Ideas in Action: Our Evaluation of Boston's Second Cycle of Participatory Budgeting

For the past two years, we have partnered with the City of Boston to launch its Participatory Budgeting process and are excited to share the evaluation report for the second cycle. Along the way, one question keeps sharpening for us: what does it actually take to make a process participatory? It's not just about who shows up to vote; rather, it's about every entry point that shapes whose ideas make it onto the ballot in the first place. Boston’s participatory budgeting process, called Ideas in Action, provides an opportunity for Bostonians to discuss their budget priorities, shape project ideas, and vote on what gets funded. This cycle's findings reinforced how much the format and sequencing of engagement—not just outreach—shapes who ends up participating and how deeply. 

During the inaugural year, our evaluation helped the City and its External Oversight Board understand who participated and how, and what aspects of the process could be improved in future cycles. We carried forward the same questions into the second year as the City continued to refine and streamline its processes, and saw gains in both the reach of engagement and participants' sense of ownership over the process. As we enter into the third cycle this fall, we continue to walk alongside our partners at the City—leveraging strong evaluative processes built over the past two years to collect feedback and understand who is participating, while also turning our attention to the outcomes of previously funded projects.  

This work builds on a broader portfolio of process evaluations we’ve conducted across participatory budgeting, grantmaking, and decision-making initiatives. Read the evaluation report.