public problems and needs, develop options and solutions,
make decisions on what action to take and set priorities.
 Public interest: Public policy focuses on promoting the general interest and
meeting the needs and aspirations of the community, taking into account the
diversity of groups and opinions.
  Implementation and evaluation: Public policy is not only about making decisions,
but also about implementing them and evaluating their impact and effectiveness
in achieving their objectives.
 Public policy can cover a wide range of areas, including health, education,
environment, transport, justice, economy and many others.

The ultimate aim of public policy is to improve the quality of life of citizens and
contribute to the sustainable development of society.
 CHAPTER 2. PROBLEM DEFINITION

A public policy problem is a condition or situation that generates needs or

dissatisfactions for the correction of which government intervention is necessary. If a
particular situation is considered normal, unavoidable, or an individual responsibility,
no government action will be initiated because the situation is not problematic.

Not every problem can end up receiving a solution through a public policy measure,
which is why the agenda-setting process is a selective one in which different
institutional actors try to bring problems to the attention of governments. So we can
say that there are several kinds of agendas:

• A public agenda, summing up all the issues perceived by members of a

community;
• An institutional agenda, aggregating all the issues that policy-makers aim to solve
in a given timeframe;
• The media agenda, which acts as a facilitator between the public and
institutional agendas, but can sometimes advance its own priorities.

In fact, the problem, in the context of this public policy document, is the insufficient
involvement of citizens in decision-making on the management of financial resources
at local level in terms of reducing disparities between different geographical areas of
the county.

On the one hand, the problem can be defined as the lack of access to certain facilities,
services, public institutions, resources, infrastructure, information, etc., felt by as
many people as possible in that region. On the other hand, a problem is the insufficiency
of effective communication channels on the part of local public authorities to ensure
transparency in the management of public money.
 CHAPTER 3. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

Aim: to increase transparency in the management of public money, to involve citizens

in the public life of the community in order to reduce disparities in Vrancea County.

General objectives:

 to improve communication between citizens and county administrative

authorities in order to cultivate a democratic attitude;
 to guarantee access to information to all interested citizens and to make the
decision-making process as transparent as possible.

Specific objectives:

 to improve the transparency of public administration and the efficiency of

spending public money in the participatory budgeting process at the level of
Vrancea County;
 to encourage citizens' involvement in decision-making, allocation and supervision
of the use of public resources at the level of Vrancea County;
 increasing the demand for accountability of local leaders and management of
local authorities at county level;
 increasing the capacity of the community to properly prioritise the use of public
resources at the level of Vrancea County;
 increase the level of trust between the county government and the population
at the level of Vrancea County;
 implementation of a participatory budgeting process at Vrancea County Council
level.
 CHAPTER 4. BENEFICIARIES OF PUBLIC POLICY

The beneficiaries of public policy in the field of participatory budgeting in Vrancea

County are:

a) The citizens of Vrancea County, who are involved in all phases of the
participatory budgeting process;

b) Non-governmental organisations active in Vrancea County, which are

aware of and involved in the county's development issues;

c) Trade unions;

d) Different levels of Local Public Institutions;

e) Vrancea County Council.

1. The citizens of the county are the direct beneficiaries of public policy. They can
benefit from improved public services, access to infrastructure, social assistance
programmes, personal development opportunities and other measures and projects that
improve their quality of life.

2. Non-governmental organisations: Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can be

beneficiaries of public policy through grants, funding or partnerships for projects and
activities in areas such as environmental protection, human rights, health, education
or social assistance. Public policy can create an enabling environment for NGO
involvement and contribution to local community development.

3. Local communities, such as towns, villages and neighbourhoods, can be

beneficiaries of public policy through urban development projects, improving local
infrastructure, promoting tourism and local culture, supporting local entrepreneurship
and job creation.
4. The private sector can benefit from public policies that facilitate the business
environment, stimulate investment, promote innovation and technology, and ensure
fair and transparent competition. These policies can support job creation, economic
growth and private sector development in the county.

5. Public institutions and local authorities in the county can benefit from public
policies that support administrative capacity, provide resources and funding for the
implementation of policies and projects, and facilitate collaboration between different
government institutions and organisations.

