by David Lewis, Executive Director, Corruption Watch— Jan 30, 2019
The relationship between declining democracy and burgeoning corruption, both the antithesis of fiscal accountability, raises some large and complex questions for the fiscal accountability community.
by Jean Ross, Consultant— Jan 28, 2019
The agriculture, forestry, plantation, and marine fisheries sectors provide livelihoods for a significant fraction of the Indonesian population, yet contribute less than one out of every ten dollars of revenue received by the provincial and the national governments. In many resource-rich regions, poverty rates are high and local residents receive little or no benefit from the exploitation of the country’s abundant natural wealth. Two Indonesian civil society organizations – Perkumpalan Inisiatif and Seknas FITRA – hypothesized that weak administration and corruption contributed to weak revenue collections. Together, the groups designed an ambitious research project to test this hypothesis and develop recommendations for improving revenue collections and resource management.
by the International Budget Partnership, Transparency and Accountability Initiative, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace— Jan 23, 2019
How can civic action on fiscal accountability contribute to positive changes in the lives of the poor and marginalized? The Fiscal Futures project identified five critical areas in which the transparency and accountability field should consider investing greater effort, because they might constitute a powerful agenda for strengthening fiscal accountability and justice in developing countries around the world.
By the International Budget Partnership, Transparency and Accountability Initiative, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace— Dec 10, 2018
During the first quarter of 2018, the International Budget Partnership, together with the Transparency and Accountability Initiative and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace convened 35 fiscal transparency and accountability advocates, practitioners, scholars, and funders from 14 countries under the theme of Fiscal Futures. The group met twice to review assumptions, rethink strategies, and imagine the future of public finance two decades from now. The driving question for convening was: how can civic action on fiscal accountability contribute to positive change in the lives of the poor and marginalized?
Jason Lakin, Ph.D., International Budget Partnership— Nov 29, 2018
Modern government budgeting is increasingly expected to be an extended conversation between executives, legislatures, auditors, the public, and other independent institutions. In this conversation, governments cannot simply announce their plans. They have to explain the reasons for the choices they are making. So how can we judge the quality of reasons that governments provide? Our new paper, “Assessing the Quality of Reasons in Government Budget Documents,” proposes five criteria.
by Thomas Carothers and Saskia Brechenmacher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace— Nov 15, 2018
When work on improving fiscal transparency and accountability gained steam in the 2000s, it proceeded from a core set of assumptions about the global political context and the drivers of domestic governance reform. But in the past ten years, these assumptions have been thrown into question. The Fiscal Futures project recently sought to identify the foundational assumptions of fiscal transparency and accountability work, update them to fit today’s world, and assess the implications of these changes.
Jason Lakin, Ph.D., International Budget Partnership— Nov 07, 2018
Program budgeting is about making budgets more transparent, ensuring that public money is spent on the right priorities, and linking budgets more closely to the purposes of spending. IBP’s work on program budgets, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), examines global practices related to budget program structure in health to shed light on how governments define program objectives as part of their broader quest to shift budgeting towards results that matter to citizens.
by Anja Rudiger, Consultant— Oct 30, 2018
After two decades of promoting open and accountable budgets around the world, the fiscal transparency and accountability field has reached a critical juncture. Although fiscal transparency norms and standards have gained ground and, under some conditions, contributed to increasing budget allocations and spending on essential public services, there is a sense that quantifying the deeper impact of budget work remains elusive. To critically reflect on this challenge and generate new ideas, the International Budget Partnership, the Transparency and Accountability Initiative, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace initiated a set of workshops under the theme of Fiscal Futures earlier this year.
International Budget Partnership— Oct 10, 2018
At a recent meeting of European civil society organizations engaged in budget work, Social Justice Ireland CEO Dr. Seán Healy discussed how his organization uses research and policy advocacy to inform budget debates, including the use of Alternative Budgets – policy briefs that incorporate alternatives to the government’s budget proposals meant to encourage the government to make budget choices that are both economically sound and socially fair. We recently spoke with Dr. Healy about Social Justice Ireland’s use of alternative budgets in its social justice advocacy.
By Delaine McCullough, Manager, Climate Finance Accountability, International Budget Partnership— Sep 11, 2018
Climate change is hitting developing countries hardest because of both their geographical location and their limited capacity to respond. Now, a recent study from the UN Environmental Program warns that the poor countries that are most vulnerable to climate change will pay more to borrow because of that vulnerability.