We coordinate and support global research on participatory democracy and its impacts.
As an initial foundation for this work, we convened a Global PB Research Board and worked with it to create a shared global research agenda for participatory budgeting. We are now working with partners to compile and share research data for other types of participatory democracy.
Impact Data
We are compiling key findings about the impacts of participatory democracy around the world, and making them accessible through seminars, research briefs, and short articles. To start, we compiled data on the impacts of participatory budgeting.
National PB laws
Written by members of the Global PB Research Board, Participatory Budgeting via National Law: What Works and What Doesn’t describes the efforts of 11 countries to create a national legal framework for PB, along with key lessons from these experiences. The report includes case studies, assessments of their strengths and areas for improvement, common challenges, and recommendations for advocates and practitioners considering this approach.
The report is available in English, French, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.
PB Theory of Change
The Participatory Budgeting Theory of Change is a tool that can help you understand how PB can lead to desired changes for people, communities and governments.
The Theory of Change maps four stages of change: inputs, activities, outcomes, and impacts. While these stages may overlap in practice, the tool aims to make the complexity of everyday practice more intelligible and help us think critically about the bigger picture.
This resource was developed by members of the global PB research and practitioner boards. It advances the Global PB Research Agenda, bringing together researchers’ and practitioners’ experiences, findings, and hypotheses.
The PB Theory of Change is available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese and German.
Learn more:
Introducing a Global Theory of Change for Participatory Budgeting (originally published in the Deliberative Democracy Digest)
Participatory Budgeting in Global Perspective (2021) by Brian Wampler, Stephanie McNulty, and Michael Touchton
Global PB Research Agenda
Download the Global PB Research Agenda
The Global PB Research Board created a research agenda to prioritize the most important research needed to advance participatory budgeting.