It is important to note that the beneficiaries of public policy may vary according to the
specifics of each county and the objectives and priorities set by local authorities. In
each case, public policy must have as its primary goal the satisfaction of the needs and
interests of the community as a whole.
 CHAPTER 5. OPTIONS FOR RESOLUTION

Participatory budgeting involves a series of steps, starting with the allocation of the
budget for the operation of this mechanism, continuing with the preparation of the
process, citizens' proposals, discussion and processing, voting and implementation of
the projects declared as winners. The implementation and running of the participatory
budgeting mechanism is conditional on the following:

 Obtaining political support for the implementation and running of the whole
process;
 Establishing working procedures;
 Promoting the participatory budgeting mechanism among citizens;
 Ensuring sufficient capacity within the public institution to work with the public;
 Involving citizens in the process;
 Linking participatory budgeting to strategic and financial planning within the
public institution.

Participatory budgeting is the process of actively involving citizens in the community in

a deliberation and decision-making process to determine how best to spend part of the
county's budget for the development of their locality, which is made possible through
a partnership between local authorities and citizens. The partnership between public
administration and citizens is possible through a bilateral act, i.e. on the one hand the
local administration allocates the necessary financial resources (part of the annual
budget of the institution) and on the other hand citizens propose projects that
contribute to solving problems/needs and at the same time make possible the
development of the localities in which they live.

As a first step, in order to carry out the participatory budgeting process, it is necessary
to establish the proposed budget for the implementation of the projects, for each area
of investment.
The project proposals coming from the citizens must fall within one of the areas of
application that are either in the development strategy of the administrative territorial
unit.. At this stage it is also important to map the areas of application to the Special
Commissions, so that the citizen knows the responsible body to which he/she can
address questions in order to clarify various issues.

The second stage in the process of participatory budgeting is the organisation of

information campaigns, so that most, if not all, citizens are aware of the process and
want to be involved in its development and implementation in their community.

The third stage is the organisation and running of participatory workshops / debate
sessions / public consultations. During these events, citizens are actively informed
about the implications of the participatory budgeting process and are then supported,
if necessary, in building the project for their community.

The fourth stage is the publication of the timetable on how to submit and evaluate the
projects submitted. Through a transparent process, citizens are informed about the
timetable of the bodies set up under the participatory budgeting mechanism, and
citizens are actively informed about this timetable so that they can take ownership of
it and respect it fully.

The fifth stage is the submission of the project, in accordance with the published
timetable. At this stage it is important that every citizen who wishes to submit a project
is aware of and complies with the eligibility criteria. The territorial administrative unit,
through the bodies set up, communicates the result of the process, and citizens who
consider themselves affected by this result can submit an appeal in order to have the
submitted projects re-evaluated.

Sixth stage - Once the evaluation and selection process is completed, citizens whose
project idea has been selected promote their project to their neighbours so that their
idea is supported by the whole community, i.e. citizens participate in the voting
process. This is the only way to ensure the success and selection of their project idea.

The seventh stage is the implementation of the selected projects by the territorial
administrative unit, which are then monitored and evaluated through regular reports.
Project implementation must be a joint process involving both the administration and
citizens. The partnership between the administration and citizens must continue after
the project submission and selection stage, and it can even be said that this
implementation stage is the most important for achieving results.

Another model would be participatory budgeting in schools. This is both an

excellent civic education tool and a way of strengthening the cohesion of a community.
Here are some of the immediate benefits of a participatory budgeting process in
schools:

• Gives students (and not only students) a positive experience of civic engagement
• Strengthens links between students, teachers and administration, improving the
educational climate
• Establishes key competences and skills for democratic citizenship, such as
teamwork, critical thinking, analysis, documentation, problem solving.
• Introduces basic elements of economic education, including understanding and
constructing a simple budget.
• Makes students aware of community issues.

