Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 27th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview Pre-conference Seminar "How to Write a Good Policy Paper” Author(s) Yuri Krivorotko I do not belong to any Institution Minsk Belarus Title Participatory Budgeting in Belarus: Checking of Possibilities for Decentralized Cooperation File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Yuri Krivorotko Abstract The process of decentralization of local communities and the participative approach is one of the most challenging ones of these last years in the post-soviet countries and in Belarus, as well. Thanks to decentralized cooperation, the mutual cooperation between Civil Society and Local Governments occur and it is possible to develop projects and activities that support local democracy and economic and social development. They are also creating strong links between communities and citizens, creating dialogue and trust. One of the decentralized cooperation’s ways is the public participation in the local budget process where the citizens and active groups of citizens are setting up the local budget and include in it their projects. Thanks to participatory budgeting, citizens have the right to say how part of the public resources should be spent. Our purpose is to develop technique, ways, and relevant tools which lead to participatory budgeting in Belarus. The research methodology will be based on the approaches made by Manor, Nemec, Selee, Tulchin, Souza, Sedmihradska, Radula, Rodgers, Wampler, Wilmore and other researches. An empirical study will be linked with participatory budgeting’s pilot projects in Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine where they developed. Statistical data from official sources such as the Ministry of finance, regional financial departments, NGOs and databases in this area, etc. will also be used. Keywords: decentralized cooperation; fiscal decentralization, participatory budgeting; local budget; local democracy; public finance
