November 2018 | by Jason Lakin, Ph.D., Sally Torbert, and Suad Hasan, International Budget Partnership with financial and technical assistance from the World Health Organization
Program-based 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. Program structure in program-based budgeting is central to some of the most fundamental questions in public finance reform. As countries introduce program budgeting or reform their existing systems, it is useful to examine global practices to shed light on how governments define program objectives as part of their broader quest to shift budgeting toward results that matter to citizens.
This paper aims to contribute to the global knowledge of program budgeting in low- and middle-income countries through the lens of program structure and its definition and evolution in the health sector.
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 toward results that matter to citizens. The following publications are also part of this project:
A large number of low- and middle-income countries have either recently introduced, are introducing, or are currently reforming their approach to program-based budgeting. A persistent challenge for both reformers and budget users in many countries undertaking such transitions is to learn about practices in other countries, good or bad, that might inform local approaches.
As part of research undertaken for a larger World Health Organization project, International Budget Partnership researchers collected and assessed budget documents from 30 low- and middle-income countries with some form of program budgeting. A brief technical note describes the data collected and offers a summary of what it tells us, and the dataset contains the full assessment and additional notes.
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 toward results that matter to citizens. The following publications are also part of this project:
This case study looks at how the Brazilian government has approached program budgeting in the health sector and assesses the way in which the government has linked health spending with key policy objectives. Despite Brazil’s extensive history of program budgeting, this paper identifies some important challenges the government needs to address it if wants to provide a clearer picture of how, and for what purpose, health funds are actually spent.
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 toward results that matter to citizens. The following publications are also part of this project:
The adoption of performance-focused budgeting and a program structure for expenditure has been evolving for some time in Indonesia. The transition to the practice of performance and program-based budgeting was intended to allow the public to see: 1) the relation between inputs (funding) with the expected outputs and outcomes; and, 2) the effectiveness and efficiency of programs and activities. However, as a staff member of the budgeting directorate in the Ministry of Finance admitted in an interview, the reform is yet to be fully implemented.
This case study examines program budgeting in the health sector in Indonesia. The authors examined Indonesian legislation and budget documents, and conducted several interviews with resource persons from relevant institutions to collect information on Indonesia’s implementation of program-based budgeting and all of its accompanying challenges.
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 toward results that matter to citizens. The following publications are also part of this project:
Mexico has an elaborate system of “budgeting for results,” of which budget programs are an important part. Results-based budgeting is a form of performance budgeting that attempts to link allocations to the achievement of specific results, such as outputs and outcomes of government services. While program budgeting is not new in Mexico, the last decade has seen efforts to refine and consolidate the number of budget programs, and to enhance the quality and logic of performance indicators and targets.
Mexico’s health budget has 31 programs, which is more than any other country included in our recent study on program budgeting in the health sector in low- and middle-income countries. This case study examines Mexico’s approach to program budgeting in the health sector – in particular the advantages and disadvantages of having a large number of programs.
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 toward results that matter to citizens. The following publications are also part of this project:
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