City of Vallejo

Project: Facilitation, Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration, and Collective Impact

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The City of Vallejo engaged Lyons-Newman Consulting from 2017 to 2020 to lead a community planning process for its Participatory Budgeting initiative, a democratic process in which community members make recommendations to the City Council on how to spend the City’s budget. 

Developed first in Brazil in 1989, Participatory Budgeting is now practiced in over 7,000 cities around the world1. In 2012, The City of Vallejo established the first city-wide Participatory Budgeting process in the United States.

Lyons-Newman Consulting facilitated 39 planning sessions for dozens of community Budget Delegate volunteers and community members. Planning sessions supported these community leaders to collaboratively assess community needs, develop project ideas, and build consensus on 12 final projects each year to advance to the City of Vallejo Participatory Budgeting ballot and voted on by residents. Our team supported budget delegates to develop their proposals and engaged the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee members, volunteers, and other stakeholders throughout the planning process.

More information about the City of Vallejo’s Participatory Budgeting Project can be found here.