Museum of Modern PBRead for this piece: the two Data+Soul Research evaluation reports for Boston's Office of Participatory Budgeting (Ideas in Action: Evaluation of the Pilot Year 2024-2025, Final Report, May 2025; Ideas in Action: Evaluation and Review of the FY26 Cycle 2025-2026, Final Report, June 2026); the two rulebooks by the Office of Participatory Budgeting and its External Oversight Board (Rulebook 2024-2025, adopted April 2024 with equity guidelines added May 2024; Rulebook Fiscal Year 2027, adopted May 7, 2026) and the FY27 Rulebook Executive Summary (English, June 2026); the Data+Soul evaluation decks and phase reports (Mid-cycle Report, October 2024; Final Report Presentation, March 2025; Cycle 2 Evaluation Plan, May 2025; Idea Collection Report, September 2025; Proposal Development Reports parts 1 and 2, November 2025 and January 2026; Voting Report, March 2026; Full-Cycle Presentation, May 2026; FY27 Idea Collection demographic snapshot, September 2026); the External Oversight Board Annual Review for FY25 (June 2025); the ASG media strategy deck (May 2025); and the External Oversight Board's meeting minutes numbers 1 to 38 (December 4, 2023 to September 17, 2026) with the Office's presentations to the Board from Meeting 22 (September 2024) to Meeting 38 (September 2026).
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Versions
v1 · 21 September 2026 · curator Goal
The goal of Ideas in Action is to give Boston residents an official point of entry into the City's budget process, by proposing creative new ideas to address local needs and voting on which projects get funded, and to gauge resident priorities to inform the City's annual budget, so that public engagement and direct democratic involvement grow, collective capacity on issues of racial and social justice is built, and equity and inclusion become embedded in City practices.
Values
Equity · Convener-stated · Lived
Inclusion · Convener-stated · Lived
Accessibility · Convener-stated · Lived
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values Maker’s note
Partners and Roles
Office of Participatory Budgeting, City of Boston · Convener · Public
External Oversight Board · Advocate or accountability holder · Public
Contracted Community Partners · Outreach · Community-based organization
City departments · Specialist · Public
Chief Financial Officer and Finance Cabinet · Decision-maker · Public
City Data Analytics team (DoIT) · Specialist · Public
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partners Maker’s note
Priority Audiences
Residents who cannot or do not participate in local government decision-making · Equity · Targeted outreach within a universal process
Residents historically excluded or underrepresented · Equity · Targeted outreach within a universal process, Dedicated channels
Specific neighborhoods or geographies of need · Equity · Targeted outreach within a universal process
Youth · Representation gap · Dedicated channels
Language-minority communities · Equity · Targeted outreach within a universal process, Dedicated channels
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audiences Maker’s note
Pot of Money
$2,000,000 (FY25) · Public (tax-funded) · Can be used for capital, Can be used for programmatic
$2,200,000 (FY26) · Public (tax-funded) · Can be used for capital, Can be used for programmatic
$2,000,000 planned (FY27) · Public (tax-funded) · Can be used for capital, Can be used for programmatic
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pots Maker’s note
Authority and Mandate
Legislative · Codified · Binding
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authority Maker’s note
Activities
Rulebook authoring · Infrastructure · Per cycle
Partner cultivation · System · Per cycle
Outreach · Process · Per cycle
Idea collection · Process · Per cycle
Review and categorisation of ideas · Process · Per cycle
Proposal development · Process · Per cycle
Deliberation · Process · Per cycle
Voting or deciding · Process · Per cycle
Implementation oversight · Process · Continuous
Cycle debrief · Process · Per cycle
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activities Maker’s note
Feedback Loops
Data+Soul cycle evaluation · Internal team · Every cycle
Board annual review and Rulebook vote · Partner-led · Every cycle
Public comment at Board meetings and online · Participants themselves · Every cycle
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evaluations Maker’s note
Geographies
City of Boston · Municipal or citywide · Administrative
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geography Maker’s note
Engagement Channels
Online idea portal and voting platform · Digital platform · Self-service
Idea Collection Workshops with Community Partners · Embedded in existing spaces · Embedded in a trusted intermediary
Proposal Development Forums · In-person events · In-person group
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channels Maker’s note
Costs
Operating appropriation, $2,134,250 (FY26) · Direct money · Organizational, Societal
Permanent staff, $372,972 (FY26) · Staff time · Organizational
Marketing and communications (ASG), $109,000 (FY26) · Direct money · Organizational
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costs Maker’s note
Effects
1,238 ideas and 4,462 votes (FY25) · Material or project outcome · Positive
1,203 ideas and 4,919 votes (FY26) · Material or project outcome · Positive
6 pilot and 8 FY26 projects funded · Material or project outcome · Positive
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effects Maker’s note
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