Urban Economics and Planning

Urban Economics and Planning

Strategic Analysis of the Participatory Budgeting Plan “I am the mayor” Using SWOT-QSPM Technique

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyed Mohsen Mirbagheri 1
Ata Ollah Rafii Atani 2
1 Ph.D. Candidate of Technology Management, School of Management, Economics and Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, School of Management, Economics and Advancement Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/uep.2023.391616.1343
Abstract
Introduction 
Participatory governance is an important approach that has attracted the attention of statesmen in the past few years, and it is used to bring people together with policies and use their capacity in implementation and monitoring. Urban management also uses this approach in the field of budgeting, implementing, and monitoring municipal projects. In this regard, one of the important plans that were carried out in Tehran municipality in 1401 is the “I am the mayor” plan, which aims to survey citizens for budgeting and prioritization of new municipal projects. 
Materials and Methods
This article aims to investigate and evaluate this plan’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with the SWOT analysis method and then prioritize the extracted strategies using QSPM technique. This research was conducted using a qualitative (descriptive-analytical) method. Information was collected in the form of in-depth and semi-structured interviews. In this regard, 24 experts in the field of urban management and participatory governance were surveyed.
Findings
The results of this analysis show that proper accessibility, proper notification, considering the incentive system, and a quick review of proposals are the strengths of the plan; short plan implementation time, the possibility of registering fake comments, aggregating various preferences, and asking unprofessional questions are weak points of the plan; increasing social capital, strengthening social justice, reducing social problems, and greater productivity are plan opportunities; and limitation of resources, imposing opinions on all people, creating expectations in citizens, and lack of sufficient awareness of citizens are the threats of this plan. Based on the analysis, 8 important strategies have been presented in the form of a SWOT matrix. 
Conclusion
The results obtained from the QSPM analysis also show that among the developed strategies, the “Strategy of informing people about the results of plan implementation” and “the strategy of using various tools and methods for participation” are the most important. The selection of “Strategy of informing people about the results of plan implementation” as the most important strategy shows that people like to be aware of the results of their participation and to see the effects of participation in their lives. In the end, practical suggestions are provided for making more use of strengths and opportunities, as well as reducing weaknesses and threats. Finally, solutions for better implementation of participatory budgeting plans are recommended.
Keywords
Citizen Participation
“I Am the Mayor” Plan
Participatory Governance
SWOT Analysis
Urban Management

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 04 April 2023
  • Revise Date 30 May 2023
  • Accept Date 05 June 2023