Transformation of Participatory Budgeting System through Public Transparency Dashboards for Project Implementation (HRZAG0005)

Commitment ID

HRZAG0005

Commitment Title

Transformation of Participatory Budgeting System through Public Transparency Dashboards for Project Implementation

Problem

Participatory budgeting in the City of Zagreb enables citizens to propose and select projects, but transparency and oversight during project implementation and execution remain limited. Once projects are approved, information on their progress, timelines, and use of allocated funds is fragmented, difficult to access, or not systematically published. This limits the ability of citizens, civil society, and decision-makers to monitor project delivery, track public spending, and identify delays, cost deviations, or implementation challenges.

The absence of a centralized and user-friendly monitoring tool creates a gap between citizen participation in decision-making and insight into project outcomes. This weakens accountability, reduces opportunities to improve implementation processes, and makes evidence-based evaluation of participatory budgeting more difficult. As a result, citizen trust and engagement may decline, limiting the impact and potential of participatory governance.

Status quo

At the outset of the action plan, the City of Zagreb operates an e-service for participatory budgeting that enables citizens to propose and vote on local projects, primarily covering the initial phases of the process. However, once projects are selected, the system does not provide a comprehensive, structured, and transparent overview of their implementation.

Information on project progress, implementation status, milestones, deadlines, and financial execution is dispersed across internal systems and administrative units and is not consolidated into a single accessible interface. Separate reporting channels limit data standardization, comparability, and timely access. Consequently, citizens and stakeholders have limited insight into whether projects are progressing as planned, meeting deadlines, and using allocated funds effectively. This weakens transparency, accountability, performance monitoring, and the overall credibility of participatory budgeting.

Action

This commitment aims to upgrade the existing participatory budgeting system by introducing public transparency dashboards that provide a comprehensive, structured, and real-time overview of project implementation and financial execution. The dashboards will consolidate key data, including project status, implementation phases, milestones, timelines, and budget utilization, into a single publicly accessible digital platform.

Integrated monitoring tools will enable continuous tracking of projects from approval to completion, supported by standardized reporting and data collection across responsible city departments. Regular updates, visual analytics, and user-friendly interfaces will make information clear and accessible to citizens. The expected result is improved transparency, accountability, and oversight, enabling citizens to monitor progress and public spending while strengthening trust, credibility, and the effectiveness of participatory governance.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

This commitment addresses limited transparency and weak public oversight in the implementation of participatory budgeting by introducing publicly accessible dashboards that consolidate data on project progress, status, and financial execution. It will transform fragmented and partially accessible information into a centralized, structured, and user-friendly digital overview of all participatory budgeting projects.

Continuous and standardized tracking from project selection to completion will reduce information gaps and strengthen accountability and internal coordination through clear data flows, reporting standards, and departmental responsibilities. Expected outputs include integrated public dashboards, a standardized project data model, and regular reporting mechanisms. Expected outcomes include greater transparency of public spending, improved project traceability, stronger institutional accountability, increased citizen trust, and more informed participation in local governance.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

This commitment relates to the long-term goal of strengthening transparent, accountable, and participatory local governance by ensuring that citizens are continuously informed not only about decisions taken, but also about how those decisions are implemented in practice and how public funds are used throughout the project lifecycle.

It supports the broader Open Government Strategic Vision by extending participatory budgeting beyond the stages of proposal and voting into the implementation phase, where transparency has traditionally been more limited. By introducing continuous, structured public reporting through digital dashboards, the commitment strengthens ongoing public oversight and reinforces accountability of implementing institutions.

In the long term, this contributes to a more open and data-driven public administration where citizens can actively follow results, evaluate outcomes, and build trust in decision-making processes based on clear, accessible, and timely information.

Primary Policy Area

Fiscal Openness, Social Accountability

Primary Sector

Cross-sectoral, Public Services (general)

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?