What Mr. Rossi wants in participatory budgeting: two R’s (responsiveness and representation) and two I’s (inclusiveness and interaction)

Participatory budgeting is a form of “co-planning” and “co-design” that is claimed to improve the level of democracy and public accountability. Drawing on evidence from the municipality of Rho’s participatory budgeting experience (in 2013 and 2014), this paper, through a Q analysis of citizens’ perceptions, reveals four types of “co-planners/co-designers,” including: (1) supporter in theory, but doubtful in practice; (2) worried about the trade-off between consensus and creativity; (3) supporter of a community approach; and (4) aware of the importance of citizens. Drawing on these results, four conditions for successfully implementing participatory budgeting are identified: responsiveness, representation, inclusiveness, and interaction.