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Learning Democracy by Doing Conference - Transformative ...

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Civic<strong>Learning</strong>&PoliticalEngagementthroughParticipatoryBudgetingPinnington&SchugurenskytheNSCataseriesofCityCouncilmeetings.Throughthislevelofinvolvement,sheindicatesthatshegainedanappreciationforthechallengesofmeetingawidevarietyofcommunityneedsthroughlimitedtax‐basedfunds.I’velearnedalot.Onceyouseebothsidesitmakesyoubetterabletolookatthingsinarealisticway.Ithinkit’sreallyeasytosaytheneighbourhoodgroupsarereallygreatandyoushouldgivethemmoremoney,butgoingtoCouncilIrealizedthatthere’stonsofotherworthycausesinthecity.Justbecauseneighbourhoodgroupsaregreat,doesn’tmeanthey[council]shouldautomaticallygiveusallkindsofmoney.MariewouldliketoseeaportionoftheCity’scapitalbudgetbeopenedtoparticipatoryprocess,assheseessignificantbenefitsforciviclearningthroughthisformofparticipation.“Ithinkhavingtogothroughboththeparticipatoryandthemunicipalbudgetprocessmakespeopleappreciatethingsmore…becausetheyunderstandwherethemoneycomesfrom,andwhodidanddidn’tgetfunding.”Sincetheinterview,MariehasintroducedPBtoherworkplaceatalocalhealthcentre,wherehersupervisorenthusiasticallysupportstheprocess.c) Negotiationskillsandconsensusdecision­making.Participantsindicatedthatconsensusdecision‐makingintheNSCparticipatorybudgetprocesswasakeytotheirlearning.Chuckexplains,“Yousitaroundthetableandyousay,‘Everybodyagree?’Andyougoaroundandpeoplesay‘yeah’‘yeah’‘yeah’andsomebodysays‘no’andthenyoutalkaboutsomemoreandkeeptalkingaboutituntilsuchtimeaseverybodyagreesthatthisisthething.”Reenadescribeshownegotiatingthebudget<strong>by</strong>consensuschangedherviewofconflictbetweenherselfandothersusingtheirpowerincompetitionforthesameresources:Ilearnedthatbecauseofconsensus,Idon’thavetoagreewithyouandIhaveachoice.Icandisagreewithyouandthatstopseverything,orIcandisagreebutIwillholdmyopinion…inorderfortheprocesstocontinue.Ifit’ssomethingreallydrasticthatIreallyfeelstrongonthenIwillsay“no”buttokeeptheprocessmoving,Isimplydon’thaveanopinion.Andthat’ssomethingIdefinitelylearnedfromthis.Throughworkingtowardconsensus,individualsrepresentingdiverseneighbourhoodgroupsreportedthattheymadechoicesbasedonthebalancebetweentheirowngroups’needsandtheneedstheyheardfromothergroups.TheNSCTermsofReferenceindicatethatanexperiencedfacilitator,withnotiestoneighbourhoodgroups,facilitatetheirbudgetmeetings,inordertoworktowardmitigatingpowerimbalancesaroundthetable.ConsensusdeliberationsattheNSCtaketime.MinutesfromNSCbudgetmeetingsshowthatovertheyearsithasoftentakenseveralmeetings,overaperiodofmonths,forparticipantstocometoanagreementabouthowtoallocatefunds.d) Increasedknowledgeofrealitiesandneedsindiverseneighbourhoods.Inadditiontolearningabouttheparticipatorybudgetingprocess,NSCmembersalsoreflectedhighdegreesofchangearoundknowingtheneedsofcommunitymembersintheirownneighbourhoods(2.33),inotherneighbourhoods(2.11),andthoughslightlylower,the715

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