PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

IMPORTANT LINKS

RULES AND PROCEDURES | SUBMIT IDEAS HERE | CURRENT IDEAS

QUESTIONS? SEND THEM TO UA-PB@MIT.EDU!

Want to see where your idea goes? The MIT UA is collaborating with realtalk@MIT for their PB effort to aid in collecting and analyzing submitted ideas, and to spotlight recorded community voices in conversation about what to do with the funds. Click here to see what's been suggested so far and email realtalk@mit.edu with questions related to idea collection, and ua-pb@mit.edu with questions about the overall process.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

9/29 - Idea submission is open! Idea submission is now open! Submit ideas for projects with this form. It will be open until October 26th. You can find more info on this page and in this document. FAQs can be found at the bottom of this website and on the bottom of that linked doc.

Overview

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a process by which citizens determine how portions of the budget of a governing body is spent on the community. Citizens submit ideas for projects, the city reviews, refines, and consolidates them, and then citizens vote on the ideas for implementation. Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and New York City all have Participatory Budgeting programs. 

The UA will apportion funds unused from previous years towards a Participatory Budgeting program for MIT undergraduates this academic year. This process aims to empower students to contribute ideas and vote on proposals.

Rules and Procedures

Loose Timeline

All dates in this section are tentative. 

  • Proposals are to be submitted from September 29th to October 26th. The submission is linked here, and on the PB tab of the UA website. 

  • Ideas will be discussed by the UA for 3 weeks (2 Council meetings) to ensure feasibility and efficacy. (Oct 27 - Nov 12)

  • Students will vote on the finalized ideas for 1 2 weeks. (Nov 12- Nov 26)

  • Winning plans will be implemented. (Dec - May)

HAVE AN IDEA?

Submit a proposal! Guidelines and requirements for proposals can be found here, and the project idea submission form can be found here.

Proposal Guidelines

  • Proposals must benefit the undergraduate community and align with the Institute's values and strategic goals. 

  • Proposals should be feasible within its estimated budget and timeframe (loose upper bound for implementation time: 4 months).

  • Each proposal must include a description, estimated costs, and potential implementation plan.

FAQs

Can student groups submit proposals?

In short, no. Each proposal must be submitted by an individual student. Multiple students can collaborate on a given proposal, but the submission must be made by one student. More generally, the projects are intended to benefit the entire MIT undergraduate community; as a loose guideline, if you’d use club funding for a given project, then that project is probably not best intended for PB. 

Where is the money coming from?

The $50,000 comes from unspent money in previous years' budgets. 

Is a submitted idea guaranteed to show up in the voting process?

No. UA Council will check ideas for feasibility (e.g. as much as we really wanted to and really tried to make it happen, last year’s PB cycle taught us that putting a swing set on campus is not as easy as we thought). That being said, don’t forgo submitting an idea just because you think it is unfeasible—we want to hear everything you have! Also, similar ideas may be consolidated for the voting process. 

Will PB remove funding from clubs?

No. Nor from anything else. 

Can I help with submission reviews?

Submissions will be reviewed during UA Council meetings, which are on alternating Wednesdays. If you'd like to join the discussion, you are encouraged to come to Council meetings—they are open-door! You can find out more info about Council meetings like location, time, and agendas by subscribing to the ua-council-listeners mailing list on Webmoira. 

Will there be another opportunity to submit ideas in the spring semester?

No. 

Are proposals meant to be for existing projects or new projects?

Proposals can be for both types of projects! 

Any other questions?

Send them to ua-pb@mit.edu!