The main aim of the project is to diagnose the state of and show the development prospects for the civic budget in the V4 countries (green and participatory budget; participatory modernization; community development; proximity democracy). It is also essential to compare V4 legal systems and contemporary public debates on the role and range of civic budgets. This seems crucial inasmuch as these countries exhibit many similarities in the political and economic sphere. The project will adopt the hypotheses that assume that the utilization of solutions characteristic of civic budget plays a significant role in building and strengthening civil society in the V4 and that the civic budget in the V4 is connected with other innovations in financing, including gender budgeting and the use of new technologies. The literature on the subject distinguishes several models of civic budget but their practical implementation in individual states should be analyzed taking into account a number of contextual conditions (the dominant type of political culture, historical determinants, the scope of the financial autonomy of local government units, their size, degree of affluence, and ethnic diversity). Another important aspect is the necessity of distinguishing between civic budget and ordinary public assistance. Consequently, the concept of civic budget as understood in this project will apply to initiatives that are characterized by the following five features: 1) debate on budgetary matters, 2) involvement of the whole society, 3) repeatability, 4) public deliberation, and 5) countability.
The V4 countries in question share similar historical experiences, which are directly connected with the situation of those states after WW2, similar economic problems and striving for reform. Furthermore, decentralization was carried out in all these countries, as a result of which local government units were established through constitutional regulations. In this context, participatory budget is becoming an increasingly popular form of civic participation. Civic budget is an instrument that guarantees the participation of citizens in the allocation of a portion of public funds. The development of the civic budget is associated with the demand for the revival of participatory democracy, the strengthening of civil society or the modernization of public administration.
The project is generously sponsored by the International Visegrad Fund.
