Past participatory budgeting projects

Whalsay Cash for the Community Round 3

A community council PB Project based in Whalsay to distribute £3000, undertaken virtually in February 2021.

The aims of the project were:

• Community Activity
Strive to increase the level of community activity that takes place in the area including social and physical activity. We will look at enhancing all opportunities for social interaction and improved health for the community to improve community togetherness.

• Community Services
Build a strong confident community, which celebrates our diversity and improves support and access to services for the most vulnerable residents.

• Community Communications
Encourage greater communication in our community to make the best of what we have available through keeping everyone informed about the opportunities and activities that make our community strong.

Whalsay Community Council worked in partnership with Shetland Islands Council to deliver this project.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic it was not possible to hold a face to face community event. However the Community council were committed to making the event happen and get funding distributed to groups in the community.  As before applications were invited from local groups through local advertising/posters/flyers, word of mouth, email and social media.  Paper based information and voting forms were also available on request for anyone unable to participate online. The PB voting event took place over a week in February with 204 people participating using a self-designed survey monkey voting system.

A total of 10 applications were received with all of them going forward for the public vote. Information from the groups on their projects was showcased using a Facebook event.  Each group supplied photos, text and video to demonstrate their impact and community benefit. 

Voting took place from Monday 15th February to Sunday 21st February.  During this time there was continual awareness raising of projects and sharing of information to keep interest up.  It was key to also have paper based information and voting forms available to allow for equality of access to the process.  Interestingly the participation level was almost as high as it had been for the initial face to face event.
In the week following the close of voting the totals for each group were collated and results compiled.  6 groups were successful and 4 unsuccessful.  The clerk to the Community Council then contact each group to notify them of the result prior to it being announced more widely in the community.  The unsuccessful groups were signposted to other potential sources of funding and support.  The projects will be monitored until successfully completed.