ABSTRACT
The overall research question guiding this project is: what are the perceptions and experiences of community leaders in the participatory budgeting process? The secondary questions are: 1) what are the perceptions and experiences of community leaders in using social media platforms to engage citizens in the participatory budgeting process?; and 2) what are the ways in which these community leaders use social media to overcome obstacles of public participation in the budgetary process? Drawing upon interviews with community leaders in Chicago, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Clarkston, Georgia, this research presents these communities’ experiences in interacting with both citizens and elected officials through the participatory budgeting process (Gordon, Osgood, Jr., and Boden 2016).
