EmPaci
Challenges to citizen participation in the Baltic Sea region
The Baltic Sea region is characterized by fragmented living areas. This leads to challenges for public authorities and councils when it comes to involving all citizens into joint projects and to discuss relevant issues with all citizen groups. Instruments are needed that enable and encourage the entire citizenry to take part in decisions of their municipality such as decisions regarding expenditures and revenues in the local budget.
EmPaci fosters participatory budgeting
Empaci seeks for close involvement of both municipalities and citizens. We analyse citizens’s needs and develop specific communication on participatory budgeting for different citizen groups (e.g. youth, the elderly, families). Then, we set up an initial participatory budget to test and evaluate it taking into consideration perspectives of citizens and municipalities (i.e. administrations and councils). After an optimization, an advanced participatory budget is implemented to show enhancements and foster municipalities’ capabilities to set up the participatory budget. The project is complemented by orgware to facilitate technology transfer and a training program that builds municipal trainers who disseminate the participatory budgeting idea among Baltic Sea region municipalities. The entire project is backed up by experts with from universities and an Advisory Board, which reduce their project contribution over time during which municipal capacities are created.
Budgets
in numbers
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2.42MillionTotal
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1.50MillionErdf
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0.46MillionEni + Russia
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0.00MillionNorway
Highlights by mid-term
The project partners conducted a survey with around 22,000 citizens from 18 municipalities or districts from 6 countries involved in the project. The aim was to use the collected data to better adjust the participatory budgeting pilots in nine pilot municipalities (DE, FI, LT, PL, 2 in LV, 3 in RU), but also to draw general conclusions about the citizens’ needs in the region with respect to participatory budgeting design.
First participatory budgeting pilots have been set up in five municipalities. One of them was completed in the Vidzeme Planning Region, Latvia.
It was one of the first public budgeting processes ever conducted in Latvia and the first covering a whole region that comprises 25 municipalities and one city. The public budgeting process was organised in three steps: voting of cultural priorities, making proposals and voting for proposals. In total 8,925 citizens participated with 12,364 votes. A fantastic number of 69 cultural projects were approved.
Participatory budgeting training materials have been jointly developed by the partners and training events were organised by some of the pilot municipalities, e.g. in Rietavas and Telsiai (Lithuania).
Outputs
Project Stories
Partners
University of Rostock
- TownRostock
- RegionRostock, Kreisfreie Stadt
- CountryGermany
- RepresentativeEllen Haustein
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
City of Bützow
- TownBützow
- RegionLandkreis Rostock
- CountryGermany
- RepresentativeKatja Voss
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Pferdemarktquartier, registered non-profit association
- TownBützow
- RegionLandkreis Rostock
- CountryGermany
- RepresentativeCarsten Krueger
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Public Institution Klaipėda University
- TownKlaipeda
- RegionKlaipėdos apskritis
- CountryLithuania
- RepresentativeJaroslav Dvorak
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Rietavas Municipality Administration
- TownRietavas
- RegionTelšių apskritis
- CountryLithuania
- RepresentativeVytautas Diciunas
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Public Institution Rietavas Tourism and Business Information Centre
- TownRietavas
- RegionTelšių apskritis
- CountryLithuania
- RepresentativeLaima Dockeviciene
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Vidzemes planning region
- TownCēsis, Cēsu novads
- RegionVidzeme
- CountryLatvia
- RepresentativeLaila Gercāne
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Social innovation centre
- TownDaugmale
- RegionKurzeme
- CountryLatvia
- RepresentativeRenate Lukjanska
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Regional Development Agency in Bielsko-Biała
- TownBielsko-Biala
- RegionBielski
- CountryPoland
- RepresentativeJan Sienkiewicz
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Baltic Institute for Regional and European Concern BISER
- TownGdynia
- RegionTrójmiejski
- CountryPoland
- RepresentativeMagda Leszczyna-Rzucidło
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Telšiai District Municipality Administration
- TownTelšiai
- RegionTelšių apskritis
- CountryLithuania
- RepresentativeSaulius Urbonas
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
University of Tampere - legally succeeded by PP18
- TownTampere
- RegionPirkanmaa
- CountryFinland
- RepresentativeLotta-Maria Sinervo
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Lahti University of Applied Sciences - legally succeeded by PP19
- TownLahti
- RegionPäijät-Häme
- CountryFinland
- RepresentativeUlla Kotonen
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University)
- TownSt. Petersburg
- RegionCity of St. Petersburg
- CountryRussian Federation
- RepresentativeDmitrii Trutnev
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Council of Municipalities of St. Petersburg
- TownSt. Petersburg
- RegionCity of St. Petersburg
- CountryRussian Federation
- RepresentativeYulia Slav
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
«E-Development Partnership in the North-West» Non-Profit Partnership («PRIOR North-West» NPP)
- TownSt. Petersburg
- RegionCity of St. Petersburg
- CountryRussian Federation
- RepresentativeAndrei Chugunov
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
Tampere University Foundation sr.
- TownTampere
- RegionPirkanmaa
- CountryFinland
- RepresentativeLotta-Maria Sinervo
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
LAB UAS, LAB University of Applied Sciences
- TownLahti
- RegionPäijät-Häme
- CountryFinland
- RepresentativeUlla Kotonen
- Phone
- E-Mail
- Web
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Project managerEllen HausteinUniversity of Rostock
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Legal representativeJan TammUniversity of Rostock
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Financial managerHeike GeskUniversity of Rostock
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Communication managerEllen HausteinUniversity of Rostock