BUDGET ANALYSIS AND

POLICY ADVOCACY
 Research aims
Document growth of applied budget work
Provide systematic analysis of the nature and
impact of applied budget work
Disseminate lessons learned to budget groups
and policy makers in governments and aid
agencies
Research collaboration between IDS and
International Budget Project, funded by ESRC,
the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and
Open Society Institute.
 Six case studies
DISHA, India

Fundar, Mexico

IBASE, Brazil

Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), South

Africa

Institute for Public Finance (IPF), Croatia

Uganda Debt Network (UDN), Uganda

Team composition and fieldwork
Two member teams combining a mix of
disciplines, experience and country knowledge
Maximize cross-evaluation and potential
learning outcomes; at least one team member is
directly engaged in applied budget work
Field visits of 10 -12 working days
Data gathered from several sources, including
interviews and focus group discussions with
wide range of stakeholders, public budget and
policy data, IBP and group materials, and media
reports
 Key research questions

Budget policies: Changes in budget

policies and systems; budget allocations;
implementation (efficiency and
effectiveness) and outputs

Budget process: Budget awareness and

understanding; budget transparency;
participation in the budget process
 Impact – budget systems and
allocations
Budget systems: some influence in Croatia
and South Africa - structural constraints on
the budget process
Budget allocations: evidence of increased
allocations for specific sectors or
programmes in Mexico (reproductive
health), India (tribal welfare expenditure)
and South Africa (children, HIV/AIDS,
women)
 Impact – implementation
Significant engagement and impact in
Gujarat and Uganda at local government
level through expenditure tracking
Monitoring reveals strong evidence of
inefficiency, corruption and expenditure
misallocations
 Impact – budget awareness
and budget literacy
Legislative influence: strong in Gujarat, Mexico
and South Africa, resulting from deliberate
strategy of engagement, and with elite policy
makers in Croatia
CSO influence: significant take-up of findings
from budget analysis by other groups for
advocacy and analysis, especially in Uganda,
India and South Africa
Media coverage: significant reporting by media
for most organisations, often the sole source of
information outside government
 Impact – budget transparency
and participation
Transparency: demonstrated capacity to
open up budget process to public and
legislative scrutiny, especially at the
federal level in Mexico and South Africa
Participation: ability to promote wider
citizen participation in budget deliberation
more limited; partial exception of Ibase in
Rio de Janeiro through leadership training
and distance learning
 Interim conclusions
Strength of independent budget analysis
lies in information provision and
awareness building (for legislators, CSOs
and media), enhanced budget
transparency
Some positive impacts on budget
priorities, allocations, implementation and
outcomes – financial impact can be very
significant with social justice and equity
implications
 Critical success factors
Civil society can add value to public budgeting
 Transparency and inclusiveness positively associated with
equity, efficiency and effectiveness.
 Limitations? Incremental vs. structural change.
Budget work is a flexible tool
 Can be applied in diverse countries and stages of development.
 Environment should influence program choices but does not
predetermine impact.
Budget work is adaptable to most civil society
organizations
 Think tanks vs. grassroots organizations.
 Specialized budget organizations vs. budget work as a tool.
 Advocacy vs. information organizations.
 But, dedicated capacity and year-round engagement necessary.
 Critical success factors
Quality of analysis and dissemination determine
potential for impact
 Accuracy = credibility
 Timeliness = usefulness
 Accessibility = legitimacy
Actual impact depends on relationships
 Work within civil society
 Legislature and executive
 Potential with external auditors
Long-term impact / structural change depends
on oversight system and coalitions with other
actors
 Implications for donors
Growing recognition that civil society
participation in the budget process is
central to effective public financial
management
Direct influence of government budget
policies through policy dialogue and direct
budget support
Financing for civil society organisations
directly engaged in budget work
 Improving the environment for
applied budget work
Donors can encourage governments to improve
budget transparency and make budget
information widely available
Donors should provide more comprehensive
information on aid flows and reduce ‘off-budget’
spending
Donors can engage local budget groups in
diagnostic and analytical work on budget issues
Donors should aim to strengthen accountability
in the budget process and support the roles of
legislatures, civil society and the media
 Direct support for civil society
budget work
Avoid over-burdening civil society organisations
with fragmented, small-scale project support
Long-term core support can support
development of medium term perspective and
strategy by improving internal capacity
Preconditions for support include sound
technical capacity and legitimacy, clear linkages
between analysis and advocacy, a credible
monitoring and evaluation system to track
impact, and legitimacy with parliaments, media
and civil society
 Wider significance
Contribution to government accountability through independent
scrutiny of budgets and improved participation in the budget process
Contribution to improved public expenditure management as donors
channel an increasing proportion of aid through national and
sectoral budgets
Reduced scope for corruption through tracking and monitoring of
government expenditures and improved utilization of scarce public
resources
Furthering poverty reduction as benefits primarily accrue to poor and
vulnerable groups through improved budget policies, increased
budget allocations and better service delivery
Strengthening democracy through a more informed citizenry and
greater voice and participation in decision making