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AS&E Students
Arts and Sciences, Engineering, SMFA at Tufts
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Participatory Budgeting

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Fund the Future Tufts! Help build the Tufts you want by directing university budgets to the projects that will make a difference in your life and the lives of other students. Fund the Future Tufts by engaging in participatory budgeting! 

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TSL identifier Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting is a process where Tufts students come together to decide how to spend a portion of the Tufts budget to improve student life or campus. Students submit ideas, develop them into proposals, and then vote to decide which proposals will be funded. 

About

Participatory budgeting is: 

  • Student-led: Students run the participatory budgeting process. Students make the decisions about the process and timeline. All the ideas are submitted by students. Students collaborate with relevant departments to develop those ideas into proposals. And, students vote on the finalized proposals to decide what will be funded.
  • Real power over real money: The money for participatory budgeting has been allocated, and whatever projects win the most votes will be funded and implemented. The student vote is the final layer of approval. Students elect representatives to Tufts Community Union and the Graduate Student Council, and those representatives have long decided how to spend the student activity fee annually. But, participatory budgeting is the first time all students have been given decision-making over a portion of the university budget directly.
  • Transparent: Any Tufts student is welcome to submit ideas, come to meetings where the ideas are developed into proposals, and vote. ​The Civic Engagement Ambassador Coordinators are always happy to meet with students.​ Submitted ideas, developed proposals, and vote totals will be posted on this website for community review.
  • Democratic: Participatory budgeting is a democratic way of making decisions as a community about the best ways to improve Tufts.
  • Pilot program: Participatory budgeting is a pilot program in 2026.​ ​The process of participatory budgeting will be assessed after the cycle to determine whether the program should continue, and if so, whether any updates or changes should be made in future cycles.​ ​Submit your feedback on the process so that it can be considered in assessing the pilot program.  

Calendar

  • March 5, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Eaton 260: Brainstorm Session
  • March 11, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eaton 260: Brainstorm Session II
  • March 31: Ideas Due.​ ​Submit your idea today!​

Learn About Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process classically used in the public sector in which voters directly decide how to spend a portion of the tax dollars from the existing budget, instead of leaving allocations to the city council, school committee, or the mayor’s office.[1] Researchers have found that PB increases civic engagement,[2] ensures that budgets are being spent on things voters want and promotes fiscal balance,[3] and increases commitment to democracy.[4] PB started in Brazil in 1989, came to the U.S. in 2008 when Chicago was first to use it here,[5] and it has been used in over 7,000 places around the world,[6] including Boston,[7] Cambridge,[8] and Somerville.[9] Participatory budgeting has expanded into public and private K-12 schools and a now into colleges and universities. Research by CIRCLE found that PB in schools improves student civic agency and knowledge in the democratic process.

Tufts University, with its mission of active citizenship and public service, is well-positioned to adapt Participatory Budgeting in a higher education context. Participatory Budgeting gives student decision-making power over a portion of the university budget and provides all students with hands-on civic education, preparing them to be engaged citizens beyond Tufts.  

Steps in Participatory Budgeting 

For our pilot program in spring 2026, there will be four stages of participatory budgeting.  Participation from students is welcome in every step: 

  • Brainstorm Ideas: The Student Life Civic Engagement Ambassadors will host two community brainstorming​ ​sessions open to all students. In addition, we are open to coming to any student organization or other relevant forum to facilitate a brainstorming session among your group.
  • Develop Proposals: The first step is to submit an idea. Ideas can be brief and do not require research or extensive development. A summary of submitted ideas will be posted on our website. After you submit an idea, the civic engagement ambassadors will contact you to start the process of developing your idea into a full proposal. Proposals are developed by working with relevant departments and doing research to determine the idea is feasible and within budget, and making a plan for its implementation if it is chosen by students. Finished proposals will be posted to this website.
  • Cast a Vote: Finished proposals will be posted for consideration by students and students will vote for the winner.
  • Fund Winning Project: The project(s) that receive the most votes will be funded. Work will be done by Tufts Facilities, Tufts Technology Services, another relevant department, or an outside vendor contracted by the university. 

