Open Budgets Blog | International Budget Partnership

Lawmakers meet during a parliament session in Ghana

Making the Most of the Budget Cycle: The Budget Approval Phase

By Jay Colburn, International Budget Partnership— Jun 20, 2017

The budget approval, or enactment, phase of the budget cycle is when the Executive’s Budget Proposal is submitted to the legislature, where the members may then debate, alter, and approve the final budget. Frequently, it is at this point that the key issues in the debate over the budget are established. Because this process culminates in the enactment of the final budget law, this is often the point when media attention is greatest, offering CSOs valuable opportunities to advocate for their issues.

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) Damage and Rehabilitation in the Philippines

Opening Budgets to Fight Climate Change

Delaine McCullough, Communications Manager, International Budget Partnership— Jun 13, 2017

Estimates of the funds that must be mobilized globally for an adequate response to climate change amount to hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Although funds will be coming from both international and domestic private and public sources, much of the climate change efforts will be managed by national and subnational governments through their domestic budgeting systems. To ensure that the scarce resources invested in climate-related activities are spent most effectively and reach the intended beneficiaries — the people and communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change — with minimum leakages, transparency and accountability will be essential.

From Strategy to Rules of Thumb: How IBP South Africa Makes Strategy-Aligned Decisions in the Field

By Albert van Zyl, South Africa Country Manager, International Budget Partnership— Jun 08, 2017

Most people within organizations find strategic planning, theories of change, and log frames to be a pain. Not only because formulating them is hard work but also because we never implement them, at least not as intended in the heady aftermath of putting on paper what seems to be a clear step-by-step map to mission success. Why? Because the unpredictable, ever-changing world we work in refuses to comply with the plan. However, establishing rules for making strategy-aligned decisions in the field can help you stay on course.

Making Change in Closing Political Environments

Warren Krafchik, Executive Director, International Budget Partnership— Jun 06, 2017

How do we advance fiscal accountability in an era of closing government? Over the past 20 years, IBP has worked with hundreds of independent organizations the world over to pioneer models of open budgeting, where citizens and civic organizations play an informed and meaningful role in monitoring and influencing the public budget. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that governments make and keep commitments to maximize the contribution of public resources to transforming the lives of poor and marginalized communities. Too often, though, we have secured dramatic increases in public data and built strong organizations but have failed to transform these resources into greater accountability. Our 2016 reflection essays have identified three areas of work where we see hopeful possibilities toward greater fiscal accountability.

PesaCheck: Reflections on Budget Fact-Checking in the Kenyan Context

by Leo Mutuku, PesaCheck— Jun 01, 2017

When budget stories make the news, fact checking is crucial. Now more than ever, individuals and intermediary organizations need to cultivate a culture of fact-checking given that misinformation is rife with changing global socio-political dynamics. What have we learned from Kenya’s PesaCheck initiative? And how can these lessons guide civil society organizations interested in running similar fact-checking initiatives?

Building Budget Democracy: Fiscal Openness Reforms in South Africa

by Paolo de Renzio, International Budget Partnership— May 25, 2017

Trevor Manuel was South Africa’s Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009, serving under three different presidents. During his long tenure, he built South Africa’s Treasury into a strong and well-respected organization and introduced wide-ranging budget reforms. In this interview, Mr. Manuel looks back at some of the reforms he introduced that turned South Africa into a world leader in budget transparency.

tracking fiscal transparency reforms in afghanistan

Supply, Demand, and Sustainability: Tracking Budget Transparency Reforms in Afghanistan

by Paolo de Renzio, International Budget Partnership— May 23, 2017

Dr. Mustafa Mastoor has been Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan since 2008. Previously, Dr. Mastoor served as Director General for Budget in the same ministry. In these functions, he has promoted a series of budget transparency reforms that resulted in impressive improvements in Afghanistan’s Open Budget Index score. In this interview, Dr. Mastoor reflects on Afghanistan’s budget transparency reforms trajectory, and the challenges encountered along the way.

Budget Transparency as a Means to Reduce Poverty: Uganda’s Fiscal Openness Reforms

by Paolo de Renzio, International Budget Partnership— May 18, 2017

Florence Kuteesa served 21 years in the Ugandan Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, rising from the level of economist to the post of Budget Director, which she held until December 2004. She then worked for two years in a private consulting firm, and thereafter six and half years with the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department, until 2016. In the Ugandan government, she introduced a number of budget reforms that turned Uganda into a regional example in PFM systems and budget transparency practices. In this interview, Ms. Kuteesa remembers the early stages of Uganda’s budget transparency reforms, and the bridges that they built between government and civil society.

budget-transparency-reforms-mexico-benjamin-hill-mayoral

Weaving a New Narrative: How Budget Transparency Reforms Took Hold in Mexico

by Paolo de Renzio, International Budget Partnership— May 16, 2017

Benjamin Hill Mayoral held a series of important policy positions in the Government of Mexico, both in the Ministry of Public Administration (Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for Transparency and Corruption Control, and Head of the Transparency Policy and International Cooperation Unit) and at the Ministry of Finance (Head of the Performance Evaluation Unit). While at the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Hill oversaw the creation of Mexico’s budget transparency portal, an award-winning initiative that has greatly improved citizens’ access to budget information. In this interview with Paolo de Renzio, Senior Research Fellow at the International Budget Partnership, Mr. Hill recollects his efforts to build the portal and other related reforms.

From Domestic Accountability to International Recognition: Fiscal Openness Reforms in the Philippines

by Paolo de Renzio, International Budget Partnership— May 11, 2017

Florencio “Butch” Barsana Abad was Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of the Philippines during the period 2010-2016. Previously, he had served as Secretary of the Department of Education and Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform. He was also a congress member (three terms), lawyer, trade unionist, and an educator and activist. As Budget Secretary, he championed active citizenship and open government through citizen participation in planning and budgeting and making essential budget documents and information publicly available. Through the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) Program, he institutionalized people’s participation in the budget process and enabled civil society organizations to partner with their local governments to address poverty in their communities. In this interview with Paolo de Renzio, Senior Research Fellow at the International Budget Partnership, Mr. Abad recalls the range of reforms that he helped introduce while at DBM.