Open Budget Survey 2019
As governments launch massive spending measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest Open Budget Survey points to weak transparency and oversight of government spending.
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Four out of five of the 117 governments assessed in the Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2019 failed to reach the minimum threshold for adequate budget transparency and oversight, and even fewer provided opportunities for the public to participate in shaping budget policies or monitoring their implementation. But there are signs of progress.
Select OBS-related BLOGS:
The Vaccine Against COVID-Risk: Open Budgets, Open Response, Open Recovery : Jamie Drummond, global strategist, The Global Goals and co-founder of ONE.
A Call to Action on Open Budgets during the COVID-19 Crisis , Sally Torbert, IBP.
Using Data for Social Good: Transparency of Public Finances is Vital , Claire Schouten, IBP.
Crippling Debt: Transparent Lending and Borrowing must be part of the solution , Tim Jones, Jubilee Debt Campaign
Open Budget Survey 2019 global report
The latest survey provides a telling snapshot of government practices in 117 countries related to budget disclosure, opportunities for public engagement, and checks and balances on the budget process.
Review the global findings
Sector budget transparency pilot
First-time pilot project: with partners in 28 countries, we looked at the extent to which health and education spending is reported on and made public in central government documents.
Review sector transparency pilot findingsAdvances on budget transparency are encouraging but not sufficient to allow for meaningful public dialogue on budget priorities.
- OBS 2019 finds modest improvement in budget transparency scores globally, reversing the decline seen in the last round (OBS 2017), and restoring the upward trend shown since the survey began in 2006.
- But faster global progress is constrained by failure in many countries to sustain improvements in transparency practices over time or by stagnation at low levels of budget transparency in other countries.
Three quarters of the 117 countries surveyed do not have sufficient levels of budget transparency.
- The global average score in OBS 2019 is 45 out of 100, when a score of 61 is considered the minimum threshold to foster an informed public debate on budgets.
Problems associated with a lack of budget transparency are compounded by gaps in oversight by the legislature and supreme audit institutions.
- Countries tend to score higher on audit oversight as compared to legislative oversight, but only 30 of the 117 surveyed countries score at adequate levels of oversight from both institutions.
Few countries provide meaningful opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process, which undermines the public's ability to effectively use available budget information.
- But innovative practices in some countries demonstrate how governments can initiate and strengthen public engagement.
Rapid progress toward reform on these issues is possible, but will require all stakeholders to unite around a common agenda.
A Call to Open Budgets
Join us and our many international and national partners who have already signed on to promote the open budget agenda: (1) sufficient levels of budget transparency, (2) increased opportunities for public participation, (3) stronger monitoring and oversight of budget execution, and (4) sustained improvements over time.
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