Hey Southern California!
The Participatory Budgeting Project is looking for volunteer facilitators in North Long Beach to assist community members in developing project proposals for an innovative, grassroots process called participatory budgeting (PB). For more info, visit www.pblongbeach.org or watch this video to see how the PB process works.
PB in Long Beach’s District 9, represented by Councilmember Rex Richardson, is a democratic process in which community residents and stakeholders will directly decide how to spend $250,000 of city capital infrastructure funds. The process began in October, with public assemblies where community members brainstormed project ideas to improve the district. From December to February, volunteer budget delegates will be working in committees (education, parks, public health & safety, etc.) to develop these initial ideas into full project proposals, including meeting with representatives of the city departments to determine project feasibility. Delegates will present these proposals back to the community on a ballot for the public vote in March 2015. Anyone over the age of 14 who lives in the district, owns a business in the district, or represents a non-profit in the district, will be able to vote in PB.
While there are many ways to be involved in PB, we are currently recruiting people to serve as facilitators for the budget delegate committees. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals interested in honing their facilitation skills, deepening their knowledge of city government, and gaining experience engaging diverse communities.
Facilitators will make sure that delegates move through the timeline in a timely and orderly fashion and that the committee is an inclusive space in which all delegates can participate fully and equally.
Roles and Responsibilities
Work with one budget delegate committee, including:
- Facilitate 1-2 meetings per month and ensure that all delegates are able to participate fully.
- Serve as a point of contact for PBP and District 9 staff and help coordinate communication within the delegate committee and between the committee and staff.
- Connect delegates with information and resources. Facilitators are not expected to do research on behalf of the committee, but do play an important role in support delegates through the research phase.
- Support delegates in researching, evaluating and developing proposals.
- Participate in occasional facilitator trainings, conference calls, and meetings, as needed.
Time Commitment: 4-6 hours per week, December 2014 to March 2015. Facilitators must be able to attend an orientation in North Long Beach on Saturday, December 13th.
Desired Qualifications
- Availability for meetings on weekday evenings
- Experience with group facilitation
- Willingness to travel to different meeting locations
- Interest in community engagement
- Familiarity with North Long Beach
We hope you will be interested in joining us to make participatory budgeting a success in Long Beach. Please share widely!
Compensation
A modest honorarium will be provided to cover the costs associated with the work, including, mileage, supplies, refreshments, etc.
How to apply
If you are interested in joining the facilitation team, please send a brief statement of interest to the Ginny Browne, Project Manager, ginny@participatorybudgeting.org by December 1, including:
- Any past facilitation experience you may have,
- Specific committee interest and areas of expertise (education, parks, health, public safety, streets, transportation, etc), if any,
- Proficiency in languages other than English
Please note that we may not be able to accommodate all applicants and committee preferences.