Spring 2026 Participatory Budgeting Timeline​     ​ 

  • ​​​Ideas are accepted starting in March. Ideas are due March 31. Submit your idea here.
  • Between March and April, ideas are developed into proposals collaboratively.  The Student Life Civic Engagement Ambassadors will work with the idea’s author and any relevant Tufts departments to price out the idea, evaluate it for feasibility, and develop a written description of the idea that will be used in voting.  Identical, overlapping, or closely related ideas can be consolidated into a single proposal.
  • In April, developed proposals will be presented to students for a vote.​​
  • Winning proposals will move to the implementation phase in May. Work will be done by TTS, Tufts Facilities, or other relevant groups. Funds should be expended by June 30, 2026. 

Criteria for a Proposal 

To appear on the ballot, a completed proposal must: 

  • Be open to (that is, possibly benefit) all undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering, and SMFA@Tufts.  Proposals that only benefit a student organization, department, or other small group will not be eligible.
  • Improve campus for students or enhance student life or the outside the classroom experience at Tufts.
  • Be logistically achievable and within the budget.
  • Be a one-time expense (i.e., not require expenditures year after year).  Accordingly, no proposals for additional faculty/staff positions or multi-year programs are possible.
  • Not violate any law, university policy, or existing contracts.
  • Proposals may not include any self-dealing (e.g., if you pay me, I will install this) or conflicts of interest. 

Students are encouraged to submit any idea they are interested in, even if they don’t know all the details or costs.  Once you submit your idea, you can work with the Student Life Civic Engagement Ambassadors to flesh out ideas into proposals by investigating feasibility and determining cost. 

Eligibility for Participation

All undergraduate, graduate, and certificate students in the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the SMFA@Tufts are eligible to participate in all stages of participatory budgeting—brainstorming, submitting ideas, developing proposals and voting. 

Students are eligible to participate regardless of their nationality, citizenship status, or other identity characteristics.  Students who are part time, full time, remote, and in person are equally eligible.  Students must be currently enrolled at Tufts or on an approved study abroad program to participate at any given time. Students on leave are not eligible. 

Allocation

For the spring 2026 pilot program, $60,000 has been allocated to participatory budgeting.  The allocation for participatory budgeting was contributed by the existing budgets of: 

  • Office of the President
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • School of Engineering
  • Student Life
  • Graduate Student Council 

There was no tuition or fee increase to make participatory budgeting possible—this is simply a reallocation of already existing budgets directly into student control. 

Participatory Budgeting Trustees 

Participatory budgeting trustees steward the participatory budgeting process, including working with people who submit ideas to help them flesh out ideas into qualified proposals that can be voted on, designing the voting system, and overseeing the vote tabulation. Apply to be a trustee. 

Works Cited 

[1] Shah, A. (Ed.) (2007). Participatory budgeting. World Bank Publications. 

[2] Williams, E., St. Denny, E., & Bristow, D. (2019). Participatory budgeting: An evidence review. Public Policy Institute for Wales.  https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/124566/1/PPIW-report_participatory-budgeting-evidence-review_-July-2017-FINAL.pdf 

[3] Park, J., Butler, J. S., & Petrovsky, N. (2023). Understanding public participation as a mechanism affecting government fiscal outcomes: Theory and evidence from participatory budgeting. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 33(2), 375-389. 

[4] Gilman, H. R. (2016). Democracy reinvented: Participatory budgeting and civic innovation in America. Brookings Institution Press. 

[5] Godwin, M. L. (2018). Studying participatory budgeting: Democratic innovation or budgeting tool? State and Local Government Review, 50(2), 132-144. 

[6] Participatory Budgeting Project: https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/about-pb/ 

[7] City of Boston, Office of Participatory Budgeting: https://www.boston.gov/departments/participatory-budgeting 

[8] Cambridge Participatory Budgeting: https://www.cambridgema.gov/participatorybudgeting 

Brainstorm Sessions

We are hosting two public brainstorm sessions. At each session: 

  • No prior experience or preparation is necessary; these are open forums.
  • You do not need to have a developed idea/proposal to come. 

The public brainstorm sessions are scheduled as follows: 

  • March 5, 5 to 6 p.m., Eaton 260: Brainstorming Session I
  • March 11, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eaton 260: Brainstorming Session II 

Both sessions will have the same format and content. It is being offered multiple times to provide options for different schedules. 

Each session has a capacity limit due to room size. Walk-ins are welcome so long as we are under the capacity limit. 

