Supporting participatory budgeting
Participatory budgeting allows residents to help decide how public funds are allocated. An application using Ethereum could connect proposals, voting outcomes, funding allocations, and subsequent disbursements in a shared record, making it easier to follow how decisions translate into spending.
One possible approach
In this example, a local authority invites residents to propose projects and vote on how a defined portion of its budget should be spent. A participatory budgeting application connects to Ethereum to record selected parts of the process in a shared, independently verifiable record.
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Submit the proposals
Residents submit proposals through the participatory budgeting application. Once a proposal is accepted for consideration, the application records a reference to it on Ethereum, creating a shared record of the projects included in the process.
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Record the votes
Eligible residents vote through the application. Privacy-preserving methods can allow voters to confirm that their vote was included without making their individual choice public.
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Publish the results
The local authority publishes the voting results and confirms which projects will receive funding. The application records the resulting allocations on Ethereum and links each one to the relevant proposal.
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Track funding disbursements
As projects receive funding, the application links each disbursement to the allocation approved by the local authority. Payments made through Ethereum or existing payment systems can be recorded against the same allocation, providing a clearer record of how approved funding is released.
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Automate approved disbursements
For payments made through Ethereum, a smart contract can check that a payment request matches the approved allocation and, when the required conditions are met, automatically release the funds and record the transaction. A smart contract is a program on Ethereum that carries out an agreed action when specified conditions are met.
What Ethereum enables
Ethereum can provide a shared record linking proposals, voting outcomes, funding allocations, and disbursements. Residents, auditors, and public institutions can review this record through the participatory budgeting application. Because the relevant records are also maintained on Ethereum, another service connected to the network could retrieve and verify the same information.
Where payments are made through Ethereum, smart contracts can also check payment requests against approved allocations and release funds once the required conditions are met. This can reduce manual processing and help ensure that approved funding rules are applied consistently.
Together, these features can support transparency, continuity, and independent oversight, while the local authority remains responsible for setting the rules, approving allocations, and determining how public funds are used.