Helsinki’s flagship 10m euro Participatory Budget launches ideas phase for 2025
Through the OmaStadi platform, residents of Helsinki can propose how the city should spend 10 million euros. All residents of Helsinki aged 13 and over are eligible to take part. Proposal can be submitted between September 22nd and October 5th, 2025. The proposals will be put to a vote in March 2026, and the city will implement the proposals that receive the most votes.
Next year residents will be able to vote for five of the selected proposals, in a Helsinki major district of their own choosing. Eligible citizens log in to the OmaStadi site to make proposals or vote using online banking credentials or a mobile certificate. School pupils can log in with their ‘edu.hel.fi’ credentials in city-run schools or similar credentials in private or state-run schools. Strong authentication ensures that only those entitled to vote can vote.
The City of Helsinki began the participatory budgeting process known as OmaStadi in 2018 with the objective to facilitate urban development and design, primarily through the use of an online platform and workshops. While the OmaStadi project itself is managed entirely by the City of Helsinki, the online service is built upon Decidim, an open source platform, developed primarily by the City of Barcelona.
Read more in the OmaStadi website
Read an early case study on Helsinki’s participatory budget on the Participedia website