Museum of Modern PBRead from five documents: the Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting Boston Rulebook 2014, written by the process Steering Committee in January 2014 with a foreword by Mayor Martin J. Walsh; the pilot-year evaluation, Youth Lead the Change: The City of Boston's Youth-Focused Participatory Budgeting Process, Pilot Year Evaluation, by Tara Grillos with a research team including Hollie Russon Gilman, Jacob Cohen, Crosby Burns and Jennifer Ly under the guidance of Archon Fung (August 2014); the year-three evaluation, Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting Boston, by Astraea Augsberger, Mary E. Collins, Whitney Gecker, Katharine Lusk and Meaghan Dougher of the Boston University Initiative on Cities and School of Social Work (2016); the City of Boston Office of Youth Engagement and Advancement's Youth Lead the Change 2023-2024 Results sheet (2024); and the City of Boston's Youth Lead the Change 2024-25 Results Sheet (2025).
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v1 · 21 September 2026 · curator Goal
The goal of Youth Lead the Change is to put real decision-making power over $1 million of the City of Boston's capital budget in the hands of young people aged 12 to 25, and teach them how city government and budgeting work, so that youth are engaged as the solution rather than the problem, the City's capital plan reflects their priorities, and they gain an entry point into civic life that builds stronger, safer and healthier communities across a more unified Boston.
Values
Self-determination · Partner-stated · Lived
Inclusion · Partner-stated · Lived
Equity · Partner-stated · Lived
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Partners and Roles
City of Boston Mayor's Office, through an Oversight Committee of City staff (Youth Engagement and Employment, Boston Centers for Youth and Families, Capital Planning and Budget Office, New Urban Mechanics, Mayor's Youth Council) · Convener · Public
Mayor Martin J. Walsh (process announced by Mayor Thomas Menino in 2013) · Champion or steward · Public
Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) · Specialist · Nonprofit
Steering Committee of youth-serving organisations (about 30 in 2014, 25 in 2016), each sending an adult and a youth representative · Rule-setting governing body · Community-based organization
Mayor's Youth Council (mayoral-appointed youth delegates; co-chair of the Steering Committee in 2014, all members enrolled as Change Agents in 2016) · Outreach · Public
Change Agent committee facilitators (hired adult facilitators with youth co-facilitators in 2014; trained youth facilitators in 2016) · Facilitator · Contractual
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Priority Audiences
Youth · Representation gap · Exclusive eligibility
Low-income residents · Equity · Targeted outreach within a universal process
Specific ethnic or racial communities · Equity · Targeted outreach within a universal process
Language-minority communities · Equity · Dedicated channels
Specific neighborhoods or geographies of need · Population proportion · Targeted outreach within a universal process
Unhoused or housing-insecure people · Equity · Targeted outreach within a universal process
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Pot of Money
$1,000,000 per annual cycle · Public (tax-funded) · Can be used for capital, City-owned property only, Minimum project cost $25k, Minimum lifespan 5 years
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Authority and Mandate
Executive · Formal · Binding
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Activities
Rulebook authoring · Infrastructure · Per cycle
Partner cultivation · System · Per cycle
Fiscal and legal setup · Infrastructure · Per cycle
Civic education about PB · System · Per cycle
Outreach · Process · Per cycle
Idea collection · Process · Per cycle
Proposal development · Process · Per cycle
Deliberation · Process · Per cycle
Voting or deciding · Process · Per cycle
Implementation oversight · Process · Per cycle
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Feedback Loops
Pilot-year evaluation (Grillos, 2014) · Fully external academic body · One-time
Year-three evaluation (Boston University Initiative on Cities, 2016) · Fully external academic body · One-time
City-designed participant surveys (Change Agent pre and post surveys, idea collection survey, voter survey) · Internal team · Every cycle
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Geographies
City of Boston · Municipal or citywide · Administrative
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Engagement Channels
Idea assemblies, project expos and vote sites at community centres, T stops and partner organisations · In-person events · In-person group
Weekly after-school Change Agent committee meetings (BCYF sites in 2014, City Hall in 2016) · In-person events · In-person group
Schools, classes, after-school programmes and clubs; schools as the main vote sites · Embedded in existing spaces · Embedded in a trusted intermediary
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Costs
PBP technical assistance contract, two Boston-based coordinators (2014), hired facilitators, translation and interpretation, printed multilingual ballots, materials and prizes · Direct money · Organizational
City staff time: Oversight Committee, Youth Council manager, department staff vetting eligibility and pricing proposals, BPS data office · Staff time · Organizational
Change Agent time: weekly after-school meetings for about eight weeks, 10 to 15 hours a month in 2014 and 8 to 10 in 2016, plus long journeys across the city · Volunteer and community time · Individual
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Effects
Projects chosen by youth vote: seven in 2014 (Franklin Park playground and picnic area, Boston Art Walls, Chromebooks for three high schools, skate park feasibility study, security cameras at Dr. Loesch Family Park, Paris Street playground, sidewalks for new parks), six in 2016, Boston Shelters 2.0 and Next Level Sports in 2023-24, Wicked Free WiFi Parks Expansion in 2024-25 · Material or project outcome · Positive
Youth allocation differs from the City's own capital plan: more to Parks and to Dorchester, East Boston and Jamaica Plain · Material or project outcome · Mixed or unintended
Skills and civic knowledge among Change Agents: leadership, teamwork, networking, communication, professionalism, how capital budgeting works and what things cost · Capacity built · Positive
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