Frequently Asked Questions
- Who can submit their ideas for Tallinn's participatory budget "A City Created Together"?
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Anyone can submit ideas.
- How will the winning ideas be selected?
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After the ideas are collected, an expert committee will evaluate their feasibility and compliance with the established requirements. The chosen ideas will go to a referendum and the ideas that receive the most votes will be implemented.
- What is the city’s role in the process?
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The city of Tallinn organizes the whole process: it informs the public about the initiation of a participatory budget; collects, evaluates and introduces ideas to the public, and organizes the implementation of selected ideas. The city also decides on the rules: the size of the participatory budget, how many and what types of ideas can be submitted for funding, how compliance with the rules is assessed, etc. The city's task is also to keep an eye on how the process is going: to analyze whether it fulfills its goals, whether the information reaches the residents, whether the desired number of people participate in the process, etc.
- What is the role of the expert committee in the process?
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The task of the expert committee is to assess the feasibility of the ideas. The feasibility of ideas is analyzed from a temporal, financial, technical and legal point of view, and their compliance with the basic requirements is assessed.
The committee also has the right to integrate and supplement similar ideas in the course of analysis and evaluation. In addition, the committee has the right to exclude from public vote ideas that are not feasible during the participatory budget project. You can find more detailed criteria in the Tallinn City Council regulation “Procedures for processing Tallinn's participatory budget”. - Who are the members of the expert committee?
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Independent experts of different fields who are able to appropriately assess the cost and time requirements of the ideas as well as the technical, public area planning and legal aspects of submitted ideas make up the committee.
The members of the committee include: the Urban Environment and Public Works Department, the Sports and Youth Department, the Transportation Department, the Urban Planning Department, the Financial Service, representatives of district governments and external experts in the field (urban planners, landscape architects, entrepreneurs, etc.).
- Who can vote?
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The ideas implemented by the city of Tallinn will be determined by a referendum in which all citizens at least 14 years whose place of residence, according to the population register is Tallinn, can participate. Each participant can vote for up to three ideas of their choice in the district where they live.
For example: a citizen whose registration is in the Kristiine district cannot vote for ideas presented for the Pirita, Nõmme or other districts. - Why can only a registered resident of Tallinn vote?
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The vote is aimed primarily towards registered residents, as they contribute their tax revenue to the city's budget, from which a participatory budget also comes from.
- What if my idea doesn't fit into a participatory budget project?
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If the idea does not fully fit in with the terms of a participatory budget, let us know about your proposal anyway. For example, if the idea is feasible practically immediately or does not require large budgetary resources, often the ideas presented are later implemented outside participatory budget or included in the city's development plan. If needed, you can also contact us for further information via the contact information mentioned here.