One of the most important decisions any organization will make is setting a budget. And, when it's public money being spent, it's crucial to involve the public in that decision. Across Canada and the US, public sector organizations are using Delib tools to engage citizens and stakeholders with their budget setting process – hearing people's priorities for spending and helping them understand the tough decisions at hand.
The City of Austin, Texas wanted community input on their budget development process. To reach as much of the public as possible, they used a wealth of different initiatives – including Budget Simulator as an online response mechanism. This meant people could easily give feedback on a detailed scale from the comfort of their homes.
More than 1,200 people responded via Simulator. And, because the tool was intuitive and easy to use, participants were able to quickly get to the heart of the issues under consideration, deliberating on which spending changes they would make and why.
It’s an added value to our budget process. It serves to educate community not only about budget and how it affects their pocketbook, but also how they can get involved and get more information.
Deputy Chief Financial Officer, City of Austin, Texas
In 2014, the City of Calgary undertook a major strategic planning process. The administration had set out a 100 year vision for the city and were now starting to draw up a detailed 'action plan' for 2015-18. Calgary used Simulator as one part of a wide-reaching campaign to give people every opportunity to participate.
Over the intensive 17 day consultation period, thousands of people took part in the exercise. The team received a lot of feedback from respondents that Simulator gave them a better insight into the budgeting process. After the consultation period, a comprehensive report was presented to the Council, showing that most participants had opted to maintain service levels despite a necessary tax increase.
Now is your chance to share your ideas about the city budget and business plans with The City of Calgary and Council. What are your priorities? What should be be doing more/less of? Take a spin on the Budget Simulator and share your ideas!
Mayor of Calgary, Canada
British Columbia (BC) was facing a substantial budget deficit, necessitating tough choices in order to close the gaps. The government of BC wanted to engage the public in this difficult decision-making process about how to balance the books.
The government of BC used Simulator to improve their digital public engagement and to consult citizens on their budget. More than 1,500 people took part in the exercise within 24 hours of it going live, and more than 3,000 in total, providing the BC government with valuable insight into citizens' views on spending priorities.
Delib have been quick, responsive, collaborative and made a challenging project under tight timelines come together smoothly and effectively.
Director of Communications, Government of British Columbia Ministry of Finance, Canada