6.1 “Grätzlmarie”

“Grätzlmarie” (“neighbourhood money”) is a subsidy pool of the City of embedded in the WieNeu+ urban renewal programme. It supports projects that strengthen social interactions in the neighbourhood, render the neighbourhood climate- and future-proof and create a benefit for the largest possible number of people in the neighbourhood. Up to 100% of the costs of selected projects submitted for subsidisation are funded. These projects are supported with amounts ranging from Euro 100 to Euro 30,000, e.g. for physical items, materials, rents for event venues or personnel costs.

Objectives:

1. Participatory local projects with the motto “climate- and future-proof in the neighbourhood” are implemented.

2. Targeted participation and active empowerment processes that involve the local population and promote the acceptance of necessary climate policy measures are implemented.

3. Social innovation and the strengthening of good-neighbourly relations become established practice.

4. Interdisciplinary co-operation with local players in the project area is boosted.

5. Green and open spaces acquire new atmospheric and aesthetic qualities.

6. Experience is systematically gathered, analysed and adapted for further use, e.g. to implement other participatory budgets in different urban areas over the coming years.

Facts, data, figures

Between October 2021 and May 2023, there were six periods for submitting entries. In all, the “Grätzlmarie” pool for Innerfavoriten disbursed a total of Euro 113,210 for 29 participatory projects.

Altogether, 60 project ideas were submitted, actively involving close to 150 persons. The projects were selected on the basis of various criteria, which e.g. included the promotion of climate change adaptation, easy access for many neighbourhood residents and sparing subsidy use.

To support interested residents, “Grätzlmarie” idea workshops were organised at the GB* premises. This led to the formulation of first project ideas and the building of new co-operations. The monitoring extended by GB* during development, entry submission, implementation and project accounting as well as visits to some activities by GB* representatives resulted in many nice encounters with committed neighbourhood residents. Personal contacts and, as a result, easy accessibility for all characterise this idea budget.

The projects are selected by a “Grätzlbeirat” (neighbourhood advisory board), which was duly charged with this task by the City of as the funding authority. Half of the advisory board members are local residents, while representatives of institutions, the City Administration and the Municipal District Office make up the other half. The project ideas submitted are evaluated by the GB* team for compliance with the eligibility criteria and then selected by the neighbourhood advisory board.

The “Grätzlmarie” projects implemented can be grouped into the following thematic clusters: community (6), mobility (3), environment (3), awareness raising & sustainability (6), art & culture (6).

Infobox: facts & figures

Outcomes

For WieNeu+, “Grätzlmarie” is an important tool to establish contacts with local residents and, in this way, to ensure the visibility of WieNeu+ in the neighbourhood through various media and channels.

“Grätzlmarie” enables low-threshold participation formats with largely local effect. Due to the great variety of offerings, “Grätzlmarie” projects create direct benefits for different target groups.

Thus, “Grätzlmarie“ funds disbursed through WieNeu+ offer the possibility of establishing a lively exchange with residents and, hence, to make WieNeu+ and its issues part of the public discourse while broadening the thematic range of the City Administration’s communication with citizens.

It must be said that, due to its specific organisation, “Grätzlmarie” concentrates a lot of its resources both with the GB* office – for assisting project applicants and project managers – and with WieNeu+, for funding administration.

• Variety of projects: numerous highly diverse projects were submitted.

• Democratic process: many different individuals – some of whom participated with very small-scale projects – were involved, allowing for the effective breaking-down of often invisible barriers.