The Participatory Budgeting Towards a New Governance and Accountability

Public sector governance covers responsibility tasks in relation to the specific objectives of this sector, which are not only limited to the provision of services but include the impact of policies on the community or on society in general. New public management and new public governance in local authorities highlight the growing need for accountability towards stakeholders and the evolution of the concept of citizen, from the customer / service user to that of an active stakeholder able to contribute to the definition of company conduct. The phenomenon of the Participated Budget is identified and examined considering five fundamental criteria that have the potential to indicate aspects that are always present in the participated budgets and which at the same time must analyze the various stakeholders. In the analysis through the comparison between representative and participatory democracy, we try to highlight the right path to defining the participatory budget and the choices of the citizen. In particular, the research analyzes the main characteristics and functions of the participatory budget as an instrument of accountability. The analysis conducted is of a qualitative nature supported by the use of a case study. In particular, the phases and characteristics of the participatory budget are analyzed starting from the case of the Municipality of Collegno (Italy) in order to highlight characteristics and future prospects.