On 24 January, to close the DEMOC2023 call of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the research seminar was held with all the funded projects. Joan Balcells (GADE) and Joel Peiruza (CNSC) presented the results of the project ‘Citizen evaluation of participatory budgets in Catalonia: Satisfaction, problems and effects on political trust and legitimacy’
In the seminar participated by Lara Torres, Director General of Open Government, Cristina Lirón, Head of Analysis and Quality of the Subdirectorate General of Citizen Participation and Laura Suñé, Subdirector General of Citizen Participation. In this framework, a total of 7 research projects were presented by various Catalan universities and research centres. After the presentations, there was a discussion on how each research contributes to improve the decision-making process, the design and evaluation of public policies.
Joan Balcells and Joel Peiruza made a general radiography of participatory budgets in Catalonia based on the database collected during these months. They then reviewed the degree of citizen satisfaction with participatory budgets and how local councils capture it. Finally, the results of an article focused on understanding the political factors associated with the abandonment of participatory budgeting experiences by municipalities were presented.
The Seminar was recorded and the session can be viewed in full on the Open Government Youtube channel.