Since 2013, the city of Tartu (Estonia) is giving its citizens the possibility to decide on the use of a portion of the municipality’s investment budget for the following year. Through this process, people formulate and present proposals of public interest and, once revised, these are up for voting. Finally, based on the results of popular consultation, administrators commit to bringing to reality the winning proposals. Every year, 200 000 EUR are up for allocation, about 1% of the city’s yearly investment budget. In seven years, twelve projects have seen the light or are currently under development as results of citizens’ decisions. And all of this is facilitated by digital tools, since they afford to reach a wider audience resulting in a broader pool of ideas and opinions. This year (2020) the process started on 1 May despite the Corona crisis.

Have a look at the Tartu experience in this   (2:24) by the e-Governance Academy.