There are a few 'ingredients' needed to implement a participatory budgeting process at

school

• Planning the process. The time allocated needs to be very well established from
the beginning of the process so that the participatory budgeting process runs
according to the timetable initially set.
• A learning process. Learning from others who have gone through similar
processes can be useful. During the process, opportunities should be created for
participants to reflect on the phases of the process.
• Communication. The facilitator, as well as the parties involved in the process,
should communicate very openly about problems that may arise in the
participatory budgeting process in order to find the best solutions together. It is
also very important that project ideas are communicated during the process, so
that they are known and understood by all parties involved in the participatory
budgeting process at school.
• Resources. Establishing the teams that will work on developing project ideas is
essential. It is important to identify early on what support might be available in
other forms from other organisations and partners.
• Available funds. Knowing how much money is available and the nature of this
money is crucial for the early stages.
• Setting the timetable for meetings. The timetable is set by each project team
together with the process facilitator. It is recommended that meetings take
place at least once a week.
• Inclusion. There should always be opportunities for learners to ask questions and
get answers. More support should be given to pupils with special educational
needs, who can be allocated more face-to-face meetings.
• Adaptability. All participatory budgeting processes should be designed to suit
the circumstances of the school where the process takes place. All participants
should have access to all the tools and information needed to understand and
run the participatory budgeting process. The participatory budgeting process
must be adapted to the "reality" of the school where it takes place.
• Individual accountability. - A participatory budgeting process at school can
make students more aware of their responsibilities in school and in their
community. Participatory budgeting encourages active citizenship.
 CHAPTER 6. ACTION PLAN

Step 1. Planning and preparation: The organisation responsible (Thematic

Network/Platform) for the budgeting process usually starts by setting up a planning
committee to oversee the process. This committee is responsible for creating a
timetable, identifying stakeholders and developing a communication plan to inform the
public about the process. However, the sustainability of this initiative requires a
centralized committee that focuses on Participatory Budgeting in Vrancea County and
continues to contribute to and take a leadership role in the process. This is to set up
the Participatory Budgeting Council/thematic network and train its members through
the platform available to them. The organization of the Participatory Budget
Council/thematic network can be done according to the regions of Vrancea County and
other forms that facilitate interaction. Micro-regions can be defined geographically
(mountain micro-region, hilly micro-region and lowland micro-region) or according to
the valleys of the waters that cross the county (e.g. Milcov Valley, Putnei Valley, etc.).
This division into development micro-regions can also be done according to the
territories of the Local Action Groups. In this way, each geographical area receives the
same amount of money to invest in development.

Step 2. Awareness raising and education: the Participatory Budgeting Council reaches
out to community members and stakeholders to educate them about the budgeting
process, how it works and their role. This can include holding public meetings, creating
informational materials, and using social media to reach a wider audience. This phase
began in November 2022, when local facilitators talked to citizens in the county about
the initiative. Several public meetings and training sessions involving civil society took
place. There, citizens learned about participatory budgeting and the steps involved in
drafting a project proposal. However, in order for this process to continue, the
Participatory Budgeting Council should take responsibility for this stage. First of all,
there is a need for public spaces where citizens could have meetings to further discuss
their needs and challenges and make alliances for future projects. The Participatory
Budgeting Committee, together with citizens, should make public announcements prior
to meetings to disseminate information to stakeholders. These announcements could
be made online, on the municipality's official pages, but also in writing to get a wider
reach.

Step 3. Brainstorming: The public is invited to submit proposals on how public funds
should be allocated. Ideas can be submitted in various formats, such as through online
platforms, paper submissions or public meetings.

Step 4. Develop and review proposals: Once ideas are collected, they are discussed
in the Participatory Budgeting Committee which evaluates the proposals and selects
those that meet the criteria set by the Vrancea County Council. The proposals are then
refined, discussed with the initiators and transformed into eligible project proposals.
The reasons why some proposals are not eligible are made known to the initiators.

Stage 5. Community vote: eligible project proposals are presented to the community
for a vote. This is done by two methods, online or physical voting by citizens which will
have a 50% weighting and voting by representatives. The platform will support online
voting, but the Participatory Budget Committee must ensure that citizens who do not
have access to the platform can also vote.

Step 6. Implementation and monitoring: Eligible project proposals that receive the
most votes are incorporated into the final budget and implemented by the Vrancea
County Council. The Participatory Budgeting Committee supported by organisations
interested in the participatory budgeting process is in charge of monitoring the projects
implemented by the Vrancea County Council.

