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A mixed-methods ethnographic approach to participatory budgeting in Scotland

Published: 09 September 2021 Publication History

Abstract

Participatory budgeting (PB) is already well established in Scotland in the form of community led grant-making yet has recently transformed from a grass-roots activity to a mainstream process or embedded 'policy instrument'. An integral part of this turn is the use of the Consul digital platform as the primary means of citizen participation. Using a mixed method approach, this ongoing research paper explores how each of the 32 local authorities that make up Scotland utilise the Consul platform to engage their citizens in the PB process and how they then make sense of citizens' contributions. In particular, we focus on whether natural language processing (NLP) tools can facilitate both citizen engagement, and the processes by which citizens' contributions are analysed and translated into policies.

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Cited By

View all
  • (2024)Inclusive Democracy in the Digital AgeEmerging Developments and Technologies in Digital Government10.4018/979-8-3693-2363-2.ch016(333-354)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
  • (2024)Designing Digital Voting Systems for Citizens: Achieving Fairness and Legitimacy in Participatory BudgetingDigital Government: Research and Practice10.1145/36653325:3(1-30)Online publication date: 13-Sep-2024
  • (2022)Learning through online participationInformation Polity10.3233/IP-21155127:4(517-538)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2022

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      cover image ACM Conferences
      GoodIT '21: Proceedings of the Conference on Information Technology for Social Good
      September 2021
      345 pages
      ISBN:9781450384780
      DOI:10.1145/3462203
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      Published: 09 September 2021

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      Author Tags

      1. Digital participatory budgeting
      2. natural language processing

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      View all
      • (2024)Inclusive Democracy in the Digital AgeEmerging Developments and Technologies in Digital Government10.4018/979-8-3693-2363-2.ch016(333-354)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
      • (2024)Designing Digital Voting Systems for Citizens: Achieving Fairness and Legitimacy in Participatory BudgetingDigital Government: Research and Practice10.1145/36653325:3(1-30)Online publication date: 13-Sep-2024
      • (2022)Learning through online participationInformation Polity10.3233/IP-21155127:4(517-538)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2022

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