Governance challenges by participatory budget in the Italian municipalities

The paper explores the phenomenon of participative budget (PB) in Italy, inspired by insights and reflections on public governance, participation and inclusion of citizens in the local authority expenditure decisions. It illustrates and discusses the survey results of a sample of municipalities that, since some years, use the PB as an approach to program resource allocation. In particular it focuses on the characteristics of the context in which PB has encountered practical implementation, the way by which it was realized, the most common type of intervention and, finally, the critical situation in the units of analysis. The conclusions give way to considerations of what actions still need to promote, so that PB can really be seen as a tool for an effective management.