PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

ANNOUNCEMENTS

11/8- Voting ended yesterday (11/7); winners for the fall cycle of the Participatory Budgeting Initiative will be announced in the coming days!

11/4 - Important change to one of the proposals: For the Free Stamps for All proposal, the quantity of stamps has changed from 10,000 to 3,000 and the total cost from 1.5k to 2.2k, due to a necessary change in the source of the stamps. Here is the old proposal, and here is the new one. We apologize for the tardiness of this change.

10/24 - Voting is now open! Here is a list of the proposals on the vote in alphabetical order, and here you can find the full proposals as submitted by proposers:

  • Bouncy House Extravaganza

  • Exploding Kittens for All Living Groups

  • Free Menstrual Products for Undergraduates

  • Free Stamps for All

  • MIT Poster Archive

  • The Newspaper Project

  • Project GOAT aka Goat Petting Zoo

  • Undergraduate Swings

  • Waffle Wednesdays

You can vote here! Voting is ranked choice.




10/10 - The deadline for submitting proposals has been extended until Tuesday, October 15th! We will be reviewing submissions for feasibility Oct 15 - Oct 25, with the student-wide vote on proposals happening afterwards.

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. 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, vote on proposals, and oversee the implementation of winning projects. Have an idea for a project? Submit a proposal! (see below for details)

For more detailed information about the process, see this document.

RULES AND PROCEDURES

Loose Timeline

All dates in this section are tentative. 

  • Proposals will be submitted within the next two weeks. (Sep 27 - Oct 11 Oct 15) NOTE: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO OCT 15 @ 11:59PM!!!

  • Ideas will be discussed by the UA for 2 weeks to ensure feasibility and efficacy. (Oct 11 Oct 15 - Oct 25)

  • Students will vote on the finalized ideas for 1 week. (Oct 25 - Nov 1)

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

$25,000 in funds are available this semester. There will be another round of funding in the spring semester.

Eligibility

  • Only undergraduate students are eligible to participate in the PB process.

  • Undergraduate students can submit proposals, refine ideas, and vote on final proposals.

Budget Allocation

  • The total budget allocated for PB is $25,000 for the fall, $25,000 for the spring. 

  • Each proposal should not exceed $10,000 to ensure multiple projects can be funded.

HAVE AN IDEA?

Submit a proposal! Guidelines and requirements for proposals can be found here, and a template for proposals 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.

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

  • Proposals will be judged according to a rubric, which can be found on page 5 of this document.

FAQS

Can student groups (e.g., clubs) submit proposals?

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. Similarly, a student group may work on a proposal, but the submission itself must be made by one student in that group. 

Where is the money coming from?

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

Will PB remove funding from clubs?

No. Nor from anything else. 

Can I join the steering committee for submission reviews?

Submissions will be reviewed during UA Council meetings, which are on alternating Wednesdays (next meeting is October 2nd, 2024). If you'd like to join the discussion, you are encouraged to come to Council meetings—they are open-door! 

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

Yes! Nonetheless, the funds from that round must be used in the 2024-2025 academic year. 

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

Proposals can be for both types of projects!