Citizen participation in financial planning

The City of Jyväskylä has been selected to participate in an experimental project funded by Sitra (the Finnish Innovation Fund). The task of the Jyväskylä Citizens' Panel is to assess the impacts of the savings decided in the 2024 budget on everyday lives of local inhabitants and higlhlight what sould be taken into account in the 2025 budget to ensure that the savings do not unreasonably burden any population group.

The panel's statement was used in the preparation of the 2025 budget

The Citizens' Panel met three times in spring 2024. The panelists were familiarised with the city's financial planning and balancing measures. Panelists worked in small groups and assessed the impact of balancing measures on different population groups in Jyväskylä.

During the three panel meetings, a joint statement by the panellists was written, which was handed over to the City Council on May 27, 2024. The statement was forwarded to budget preparers along with the framework guide to support decision-making. In the autumn, interested panelists had the opportunity to comment on the budget proposals of the committees.

The City budget was completed November 27, 2024, and the City Board responded to the statement on December 2, 2024. The reply explains how the statement was used in the budget planning.

The participants of the Citizens' Panel were invited by random sampling

Invitations to the Residents’ Panel were sent to 1800 randomly selected 15 to 89-year old residents of Jyväskylä. At the application form, interested participants were asked for background information about their age, education and life situation. Of the 159 applicants, 32 participants were picked by drawing lots based on the background information in order to compile a comprehensive sample of Jyväskylä in a miniature size.