Balancing Act

Balancing Act is an online civic engagement platform that helps governments invite residents to learn about public budgets and share their priorities. Developed by Engaged Public, a Colorado-based company, the tool allows residents to try their hand at balancing a city, county or state budget by adjusting spending and revenue levels within real constraints. Public budgeting is often perceived as opaque and technical, and traditional consultation methods such as public hearings tend to attract a small and unrepresentative group of participants. As a result, officials may lack clear insight into community priorities, and residents may not understand the trade-offs involved in budget decisions. Balancing Act’s approach is to make budgets interactive and accessible, turning complex financial information into an engaging simulation that educates participants while generating structured feedback for decision-makers.

Key features include budget simulations in which users allocate funds across programmes and adjust taxes or fees, with real-time feedback showing whether the budget is balanced. Explanatory text, charts and links provide context about services and their costs, helping residents make informed choices. Additional tools include a taxpayer receipt that shows individuals how their taxes are distributed across services, and modules for engagement on topics such as housing, capital projects and priority setting. Results are aggregated and presented to government staff through reports that highlight community preferences and comments. The platform can be embedded into government websites, is mobile-friendly and supports multiple languages to reach diverse populations. Balancing Act is delivered as a cloud-based service with set-up support from the vendor. Its target customers are city and county governments, state agencies, school districts and other public bodies seeking to improve transparency and participation. A free version is available, paid plans start from around USD 1,290, and a free trial is offered.