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Final (hybrid) meeting, 14-15 December 2021

Final (hybrid) meeting, 14-15 September 2021

The last partner meeting of the project was organized as a hypbrid meeting. From 14-15 December 2021, partners got the possibility to meet face-to-face at ITMO University, St. Petersburg/Russia. On the first day of the meetin, all pilot municipalities presented their implementation of PB in their places. On the second day of the meeting, all work packages' results were presented. An overview of all project results can be either viewed with the results table or the online manual.

Status quo on  the completed PB pilots:

Country

Pilot municipality (incl. link to recording of presentation)

Results of PB pilots

Germany

Bützow

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 2
  • Total PB budget: 70 000 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 8
  • Total number of proposed projects: ca. 200
  • Total number of voters: 900

Latvia

Vidzeme Planning Region

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 2
  • Total PB budget: 286 000 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 124
  • Total number of proposed projects: ca. 330
  • Total number of voters: ca. 14 400

Poland

Bielsko-Biała

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 2
  • Total PB budget: 3 800 000 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 61
  • Total number of proposed projects: ca. 170
  • Total number of voters: ca. 25 000

Lithuania

Rietavas

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 1 (+1 simulation)
  • Total PB budget: 10 000 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 2
  • Total number of proposed projects: 9
  • Total number of voters: ca. 210

Telšiai

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 2
  • Total PB budget: 60 000 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 3
  • Total number of proposed projects: ca. 11
  • Total number of voters: ca. 6 600

Finland

Lahti

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 1
  • Total PB budget: 100 000 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 5
  • Total number of proposed projects: 45
  • Total number of voters: ca. 1 900

Russia

Moskovskaya Zastava

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 2
  • Total PB budget: 755 250 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 2
  • Total number of proposed projects: ca. 1 000
  • Total number of voters: ca. 90

Suorjarvi

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 2
  • Total PB budget: 228 000 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 6
  • Total number of proposed projects: 81
  • Total number of voters: ca. 500

Sverdlov

  • Number of PB pilots completed: 1
  • Total PB budget: 48 780 EUR
  • Total projects implemented: 4
  • Total number of proposed projects: 150
  • Total number of voters: ca. 1 300

 

The partner meeting was followed by a steering commitee meeting.


Online meeting, 16 September 2021

Online meeting, 16 September 2021

Since the last partner meeting (8 June 2021), all pilot partners are running their final pilots. Four pilots are already done with the voting and are already in the implementation phase. Two of these even already pilots realized projects from the second pilot. The remaining pilot municipalities will complete the voting phase in a few weeks.

Status quo on preparing the second PB pilot

Country

Pilot municipality

Status Quo

Germany

Bützow

From 138 proposals, 61 were feasible and eligible to vote. The voting phase is completed and the winning proposals will be presented online soon. Around 350 voters took part.

Latvia

Vidzeme Planning Region

The voting for the second pilot is already finished. 69 proposals will be funded with 143 000 EUR. Over 12 000 votes were collected.

Poland

Bielsko-Biała

For the voting phase 34 city-wide proposals and 67 district-related proposals were collected. The voting phase will be from the end of September to the beginning of October.

Lithuania

Rietavas

The second pilot is finished and the implementation phase is nearly done: A disk golf track and new garbage boxes and benches are installed in Rietavas Park.

Telšiai

All 11 submitted proposals were feasible and eligible to vote in October. The first implementation of last year’s pilot run is finished.

Finland

Riihimäki

The second pilot is done and the implementation phase runs until the end of the year.

Russia

Moskovskaya Zastava

From over 600 proposals, 11 are feasible to vote. The voting will start at the end of September.

Suorjarvi

About 60 proposals were collected. The voting will start at the end of September.

Sverdlov

Over 300 proposals are collected. The voting will start at the end of September.

Status quo on project outputs

The document on “Usability Study of Existing Web Pages” is finished and published on the homepage. The PBbase network was launched and the next network meeting with a focus on citizen activation will take place on 30 September. Further events in the next month will be organized by different project partners to share different views and expertise on topics of PB. The next EmPaci meeting will be a hybrid meeting organized by the Russian partners in November.


Online meeting, 8 June 2021


Online meeting, 18-19 March 2021

Since the last partner meeting (27 November 2020) all but three pilot municipalities finished their PB processes and the first municipalities are preparing their second PB pilot.

