Advancing Norms and Standards for Open Budgeting
The Open Budget Survey
IBP’s biennial Open Budget Survey is the only independent, comparative, and regular global measure of budget transparency, participation, and accountability. The survey evaluates whether governments give the public access to budget information and opportunities to participate in the budget process at the national level. It also assesses the role and effectiveness of formal oversight institutions. Findings from the survey help our civil society partners advocate for improvements in budget transparency, participation, and accountability. Finance ministries and development practitioners around the world also use the survey to identify baselines and trends in country practices and to implement reforms in line with identified gaps and recommendations.
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The Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT)
IBP, along with a wide range of actors and institutions involved in public financial management, formed the multistakeholder Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) to develop and establish international norms for budget transparency, accountability, and participation. GIFT brought together the perspectives of civil society organizations, governments, donors, international finance institutions, and professional associations to establish 10 high-level principles on budget transparency, participation, and accountability. These principles —endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 (UNGA Resolution 67/218) — provide a blueprint for realistic and workable reforms that recognize the centrality of open and participatory budgets. The principles have driven significant progress in establishing public participation as a core principle of effective budgeting. For example:
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which advises 188 member states on improving public finance management, has adopted “public participation in budget deliberations” as a new principle in its Fiscal Transparency Code.
- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has similarly recognized the importance of budget participation in its Principles of Budgetary Governance.
Given the limited guidance on how public entities should engage directly with the public in managing public resources (Principle 10), GIFT embarked on a substantial multiyear work program to increase awareness of promising country practices and recent innovations in citizen engagement. In 2016, after an extensive public consultation process, GIFT launched a new set of principles: the Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policy, with a companion Public Participation Principles Guide. GIFT continues to work as a global network with governments, civil society, international financial institutions, and the private sector to find and share solutions to challenges in fiscal transparency and participation through peer learning, technical assistance, research, and tech for participation.
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The Open Government Partnership
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is an international initiative that brings together governments, civil society, and industry to promote transparency, increase civic participation, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. The OGP provides an international platform for domestic reformers committed to making their governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. OGP was launched in 2011 by the governments of Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States; the Transparency and Accountability Initiative; and IBP and seven other civil society organizations. IBP Executive Director Warren Krafchik served as OGP’s Co-Chair for Civil Society from 2012 through 2013.
In addition to IBP’s leadership role in the initiative, the OGP uses select indicators of government fiscal transparency from its biennial Open Budget Survey as one of the eligibility criteria for membership in the partnership.
The OGP provides a major opportunity for IBP’s civil society partners in OGP countries around the world to be involved in establishing and implementing open budgeting commitments as part of their country’s OGP National Action Plan. Both IBP and GIFT have played active roles in OGP’s Fiscal Openness Working Group to advance global norms and standards for open budgeting. We continue to engage in the OGP process at all levels to ensure fiscal openness commitments are fulfilled.
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International Advocacy
As part of IBP’s previous international advocacy work, we collaborated with a range of actors, including donor and international institutions, governments, national and international civil society organizations, associations of public finance professionals and oversight institutions, and private sector investors to foster a global environment that supports open and accountable budgeting throughout the world. We focused on two areas:
Budgeting for Sustainable Development
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at a historic United Nations Summit. The 2030 Agenda, being led by the United Nations, defines the global development framework that succeeds the UN Millennium Development Goals that came to an end in 2015. Learn more.
Strengthening Audit Accountability
Nearly every country in the world has a functioning supreme audit institution (SAI) that is mandated to check the legality and accuracy of public accounts and to report on their findings to drive improvements. SAIs have one of the toughest jobs in government: ensuring that powerful politicians, officials, and institutions are held to account. Recent case studies commissioned by IBP in Argentina, India, and the Philippines demonstrate how SAIs can positively impact public finance accountability and the lives of citizens. Learn more.
Other Campaigns
As part of its international advocacy, the International Budget Partnership has engaged with other public finance and development stakeholders on targeted campaigns that promote open, participatory, and accountable public finance management. These campaigns sought to influence processes and disseminate new research. Learn more.