For Implementors
The time is now – we must divest from police, and invest in communities
Honestly – we are all feeling tired and heavy. Today, we honor and mourn the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed and other countless Black lives we have lost to racist police violence and murder. We say their names, raise our voices to condemn state sanctioned murder, and we…
Read MoreDreaming through uncertainty: democracy doesn’t pause and neither do you
This past month, contending with COVID-19 and the ensuing shelter in place orders, has stretched and tested us all in many ways. We have felt the limitations of technology, questioned how we can prioritize equity in a virtual world, and moved to support our partners across the country as they come together to adapt. Democracy…
Read MoreOvercoming Barriers to Volunteer Participation
Real money, real power. This is more than a catchphrase, it is a requirement of participatory budgeting (PB). Of course, PB requires one more key ingredient: real people participating and leading the way. Participants from the cycle 7 PBNYC vote. PB is driven largely by volunteers who take on the responsibility, commitment, and power of…
Read MoreThe State of PB During COVID-19
Photo Credit: Alison Boulier Last week, we had the opportunity to connect virtually with partners, participatory practitioners, and communities leading PB across Canada and the U.S. To date, we have heard from nearly 40 PB practitioners and one thing remains clear: PB matters in this challenging moment. We discussed the impact COVID-19 has had on…
Read MoreSigning off and 5 next steps
Hi friends, This definitely isn’t how I’d planned it. When I announced last year that I’d step down as Co-Executive Director of the Participatory Budgeting Project by April 2020, I wasn’t expecting to align this transition with the biggest global pandemic in a century. But here we are and March 31 will be my last day at PBP,…
Read MoreParticipatory Budgeting: An Idea You Should Steal
On December 10th, PBP’s Co-Executive Director, Shari Davis was invited to join a number of problem solvers from across the country to speak at the The Philadelphia Citizen’s 2nd annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival. This festival is an annual full-day convening that brings together the most innovative urban thinkers and global thought leaders together…
Read MoreCelebrating this year’s biggest wins: revitalizing democracy in 2020
Happy Holidays from all of us at PBP! After a busy 2019 launching exciting new projects like Democracy Beyond Elections and PBCan, and working with incredible communities like students in Merced and educators in NYC, we took some time in November, during our staff retreat, to look at the big picture. We want to extend a big thank you…
Read MoreLeadership Change at PBP
Dear PBP supporters, I’m writing to share big news for me and PBP. In April 2020, I’ll step down as Co-Executive Director at PBP and transition out of the organization. My fellow Co-ED Shari Davis will remain as Executive Director. Fifteen years ago, I flew to Brazil to convene a discussion on participatory budgeting (PB)…
Read MoreDemocracy Beyond Elections
Our systemically undemocratic system of governance privileges the interests of the elite over the majority. In an age of constant feedback loops and distributed power – from smartphones to YouTube to #MeToo – access to democracy remains largely limited to occasionally electing a few leaders to decide for us. This structural inequality may work well…
Read MoreShari Davis Interview on Building a New America with Jonathan Arias
Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) Co-Executive Director Shari Davis, recently joined Jonathan Arias on an episode of the Building A New America podcast, a show that reconsiders how laws that were created centuries ago, shape our lives today. In the episode titled, “How Participatory Budgeting is Improving Democracy with Obama Fellow Shari Davis,” Shari and Jonathan…
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