Abstract:

The research aim of the paper was to check whether participatory budgeting fulfills the concept of co-creation of public services in Poland. To achieve the goal  following research tasks has been implemented: i) to identify the legal solutions of citizens cooperation, ii) to identify characteristic of participatory budgeting in terms of co-creation of public services, iii) to identify amount and structure of participatory budgeting, iv) to provide cross country comparison, v) to identify difficulties in using participatory budgeting. It has been reviled that in year 2021 participatory budgeting is most popular in big and biggest cities where is compulsory by the law. Only 28% of small cities have participatory budgets while medium just in  range 51-75%. On average, 22% of budgets are spend indoor, while 72% outdoor. According to data, around 70% of indoor projects are in favor of school and kindergartens, libraries and fire stations. As to outdoor projects, around 90% of them are in favor of green and recreation areas, streets, lanes and yards, around kindergartens and schools. In Europe, Poland with 2014 participatory budgets in 2019 together with Portugal (1666 budgets) was responsible for 71,69% of all implemented participatory budgets. In Europe, in 2018, there was 48,9% of all worldwide projects, mostly because of its compulsory in Poland and Portugal. Participatory budgeting might be successful in implementing but needs: involvement of the local community; planning of preparatory activities; communication between all entities that are involved in the project; appointment of a team that will coordinate work on the preparation of the participatory budget. According to the research, participatory budgeting is a platform for social activation and providing services better suited to the needs of the inhabitants. Moreover, it should be stated that participatory budgeting is a certain form of co-creation of public services, as the inhabitants create projects and decide on the allocation of public funds for the implementation of public services. Nevertheless it is limited version of co-creation since residents are not involved in all parts of co-creation. The research years cover mainly 2018-2022. In the paper following research methods has been used: analysis of scientific literature and normative documents, co-creation methodology, comparative analysis, statistical analysis.