Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The President of Uzbekistan has signed a decree aimed at further improving the mechanisms of the “Initiative Budget.”

Starting in 2026, a new system will be introduced for financing social projects based on partnerships between citizens and the state.

The existing practice of voting for projects will remain: initiatives receiving the highest number of votes will continue to be funded from the state budget.

The new approach allows for projects to be implemented on a partnership basis. Mahallas and active communities can voluntarily finance part of their initiatives, supplementing government funding.

If citizens voluntarily finance at least 50% of a project’s cost, the initiative is automatically recognized as a winner, with the remaining funds provided from the republican budget.

This scheme aims to increase citizen participation in local community development and strengthen state-citizen partnerships in implementing social projects.

Mahallas that do not participate in partnership financing will still retain the right to take part in the “Initiative Budget” through the traditional voting process.

Additionally, deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis annually select two projects from the non-winning initiatives in their constituencies, which are automatically recognized as winners on the “Open Budget” portal and funded from the republican budget.

Each deputy is allocated 8,000 base calculation units annually for these purposes (currently equivalent to 3.3 billion soums).