Invited Brainstorm Sessions 

In addition to the public sessions, students and student groups can request an ambassador to facilitate a PB brainstorm session with their group in March. Invited sessions will generally follow the same format as the public brainstorming sessions, though they may be customized to your group upon request. For invited sessions, room reservations, advertising, and food are the responsibility of the inviting organization. If you are interested, contact an Ambassador Coordinator to make a request. 

Submit an Idea

The first step in the participatory budgeting cycle is to submit an idea. Ideas can be as simple as a few sentences describing the idea, a drawing or diagram of a proposed improvement, or a fully developed proposal. All ideas that meet the criteria below are welcome. 

Initial idea submissions are due March 31 at 11:59 p.m. 

Criteria for a Proposal 

To appear on the ballot, a completed proposal must meet all of the following criteria.  When you submit an idea, you do not need to have answers for each of these criteria, but reviewing them may help shape your thinking about ideas. 

  • Be open to (that is, possibly benefit) all undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering, and SMFA@Tufts.  Proposals that only benefit a student organization, department, or other small group will not be considered.
  • Improve campus for students or enhance student life or the outside the classroom experience at Tufts.
  • Be logistically achievable and within the budget.
  • Be a one-time expense (i.e., not require expenditures year after year).  Accordingly, no proposals for additional faculty/staff positions or multi-year programs are possible.
  • Not violate any law, university policy, or existing contracts.
  • Proposals may not include any self-dealing (e.g., if you pay me, I will install this) or conflicts of interest. 

Students are encouraged to submit any idea they are interested in, and then work with the Student Life Civic Engagement Ambassadors to flesh out ideas into proposals by investigating feasibility and determining cost. 

Group Proposals  

Proposals must be submitted by individual students. Multiple students can still fill out the form with the same idea. This can and should be a collaborative process. You can, with student groups, advocate for projects. 

Attribution 

Ideas and proposals are submitted in the name of the author.  Author’s name or any affiliations to organizations will not be published by us, because the focus of the election is evaluating the proposals on their merit rather than for who submitted them. 

Voting Information

Voting will occur in April after ideas are developed and posted.

Voting Process

  • All eligible undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering, and SMFA@Tufts are permitted to vote.
  • Each student gets one vote.
  • Proposals will be balloted without representing who submitted the proposal.
  • Voting is structured by ranked choice, meaning you will select a number of most preferred options.​​
  • Voting will be hosted online.  Tufts login required. 

Tabulating Votes and Determining Winners​​ 

Votes will be tabulated and winning proposals will be determined as follows: 

  1. The PB budget is $60,000.
  2. The project with the most first place votes wins (all projects are less than or equal to $60,000, so the first place winner will be within budget).
  3. The amount of the winning proposal is then deducted from the remaining budget. (e.g., if first place winner cost $25k, remaining budget is $35k.).  If remaining budget is zero, tabulation ends.
  4. All projects that cost more than the remaining budget are eliminated.  If there are no projects left under the remaining budget, tabulation ends.
  5. If there is a remaining budget and projects under that budget, the project with the next most votes that is under budget wins.
  6. Steps 3 through 5 are repeated until the budget or the projects under budget are exhausted. 

Election results and winning proposals will be announced once the voting period ends. Student Life will then begin implementation, ensuring process updates. 

FAQs

Check out some frequently asked questions about participatory budgeting.  If you have questions that aren’t listed here, reach out to an Ambassador Coordinator. 

  • You can choose the participation that works for you.  We hope every graduate and undergraduate student in Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and SMFA gets involved in some way.  You can: submit an idea, become a trustee to help steward the participatory budgeting process and help develop ideas into proposals, vote on the proposals (details will be announced when voting opens in April), and give feedback on the process. 

  • No. Only ideas that are developed into full proposals and meet the criteria will appear on the final ballot. Nonetheless, do not hesitate to submit any ideas you have. We want to hear from everyone! It may even be possible that ideas are consolidated and accepted into the voting process. 

  • Students are welcome to bring their input to the discussion, and you are encouraged to engage with the Student Life Civic Engagement Ambassadors!​​  

  • Idea submissions are due March 31. If you have an idea after that, save it to submit in next year’s Participatory Budgeting cycle.

Get in Touch

Participatory Budgeting is run by the Student Life Civic Engagement Ambassadors, with support from the Dean of Students Office.  Submit your comments about the process here.  You can also reach out to any of the ambassador coordinators or get in touch with the Dean of Students Office at (617-627-3158, DeanOfStudents@tufts.edu, Dowling 701) if you have questions or would like to get involved.