Status quo on voting processes

Country

Pilot municipality

Status Quo

Germany

Bützow

First PB pilot finished: 399 voters (5% of citizens). The budget of 30 000 EUR is allocated to 4 winning proposals. First place is a skate park.

Latvia

Vidzeme Planning Region

Second pilot started, currently gathering proposals and doing consultations. A new voting platform is already designed.

Poland

Bielsko-Biała

Currently planning the second pilot and approval of the mayor is awaited.

Lithuania

Rietavas

PB pilot in Gymnasium finished: Pupils made the proposals and citizens voted. 2 430 votes are gathered (11% of citizens). Winning proposals are various from a kart racing track to containers to collect clothes.

Telšiai

First pilot completed: 5 proposals could be voted on. 2 207 votes gathered (5.7% of citizens). The winning proposal is a beach resort.

Finland

Lahti / Riihimäki

Riihimäki already finished the second PB process in Finland (budget 100 000 EUR). 5 out of 17 proposals were chosen to be implemented (740 votes).

Russia

Moskovskaya Zastava

Over 600 proposals gathered for two territories and a budget of 230 000 EUR. A co-creation phase is running with citizens. The implementation will follow in autumn.

Suoryarvi

An online proposing, discussion and voting has happened in social media platforms (about 100 ideas). Currently online co-creation meetings are held. Implementation with a budget of 110 000 EUR is planned for autumn, too.

Gatchina

Over 100 proposals were collected until February 2021.

 

Status quo on project outputs

The feature matrix, guidance on usability and a feature repository/recommendation for IT solutions have been finalized and published. The PB type groups document is also made available and gives insights on PB process steps and crucial actions for practitioner that set up a PB. The PB evaluation scheme will be further developed by the pilot municipalities, as future meetings just for their input and experiences are planned. After a successful submission to the EGPA conference, the EmPaci project will be present on the IRSPM conference, too.

Online 18-19 March 2021

Online meeting, 27 November 2020

Since the last meeting (19-20 October 2020), most pilot municipalities finished at least the first voting phase of their PB pilots. Therefore, the focus of most partners is now on improving the implemented processes. This includes supporting workshops and training materials for citizens, employees and volunteers. Webinar and training videos based on the actions and adjustments of the pilot municipalities will be a valuable tool, not just for the other project partners to benefit from the experience inside the project, but for all interested external users that join the planned PB network in the future.

Status quo on voting processes

Country

Pilot municipality

Status Quo

Germany

Bützow

Voting phase online and offline successfully completed, 399 valid votes (online: 302 / offline: 97), participation rate: about 5%, 4 projects selected for a total of 30 000 EUR, planning on implementation starts (winning proposal providers involved)

Latvia

Vidzeme

Evaluation of the first pilot: Voting by coupons included in a newspaper was interesting, working on an online feasibility check that asks for information from the citizens, improvements of the policy of the process by citizens priorities are elaborated

Poland

Bielsko Biala

Voting phase completed, 14 627 valid votes (district projects: 8 495, citywide projects: 6 132), participation rate: 10.3%, highlighted the cheap but effective Instagram promotion campaign

Lithuania

Rietavas

First PB pilot as a simulation in a Gymnasium will start soon, pupils are fully aware, that it just a fictional PB, but there might be the option that the proposals may find their way into the real PB next year.

Telsiai

From 8 proposals the winner was voted (a training slot at a beach resort), participation rate: about 5%, the goal is to improve that rate further in the next PB pilot

Finland

Lahti / Riihimäki

Voting phases just completed in Lahti, currently evaluation by interviews with politicians and volunteer citizens (“Guardians”) under way, special process for young citizens planned for 2021 (together with Riihimäki)

Russia

Moskovskaya Zastava

PB process is mostly set: proposal phase, discussion phase(online and offline), voting phase (by small group of trained randomly selected volunteers)

Suoryarvi

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the process was reset to start fresh in an online format (including a voting and discussion module)which is currently checked by the administration

Gatchina

Decision on proposals is postponed to December 2020/January 2021, ongoing legalisation of the PB process

 

Status quo on outputs

The PB type groups document is online and available. The PB evaluation scheme is further developed as it will be based on the PB type groups document by dividing key performance indicators in the PB process by phases (proposal phase, voting phase etc.), sets (equality, feedback, online platform etc.) and actors (citizens, municipalities). The PB feature matrix has already a big database, but the usability test is further developed. New filter functions and the “Accessibility mode” are added. Users of the EmPaci homepage can click through various factors to find an interesting PB case, regarding IT or non-IT specifications. As more and more outputs reaching the final stage, just every month one big output will be released. That will guarantee a consistent flow of new information for followers of the EmPaci project.


