Welcome, and congrats on embarking on this journey to engage your community in real decision-making! This handbook is intended to help usher anyone who is getting ready to implement a participatory budgeting (PB) process through the goals, key considerations, training needs, and best practices to plan and carry out each phase of PB. Since 2009, the Participatory Budgeting Project has supported 85% of PB processes in the United States. This guide captures the learnings we have collected as we supported cities and institutions across North America in designing and implementing their own community-led PB process.

PB is a multi-step process that brings together community members, local organizations, and various government or institutional departments, each playing a vital role throughout the different phases. This handbook takes the guesswork out of launching a carefully planned, accessible PB process by clearly outlining the key decisions you’ll need to make at every stage. It also provides the training resources necessary to set your collaborators up for success. At the end of each chapter you will find customizable tools and templates to help you carry out every part of the process. Think of this handbook as your PB coach who is guiding you and supporting you as you plan and bring each phase to life.