• Participation by civil society in public expenditure management promises to improve social and economic outcomes while increasing confidence in public institutions. • Participatory budgeting (PB) programmes depend on the effective engagement of three key domestic stakeholders: governments, civil society and legislatures. Participatory budgeting cannot be imposed. • The successful execution of participatory programmes is hampered by serious capacity gaps among key domestic stakeholders. The introduction of PB programmes should be sequenced to reflect different national conditions and policy settings. • Citizen-led participation in budget policy has the potential to improve the effectiveness of nationally driven development strategies such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). • Donors should focus their efforts on investing in increased capacity among all stakeholders, while encouraging political engagement among governments in particular.