Haringey Borough Council, United Kingdom

For a number of years, the London Borough of Haringey has allocated £50,000 annually to each of its seven neighbourhoods, to be spent on schemes put forward by residents and decided upon at meetings of the Neighbourhood’s Area Assembly. Local people are invited to submit proposals and neighbourhood officers work with the residents on costing and refining each project. All the projects are then displayed at the Area Assembly meeting, and residents vote on their preferences by awarding schemes ‘stars’.

The spending is formally signed off by the officer holding the budget but as far as residents are concerned, it is their decision.