Participatory Budgeting in the Municipality of Santo André, Brazil: The challenges in linking short-term action and long-term strategic planning

This report is addressed to professionals and urban practitioners who are interested in participatory planning processes and in the establishment of organised priority setting mechanisms and decision-making involving government and communities on the allocation of public investments. Those who work in the public sector or with public policies at the local government level will benefit from the findings of the research particularly if their interest lies on the establishment of government-community management of public funds. The findings of the research will be instrumental for NGO’s and CBO’s that are engaged in partnerships with local governments. The primary objective of the research is to analyse and describe the experience of the municipality of Santo André with participatory budgeting hereinafter called OP ( Orçamento Participativo) depicted from interviews and observations of key actors and stakeholders directly involved in the OP, and from the analysis of internal documents of the municipality. The research also makes a first attempt to unveil issues underlying the integration of the participatory budgeting (OP) as a short-term planning activity and the recently started strategic planning process hereinafter called CF (Cidade Futuro) as a long-term development planning process. The research makes use of participants’ observations and qualitative methods and intends not only to analyse and describe in detail the OP and CF in Santo André but also questions to what extent this peculiar participatory process can be replicated in other municipalities seeking direct citizen involvement in municipal affairs. The authors attempt to look at the lessons learned from these experiences in order to depict issues, processes and methodologies that can be replicated in Bolivian municipalities and particularly in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The authors look at this possibility against the enactment of legislation (Law of Popular Participation, Law on Municipalities, Sustainable Municipal Development Plan-SMDP) that seems to have created a conducive environment for genuine civil participation in urban management in Bolivian local governments. The Spanish report pays a particular attention to this dimension.