Online meeting, 19-20 October 2020

Since the last partner meeting (30 June 2020) some pilot municipalities finished their PB processes, others think about improvements. Due to the COVIC-19 pandemic, the Finnish partners had to change their pilot municipality. The city of Lahti will be piloted in the first round, whereas the second PB pilot will take place in Riihimäki. As the experiences of all pilot municipalities are growing, ideas for the training materials become more concrete. Bielsko Biala for example plans webinars including external communication specialists to get new ways of training.

Status quo on voting processes

Country

Pilot municipality

Status Quo

Germany

Bützow

Voting started, 56 of 133 proposals feasible

Latvia

Vidzeme

First pilot ended, the team is thinking about improvements, especially regarding a higher automation of the feasibility check

Poland

Bielsko Biala

Raised participation rate to over 10%, 52 of 69 proposals feasible

Lithuania

Rietavas

PB pilot in Gymnasium starts in January 2021 with 600 learners and 60 teachers, the second in the municipality will have a budget of 20 000 EUR (maybe divided for younger and older citizens)

Telsiai

Voting phase started, 8 proposals available

Finland

Lahti / Riihimäki

10 proposals selected for implementation in 2021 in Lahti, Riihimäki is approved as the second PB pilot

Russia

Moskovskaya Zastava

Voting phase is planned through a randomly selected group of volunteers that are trained to evaluate proposals, information material to spread the process are prepared

Suoryarvi

Roadmap is completed, but face-to-face meetings are required by the administration (currently not possible due to pandemic)

Gatchina

Over 50 proposals were received, discussion phase in November 2020, evaluation and implementation are planned for the beginning of 2021

 

Status quo on project outputs

The status quo report of all partner municipalities is online and available. The PB type groups document is nearly done and will follow soon. The template of the PB documentation is almost ready, as most partner municipalities have designed their PB processes and give their direct input, what actions have been done (deal with legal requirements, do preparations and meetings). For the PB evaluation scheme, the process design and the goals of the PB initiator are driving the potential key performance indicators to evaluate the PB process. By completing the first pilot process, the municipalities are inspired about which information they want to gather from their PB (e.g. involve the younger generation, focus minorities etc.). Additionally, the PB blueprints and case studies take form. Different cases of cities like Cluj, Stuttgart, Lisbon will be included in this document.

Furthermore, the citizens’ need analysis with over 20 000 participants might be used to disseminate the project through a scientific publication. The EGPA and IRSPM conference are potential targets to foster discussion and raise interest in the EmPaci project.


Online meeting, 30 June 2020

Online meeting, 30 June 2020

After updates of the current reporting stage the partners talked about the potential meeting in Lithuania in October 2020. The format is still open, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic maybe a hybrid meeting can be perfomed, with one part of the partners online and a group of partner in person in Lithuania. After that, all partners reported their ongoing process their PBs. Most pilot municipalities already have approved statues and regulations. Some like Bielsko-Biala, Bützow and Lahti already collected proposals and are currently checking the feasibility of the ideas. Vidzeme Planning Region even already successfully completed their PB cycle consisting of three stages of citizen involvement. The Russian partners completed their citizen surveys in all 11 participating municipalities and are preparing their 3 pilots municipalities for further actions.

