Budget Simulator

Engaging the public in government spending

Make budget constraints visible

The public sees service cuts and council tax increases but not the decisions behind them. Why does one service get protected whilst another faces reductions? Why can't you just find "efficiencies"? Why does closing one library not save enough to protect all youth services?

Budget Simulator lets people allocate your actual budget across competing priorities—children's services, adult social care, waste collection, libraries, highways, parks—and see what happens when they try to protect everything. When people attempt to balance the books themselves, they understand why these decisions are agonising.

Turn wish lists into informed priorities

Traditional budget consultations often produce responses where people oppose all cuts and support all improvements. Budget Simulator forces actual choices with real consequences. Liverpool City Council faced £90 million of savings over three years.

Within the first week of launching Budget Simulator, almost 3,500 people visited to try balancing the books themselves. Over 500 completed the full challenge, with 43% saying they would accept a council tax increase of up to 10% if ringfenced to protect vulnerable children's and adult services—a far more nuanced response than traditional consultations produce.

Build understanding through the process itself

Budget Simulator makes people more informed by participating. When residents adjust spending sliders and watch the numbers change in real time, they gain appreciation for the complexities you navigate every budget cycle.

As Powys County Council's Cabinet Member for Finance noted when facing £27 million of savings:

‍"This is a different style exercise for residents to try. The information provided via Budget Simulator will prove valuable for both the cabinet and the council as it will show where residents think the savings should be made."

Get results that actually inform decisions

Budget Simulator doesn't just gather opinions—it produces data that shapes real budget decisions. Powys County Council triangulated their Budget Simulator results with other research and used the findings to make substantive decisions, including heeding strong public preference to sustain the budget for short breaks for children with disabilities.

Mitchell Shire Council in Australia found Budget Simulator so valuable for their Capital Works budget that they ran it again the following year. As the Mayor explained:

‍"Our community has assisted greatly in setting our Budget...the information has been used by Council when drafting the Budget to ensure the Council was prioritising with community expectations."

Reach people who wouldn't respond to traditional consultations

Budget consultations typically attract older residents and organised interest groups. Budget Simulator's interactive format appeals to younger people and everyday residents who find traditional consultations tedious. Powys County Council specifically chose Simulator to increase reach amongst younger people, making it available in both English and Welsh and supporting it with broad promotional activity.

Since 2004, more than 100 government bodies worldwide have used Budget Simulator to engage tens of thousands of people with their spending decisions.

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Local authorities use Budget Simulator for early-stage prioritisation, long-term planning, detailed spending decisions, and scrutiny and review.

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Annual budget setting

Councils consult on annual budgets by letting residents allocate funding across all service areas whilst meeting savings targets or staying within council tax limits. People see what protecting one service means for another and understand why difficult choices are necessary.

Major savings programmes

When authorities face significant budget reductions, Budget Simulator helps residents understand the scale of the challenge. Liverpool City Council used it for £90 million of savings over three years (part of £420 million total cuts since 2010), with over 500 residents completing the full budget-balancing challenge and providing valuable insights into priorities and acceptable trade-offs.

Long-term financial planning

Authorities consult on multi-year budget strategies by letting communities balance immediate needs against long-term sustainability. Powys County Council used Simulator for their three-year budget covering £27 million of savings, with findings genuinely informing substantive decisions about service priorities.

Capital Works prioritisation

Growing councils consult on infrastructure investment by letting residents allocate Capital Works budgets across roads, sports facilities, parks, and community infrastructure. Mitchell Shire Council engaged over 200 residents on how to accommodate rapid population growth within budget constraints, with such successful results they repeated the exercise the following year.

Service-specific budgets

Authorities consult on individual service budgets—children's services, adult social care, highways, leisure—by letting people balance quality, coverage, and eligibility against costs. Budget Simulator shows why you can't provide universal services at the same level as targeted support.

Council Tax decisions

Councils engage on precept levels by letting residents see what different council tax increases actually deliver in service terms. Liverpool's consultation revealed 43% would accept up to 10% council tax increases if ringfenced for vulnerable children's and adult services—insight that wouldn't emerge from yes/no questions.

Scrutiny and challenge

Opposition councillors, overview and scrutiny committees, and community groups use Budget Simulator to test alternative budgets and understand the administration's choices better. Making the trade-offs visible builds understanding even amongst critics.

How to use Budget Simulator

1. Personalised modelling: Set up budget metrics specific to your budgetary goals and project; set fixed targets, broad priorities or free spending. 

2. Respondents move sliders & deliberate: Public input budgeting choices, voting based on their priorities and see the consequences and trade-offs of their decisions. 

3. Track responses: Centralised management dashboards and settings with headline statistics for easy progress monitoring.

4. Receive detailed analysis: Comprehensive analysis allows you to dig into the data and results.