Example participatory approaches and methods

This document contains various approaches for the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund Panel to make funding decisions, aiming to involve communities directly. These methods range from 'collective models' and 'community panels' where local people make decisions, to 'deliberation' for group discussions, 'distributed dialogue' involving many small conversations, and 'ideas challenges' that invite specific proposals. It also covers 'peer review', where applicants assess each other's work, and 'public vote' (also known as participatory budgeting), allowing broad community input. A 'criteria-based assessment' is also described, which relies on staff evaluation, alongside 'mixed approaches' combining several methods. Further options include 'direct transfer' for quick support and 'location micro-grants' for hyper-local decision-making, all designed to empower local people, build trust, and ensure funding meets specific community needs, though some require careful planning and support.