Online event: Big Decisions, Local Voices - participatory budgeting at scale
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 28th January 2026
How can we support community-led investment and empower residents to shape priorities that matter most to them?
That's the question being explored at an upcoming event hosted by PB Scotland focused on how participatory budgeting (PB) can be used at scale to deliver meaningful change.
PB is a way for people to directly decide how local money should be spent and is used across the world and here in Scotland where processes are being run by public bodies and local communities across the country.
The event will feature contributions from the Scottish Government, Dundee Council Neighbourhood Capital Fund, and Just Transitions North East multi-year investment programme which have successfully implemented large-scale PB initiatives in Scotland.
These PB programmes have delivered substantial funding for community initiatives and ensured that local people are directly involved in the process, from supporting organisations to submit project ideas to local people casting their votes.
The event will also explore PB in its wider context, bringing together Scotland's current policy drivers around participation, community empowerment, and potential reforms to local democracy.
Sign up: Monday, 16 February 2026, 10am to 12.00pm - online
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