This is a deck prepared for Every Voice Engaged Foundation Facilitators and Conteneo Certified Collaboration Architects to teach them how to implement the allocation of funds in Participatory Budgeting programs using the Budget Allocator version of the Conteneo Decision Engine.

1. Great Neighborhoods
2016 San José Budget Allocator Training
for in-person Facilitators and Observers
Transforming communities with the power of every voice

2. What is San Jose Budget Allocator?
Budget Allocator is a collaborative prioritization
framework used online and in-person to:
Identify shared community priorities
Educate citizens about budget challenges
Help build budget consensus among residents
And engage citizens and their government in a fun and non-
threatening way!
EVEF has worked with San José for the last 5 years to
use various versions of the Budget Allocator.
2

3. Goals for 2016
Mayor Sam Liccardo wants to engage
50,000+ residents in a zero-based
budget prioritization forum
3
Feb 20 Feb 22nd – Feb 26th
500-1000 will
participate in-
person at
Parkside Hall in
San José
1,000 people will participate in
facilitated online forums
49,000 will join
unfacilitated online Galas
Focus of today’s training

4. Facilitator & Observer Training Goals
Prepare volunteer facilitators, observers
& helpers to successfully:
• Facilitate an in-person budget
allocation forum
• Capture important feedback from
residents that enables San José staff
to make better budget decisions

5. Agenda
Budget Allocator Overview
• What is the Budget Allocator?
• What does a budget allocator forum look like?
• What results does a budget allocator forum produce?
• Who participates?
• What’s my role and what are the materials and tools I and
the participants will be using?
• How do I “facilitate”?
Questions?
5

6. Budget Allocator
12 to 20 items described in terms of benefits and costs
5 to 8 Participants tables given limited budget, equally
divided, to buy what they want
1. …
2. …
3. …
4. …
A list of items
prioritized by
your
Participants
The reasons
behind the
prioritization
Feedback that
shapes and
improves the
items

7. Distributing Different Budget Amounts
Creates Different Scenarios
0%
100%
60%
40%
Distributing 100% is a Reallocation Forum: Given 100% of the
budget, do you want to fund programs at the same level,
increase the funding or decrease (reallocate) the funding?
Distributing between 40% to 60% emphasizes
Prioritization: Given a limited budget, what are your most
important priorities?
Distributing 0% of the budget means that residents must
raise taxes or cut programs in order to secure funds.

8. We’ve Used All of These Options
0%
100%
60%
40%
This is what we are doing in 2016! We are using a zero-based
budget allocation process.
This was used in 2014 to identify priorities of a proposed
sales tax increase. The total cost of all items was $145M.
The sales tax would have generated about $68M.
This was used in 2011, 2012 and 2013: Citizens were given
funding proposals and tax-generating/program reduction
proposals.

9. What Does an in-person Forum Look Like?
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?feature=player_embedded&v
=COtAOBfesDA

10. 2
Who Participates
• City residents and leaders - like Neighborhood
Associations, Youth and other Commissions
• Different districts are balanced across the tables to
ensure balance among participants
• City Subject Matter Experts available to answer
questions (e.g. Fire Captain, Budget Director)
• Facilitators explain and manage the process
• Observers capture the “why” of prioritization decisions

11. Optional Write-In
Candidate
In 2016 each table will be given
the chance to add two ideas to
the list of projects.
Write-In candidates do NOT
increase the total budget.
Instead, residents must fund a
write-in candidate like any
other project.

12. 2
Sample Results from 2012
Funding Proposal Price Purchase Count?
14. Gang Prevention Efforts $2,900,000 11
10. General Code Enforcement $500,000 10
9. Restore Park Ranger Program $2,200,000 9
19. Neighborhood & School Traffic Safety $600,000 9
1. Hub Community Center $900,000 8
2. Satellite & Neighborhood Community Centers $600,000 8
6. Open Bascom & Seven Trees Libraries $1,600,000 8
7. Open Calabazas & Educational Park Branch Libraries $1,600,000 8
5. MLK Library Services Restoration $500,000 7
11. Traffic Safety Improvements $1,500,000 7
3. Branch Library Hours 4-4.5 $1,700,000 6
8. Open Bascom Community Center $600,000 6
17. Pavement Maintenance: Maintain FAIR Neighborhood Streets $32,000,000 6
4. Branch Library Hours 4-5.5 $4,700,000 4
12. Police Field Patrol: 40 positions $7,500,000 4
13. Police Field Patrol: 80 positions $15,000,000 4
15. Temporary Fire Company Closures (Brown-outs) $5,400,000 4
16. Open South San José Police Substation $2,400,000 4
18. Pavement Maintenance: Improve from FAIR to GOOD Neighborhood Streets $64,000,000 2
Citizen Proposed Projects
W1. Medical Marijuana Improvement Program $2,500,000 1
W2. Bike Lanes/Table Proposal $900,000 1
W3. Elementary Public School in Meadowfair $2,000,000 1
W4. Boards and Commissions $250,000 1
W5. Spartan Keys Alleyways Repair $750,000 1
8 tables funded
pavement maintenance.
7 through a parcel tax, 1
through the sales tax.
8 tables funded
police field patrol.
10 tables funded
increasing branch
library hours.
5 tables created
and funded write-in
candidates.

