Applicability of digital participatory budgeting in Turkey: The case of Kırşehir Municipality

Digital participatory budgeting is the participation of citizens within municipal boundaries in local budgeting processes through digital participatory mechanisms and the preparation of a certain part of the budget together. This application has a unique value with its own unique strategies and constitutes a reference and source for subsequent experiences with various findings. Nowadays, it is possible to find quite different versions of digital participation platforms to receive the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of citizens in the processes of their participation in local politics. In this study, the feasibility of digital participatory budgeting in Kırşehir Municipality was investigated through a pilot process with applied action research methodology. Kırşehir Municipality Benim Fikrim Benim Şehrim digital participatory budget website was designed and put into service in a collaborative process. The results of this application were comparatively evaluated by those involved in the supply and demand sides of local politics. This evaluation searched for an answer in a practical context - a local experience - to the basic questions public finance asks in a theoretical perspective in the provision of local public goods and services. This local response has provided an opportunity to re-discuss the digital democratic context of local development, transparency and accountability, capacity building in governance, distributive justice, accessibility, and welfare in the context of human rights and local participation dynamics. The research focused on three main dynamics; Kırşehir Municipality has implemented a comprehensive digital participatory budget application for the first time. The application has revealed the implicit meaning of the digital voting experience for projects. Finally, the volunteer participants in the research theorized an ideal digital participatory budgeting practice. Kırşehir Municipality has developed a certain part of the municipal expenditure budget estimation for 2024 with citizens through a digital voting strategy. Thus, Kırşehir Municipality's Benim Fikrim Benim Şehrim digital participatory budget application has taken its place in the literature as a primary example in the context of municipalities other than metropolitan and district municipalities.