Description

Paris Region's (Île-de-France) first Ecology- and Solidarity-based Participatory Budget was launched on 30 June 2020. After a 1st session that collected more than 480 new ideas from different actors, which were submitted to the vote of the public in the region in September 2020, the second session of applications is now open.

The project is part of a more ambitious programme of the region under the name "Mobilisation plan for the ecological transformation of Ile-de-France by 2024", which boasts a 10 billion euros budget, meaning that the region devotes 1 euro out of 2 to ecology-related areas. In 2020, this amounts to 2 billion euros. You can read the full explanatory dossier here.

Participatory Budgeting in the Paris Region has 500 million euros allocated for a 5-year period (an unprecedented amount in France), and allows anyone over the age of 15 to participate in the process. Not only citizens or residents, but anyone studying or working in the area is entitled to partake. Being the region, by far, the most populated one in the country, this process allows a very significant proportion of the French to decide their future: Île-de-France hosts 19% of the population in metropolitan France. Besides individuals, companies, associations and public or private agencies can also contribute to the process (that is, universities, hospitals, museums, but also enterprises or even municipalities).

Participants can promote or support a project within the following domains:

• Food, biodiversity and green spaces

• Cycling and clean mobility

• Cleanliness, waste prevention and management, the circular economy

• Renewable energies and energy efficiency

• Environmental health

Financial support through the PB programme is compatible with other regional grants (more information here). If a project is not included in the five domains above, it can still get small quantities of funding as long as it contributes to the ecological transition.

The programme's 500 million euros will be allocated to two project categories: local and large projects. The former type of project can receive up to 10,000€, while the latter is eligible for 300,000€ max. Between 16 October and 6 November, the online platform allows participants to present their proposals. Once reviewed, the voting phase will start in January, with the results available later that month. Read the Charter of the process and go to the online platform where projects are being submitted.

The first session, launched in June 2020, saw 630 proposals, of which 480 were approved and submitted to vote in September and October 2020. Over 32,000 people participated, casting 66,000 votes. Find out more about the projects here. For the purposes of transparency discarded contributions are also available for anyone to consult upon registration in the platform. Read the press review of the 1st session here. You can see an overview of the thematic breakdown below:

The results of the vote are available online. Note that almost all eligible projects (472) have been designated as winners and will receive regional financing. See the geographical distribution of the projects below:

You can use this site to follow up the selected projects and their progress over the course of the next months.

More information:

• Budget participatif - 2e session : proposez votre projet écologique

• Budget Participatif de la Région Île-de-France, 2e session

• Plan de mobilisation pour la transformation écologique de l'Ile-de-France d'ici 2024

• Mon Smart Budget Participatif - Suivi des projets lauréats

• Mon Smart Budget Participatif - Démarche du projet Le Budget Participatif écologique - 2ème session