Voting to take place this month for Partick and Thornwood spring 2022 community fund

What’s happening? The Partick and Thornwood Ideas Fund is a participatory budgeting project that invites local residents to vote on which community projects they would most like to see funded. For the spring funding, there’s a Meet the Ideas event taking place this month.

Everyone is welcome to come and meet the community projects looking for a vote to win funds of up to £1,000.

When and where: The Meet the Ideas Event will take place at 2-4pm on Saturday 19th February at Re:Hope Church hall. Community voting will also be open online and over the phone from the 15 to 22 February.

A spokesperson for the fund said: “It will be a great chance to see a whole range of community project proposals and find out more about them before casting your vote. Refreshments will also be available and everyone is encouraged to come along for a cup of tea and a natter.”

Past funding: £9,462 was distributed in the autumn round of funding with over 750 votes from residents. Previous successful ideas have ranged from activities for a sheltered housing complex, foodbank Christmas hampers, equipment for outdoor growing projects, to free beginner’s guitar lessons.

One successful applicant said about the Ideas Fund: “This is a great process for us to have gone through as a community. It’s empowering. A really nice sense of community coming together”.

How it works: The Ideas Fund is a participatory budgeting (PB) project funded by the Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund. PB is a decision-making process through which citizens deliberate and negotiate over the distribution of public resources.

Residents (individuals or groups) can apply to fund an idea that will benefit the local area; individuals can apply for up to £500 and groups for up to £1,000. Ideas are limitless but must benefit the local community. In turn residents are encouraged to cast three votes for their favourite ideas, with the most popular ultimately being awarded the grants.

Why it matters: PB allows citizens to play a direct role in deciding how and where resources should be spent. These programs create opportunities for engaging, educating, and empowering citizens, which can foster a more cohesive and just community.

Having started in Brazil in 1989 it has already spread across the world and is still gaining momentum. The Scottish Government have made a commitment that at least 1% of local government budgets in Scotland will be subject to participatory budgeting by the end of 2022, so this Ideas Fund is a great way to see the future of government funding in action.