13. 2
Your Role
Facilitator
The facilitator leads the Forum which consists of 6-8 Participants. They explain the
rules, keep track of purchases, help draw out why ítems are more or less important to
the Participants and basically keep the Forum moving forward when needed. They
are also the banker giving out, taking in money and keeping track of purchases
Observer
The observer is silent. Their role is to write down anything significant said or done in
the Forum that is useful in understanding why and how Participants made choices. It
may be a player quote, head nods of agreement or disagreement over a particular
ítem or a discussion that points to different interpretations of the choices and
consequences. If needed the observer can help the facilitator, especially with
keeping track of bids

14. Special Observer Tracking Sheets
We are going to be using special Observer
tracking sheets to help us analyze the data.
We’ll practice with these sheets during our
training session.

15. Forum Logistics and Timing

16. Program Agenda - Sat - Feb 20, 2016
Parkside Hall, 180 Park Ave. San Jose, CA 95113
07:30 Facilitators arrive at Parkside Hall
09:00 Welcome - Mayor Sam Liccardo
09:15 2016-2017 Budget Overview - Lee Wilcox, Budget
Director, Mayor’s Office
09:30 2016-2017 City Budget Prioritization Exercise
10:00 Break
10:30 Zero-Based Budgeting Exercise: Our Neighborhoods
12:00 Closing
17

17. What You Do…
1. Arrive at Parkside Hall
2. Find your partner
3. Collect and assemble your materials
4. Quality check your materials
During the Mayor’s presentation:
• Prepare money for the participants
• Prepare sheets and write down participant names

18. 2
Make Sure You Have…
For the Facilitator:
 2 copies of the tracking sheet, pencil, calculator (or smart phone)
 San José Money
 3 copies of the Write-In candidate (only 2 can be used, 1 is spare)
For the Observer:
 1 copy of the Observer sheet, pencil
 1 copy of the Observer debrief
For each Participant:
 A copy of the Items being tested
 Pencils

19. Forum Timing
20
5 Min
Participants and Facilitator Introduce Themselves: Everyone at the table says a bit about their
goals and background. (My name is _______. I represent _______ neighborhood. What I hope to
get out of the Forum is _______.)
·Observers begin taking notes.
·Subject Matter Experts can be called over at any time for questions.
Facilitators Explain the Rules of the Forum and Distribute Materials: Distribute an equal amount
of the total Forum budget to each player and (ONLY) the funding proposal sheet.
15 Min Participants review funding proposals
40 Min
Participants make bids and discuss items.
At any time participants can introduce a Write-In Candidate.
20 Min
Bring the group to close
·Congratulate Participants on successfully playing Budget Forums.
·Distribute satisfaction surveys to Participants and collect them after debriefing or before they
leave.
10 Min Really – close the forum
Forum Ends
Immediately
Following
Forum
Forum Coordinator or Government Officer Debriefs Participants:
·More in-depth discussion of budget items and budget in general
·Time for questions
·Collect Satisfaction Surveys from Participants
Facilitators and Observers Fill Out a Debrief Sheets which they keep and use to fill out the
qualitative results sheet. This word doc is later sent to the analyst.

20. Being a Great Facilitator

21. Facilitating a Forum
What is facilitation?
What makes a good
facilitator?
Be prepared
Be yourself
Stay cool – BREATHE!!!
Find the energy and follow it
Focus on Process not
Content!
22

22. What Not To Say
• Avoid making any promises on priorities.
• Avoid commitments to specific projects/programs.
• Listen non-judgmentally.
• Never talk negatively about a project or a program.
• Squash your own political opinion. We want Democrats,
Libertarians, Republicans, Tea Partiers, and Pizza Lovers to all
feel welcome!
• Never say “That should be easy”.
• Never say “That is too hard”.
• Never say “Gosh, that’s a really good idea”. You can say:
“Thank you for explaining your perspective on this project.”

23. Good Questions
• Can you tell us why you think this program should
receive more funding?
• Can you tell us what you will do with excess funding
if you fund the program less?
• Are any major programs missing? If yes, consider
adding them as a write-in candidate.
• What are the most important issues facing the City
as a whole? Are these the same as the issues facing
your District or Neighborhood?

24. Phrases for Managing “Table Energy”
Challenge Response
Dominator (Talker) Thank you for sharing your ideas. Let’s hear from
<pick another person>.
When the Dominator interrupts, say: “Hold on – <other
person> is still talking.
Wallflower (Shy) Linda, care to share your perspective on <x>.
Linda, I can tell you’ve been thinking about this. We’d
love to hear your perspective on this.

25. Essential Roles For the Facilitator
A professional knows how to:
 Establish rapport with respondents
 Probe beyond rationalizations to
uncover genuine motivations
 Interpret and build on what they hear
 Maintain flexibility in guiding the
discussion without losing sight of the
objectives
 “Turn on a dime” – adapt their approach
when they and the clients encounter
unexpected issues or insights
 Manage the energy level and
personality dynamics of the discussion
 Avoid creating bias among respondents
A professional is prepared for
challenging situations, and is
able to:
 Get around respondents’ defensive
behavior
 Effectively handle talkers and non-
talkers
 Keep unexpected issues from
sabotaging the discussion
 Notice contradictions that don’t "ring
true"
 Handle sensitive topics with
diplomacy
 Recognize problem respondents and
act appropriately (from www.qrca.org)

26. Transforming Communities with the Power
of Every Voice
• Experienced facilitators
provide support and
manage
structure/process, not
outcome
• Online and/or in-person
events, facilitator training
• Quantitative & qualitative
feedback
• Measurable results
• Powered by Conteneo
Every Voice Engaged Foundation
Thanks you!