As part of the global movement toward more open government, citizens have become increasingly concerned with obtaining access to accurate, comprehensive and timely information on the budgets of their countries. The International Budget Project developed the Open Budget Questionnaire, a measurement tool to evaluate public access to budget information from the perspective of civil society organisations. In early 2004, civil society researchers from 36 developing countries and transition economies completed the questionnaire. Other budget process issues were also included in the questionnaire, in order to explore ways of improving public understanding and involvement in the budget and to identify concrete steps that countries can take to improve their budget systems.