The following table shows the status quo:

Country

Pilot municipality

Status Quo

Germany

Bützow

133 proposals collected, voting in September 2020

Latvia

Vidzeme PR

149 proposals collected, 12.364 votes, 8.925 citizens, 69 projects voted for 143.000 € budget

Poland

Bielsko-Biala

Proposals for 52 district projects and 17 city projects, Vote in September/October 2020

Lithuania

Rietavas

PB regulation to be approved, budget: 20.000 €, Proposal and voting are planned, Check if PB simulation is accepted by JS as 1st pilot

Telsiai

PB regulation approved, budget: 20.000 €, Proposal phase in July/August and vote in October/November 2020

Finland

Lahti

713 proposals collected, Now: co-creation phase, votes in August/September 2020

Budget: 100.000 € (2nd PB pilot will take place in another municipality since next Lahti PB is delayed)

Russia

Mosk.Zastava

Collaboration Agreement, Draft Concept, Roadmap are completed

Suoyarvi

Collaboration Agreement, Roadmap are completed

Gatchina

Collaboration Agreement completed

 

Furthermore, many of the project outputs take shape. Progress was made on the feature matrix, the PB type groups and the status quo report. The collection of training materials is progressing well and will surely provide a resource for interested municipalities in the future.

The next meetings will hopefully take place face-to-face in October 2020 in Lithuania and the partner will report their experiences with the feasibility check and give some interesting updates on the first voting in their PBs.


Online meeting, 8 April 2020

The second online meeting in April was the first in 2020 and was originally planned as a meeting in Riga in March. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, it couldn’t take place as scheduled.

All partners reported their ongoing process with a special focus on the preparation for the start of their PB processes, the training programs and Covid-19 followings for information/education programs for citizens. Updates were given on the status quo report and the PB type groups output. Additionally, all citizen surveys are done for the analysis.

Some municipalities even started to collect proposals by citizens within their PB process. The Latvian partners Laila Gercāne & Lienite Priedāja-Klepere from Vidzeme planning region reported, that Gulbene, another municipality inside the Vidzeme planning region, starts its own PB process. So, the Empaci project is already acting as a distributor of participatory budgeting.


Partner meeting, 29-30 October 2019, in Krakow/Poland

Partner meeting, 29-30 October 2019, in Krakow/Poland

The second partner meeting is to be held from 29-30 October 2019, in Krakow/Poland. 

The second meeting of the EmPaci project team was held from 29-30 October in Krakow/Poland organised by the Regional Development Agency in Bielsko-Biała. Each of the project partners was represented by at least one person to the meeting. During the meeting, each pilot municipality provided an update of the status quo of its PB development process.

The implementation of the citizen survey in each of the pilot municipalities was discussed and the delivery of the survey results was agreed upon. With respect to the IT implementation of the participatory budget, the IT partners at the University of Rostock presented a Citizen Experience Journey with the example of one citizen through the participatory budgeting process. The goals were to give an overview of a possible interactions of citizens and the PB process by showing potential online and offline touch points within the process. The Citizen Experience Journey was followed by a discussion among the participants. In addition, other project activities such as the PB type groups and the international network were discussed and further developed.

The meeting also served as an opportunity for the first gathering of the steering committee of the project.

 


Online meeting, 11 June 2019

Online meeting, 11 June 2019


The first online meeting of the project was held three months after the kick-off meeting. The aim was to clarify any questions that came up during the fulfilment of the first tasks. In particular, the status quo analysis of participatory budgeting in the different pilot municipalities was clarified. Also, the preparation of the citizen survey was in the focus of the discussions.

The project is also already preparing multiplier events. Therefore, for example Jaroslav Dvorak from Klaipeda University will represent the EmPaci project at the workshop: "The value of the citizens’ participation for cities governance" at the XV UBC General Conference in Kaunas together with other project partners.


Kick off meeting, 27-28 March 2019 in Rostock

Kick off meeting, 27-28 March 2019 in Rostock

The first meeting of the EmPaci project team was held from 27-28 March 2019 at the premises of University of Rostock/Germany, i.e. the lead partner. Each of the partners send at least one person as representative to the meeting. This means that 18 persons from the 14 partners from 5 countries attended the meeting. In addition, a representative of ITMO University, St Petersburg/Russia also took part in order to discuss the potential involvement of Russian partners to the project.

The project was very proud also to welcome Karin Wohlgemuth, a member of the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), which is an associated organisation of the project. Mrs. Wohlgemuth also held the talk thereby introducing UBC to the project partners. In addition, also a project officer at Interreg BSR Joint Secretariat attended the meeting and also gave valuable advice regarding project administration.

The kick-off meeting was used in order to introduce our partners, prepare the status quo analysis, and collect first ideas about the citizen survey and the international network. The meeting can be seen as a first success of the project.

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