The budget dedicated to the projects chosen by citizens should represent 5-10% of the
County Council's budget to be divided by micro-regions of development. The micro-
regions can be defined geographically (mountain micro-region, hilly micro-region and
lowland micro-region) or according to the valleys of the waters that cross the county
(e.g. Milcov Valley, Putna Valley, etc.). This division into micro-regions of development
can also be done according to the territories of the Local Action Groups. In this way,
each geographical area receives the same amount of money to invest in development.

CONCLUSIONS

Public policy documents and participatory budgeting are key tools in promoting open,
transparent and participatory governance. Through the Public Policy Paper, local
authorities set the strategic directions, objectives and measures to address community
problems and needs.

Participatory budgeting complements the public policy document by directly involving

citizens in the decision-making process on public budget allocation. It provides an
opportunity for citizens to propose, discuss and vote on projects and initiatives that
will receive funding, ensuring that all public spending reflects the needs and priorities
of the community. Through participatory budgeting, it promotes transparency,
accountability and access to information about public budgets and government
spending. Citizens become an active part of the decision-making process, with the
opportunity to express their views, influence priorities and monitor project
implementation.

Participatory budgeting contributes to building trust between citizens and government,

promotes civic engagement and develops social cohesion in the community. It brings
innovation and creative solutions by directly involving citizens in identifying and solving
local problems.

1. Public policy document:

 o It is a strategic planning tool used by governments and public institutions
to set the directions and objectives of public policy in a particular area or
sector.
o The public policy document identifies problems, needs and opportunities,
and proposes measures and actions to address them.
o It is the result of a development process that may involve consultation
and collaboration with various stakeholders, including citizens, non-
governmental organisations, business and experts in the field.
o The public policy document provides a framework for action by authorities
and forms the basis for the development and implementation of legislation
and other policy instruments.

2. Participatory budgeting:

o It is a process whereby citizens and the community are actively involved

in decisions on public budget allocation.
o Citizens have the opportunity to propose and vote on projects and
initiatives that will receive funding from the public budget.
o Participatory budgeting promotes transparency, access to information and
accountability in the management of public funds.
o Citizens can be involved in all stages of the process, including identifying
needs, proposing projects, evaluating and selecting them, and monitoring
implementation.
o Participatory budgeting encourages civic engagement, community
development and trust building between citizens and authorities.

In conclusion, the public policy document and participatory budgeting are important
mechanisms in ensuring transparent and inclusive governance. They facilitate the
involvement of citizens in the decision-making process and contribute to addressing
community needs in a more effective and participatory way. Both the public policy
paper and participatory budgeting aim to create a more open, accountable and citizen-
oriented governance. They contribute to strengthening participatory democracy and
improving the decision-making process, ensuring that policy decisions and public
spending truly reflect the interests and priorities of the community.
ANNEXES

From November 2022 to March 2023, part of this public outreach took place thanks to
citizens involved in the POCA project on participatory budgeting in Vrancea County.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations emerged from the discussions with representatives of

NGOs, local public institutions and education:

 From several teachers present at the information and training courses:

1. The need for permanent updating of the teaching material base, technological
devices and their maintenance, which are so necessary for a qualitative teaching act;

2. The need for financial support for training courses for teachers;

3. The need to hold team building meetings, involving all the local budgetary
institutions, at least 2-4 per year;

4. More varied and in-depth support for vulnerable families, through parenting
courses, vocational training, professional conversion, counselling, economic support,
etc.

5. Provide the necessary resources to carry out the activities of the "Different
School" and "Green Week".

 Vrancea General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection - provides social
services to children with/without disabilities, people with disabilities, elderly people,
victims of domestic violence, victims of crime and other vulnerable people. With regard
to the protection of the elderly, the institution has two homes for the elderly, in
Mărășești and Odobești, where they are provided with all their needs (including medical
and recovery/rehabilitation) and under no circumstances are they abused, neglected
or isolated. There are other homes for the elderly in the county belonging to NGOs and
town halls (Fitionești, Focșani, etc.) whose beneficiaries, elderly people, as far as I
know, are well cared for and supported medically, socially, emotionally, etc.

 In Vrancea county there are many isolated elderly people, alone, who have no children
or whose children are abroad and have no support whatsoever. Local authorities should
intervene and develop social services such as home care, day/social/leisure centres
(e.g. chess/table tennis club, etc.) according to the wishes of the elderly.