Money
Matters: Public Finance
& Social
Accountability for Human
Capital Forum, GPSA’s
Global Partners Forum October
30 – November 1
GIFT
collaborated with the World
Bank Human Capital Project,
the International
Budget Partnership
and the Global
Partnership for Social
Accountability,
to co-organize this year’s
World Bank GPSA Global
Forum. Public finance,
social accountability and
human capital were the
center of the discussions at
the Forum. The main goal was
to better understand how
countries can use their
public finances to invest
more and better in health
and education for their
citizens. Moreover, based on
the notion that the quality
of public services can be
improved by disclosing
information that responds to
the needs of information
users and by engaging the
public in the delivery
process, the role citizens
and society organizations
can play, working with
governments and other actors
was also extensively
discussed.
Discussing
GIFT’s Public
Participation Principles
at Participatory Budgeting
Forum in the State of
Mexico, Mexico November
8
GIFTnetwork
director participated in
the discussions on
Participatory Budgeting in
the city of Toluca, State
of Mexico, in the
framework of a new state
government seeking to
build better institutions
to inform, engage and
empower citizens for an
honest and effective use
of public resources. At
the international forum
Participatory Budget, The
People’s Budget, organized
by the Ministry of
Finances of the State
Government, the GIFT
Public Participation
Principles were presented
and discussed, along with
concrete examples from the
GIFT’s Guide
on Public Participation
Principles and Mechanisms
in Fiscal Policy, as
references for the
regulation needed to
advance participatory
budget experiences in the
State of Mexico.
GIFT
at the Regional Seminar
“Open Government for the
Francophone African
Countries”, Tunis November
23
Aicha
Karafi, former budget
director at the Tunisian
Ministry of Finance,
represented GIFT
at the Regional Seminar
“Open Government for the
Francophone African
Countries”, as part of the
budget and financial
transparency sessions.
During these sessions,
participants showed an
interest on learning about
concrete modes and
examples of participation
for citizen monitoring of
public finances. Cécile Le
Guen, from DatActivist,
and l’Agence Française de
Développement, were in
charge of this successful
event for Francophone
Africa. GIFT
will continue engaging
with this initiative in
the future.
Communicating
the budget. How to promote
the use of budget
information. Learn
about the experiences of
Russia and Indonesia in
their efforts to communicate
the budget data in
innovative and creative ways
that are relevant for
potential users and in
easily accessible language
and formats, and how
governments are working in
collaboration with civil
society to design and
implement effective
communication policies that
consider the interests and
characteristics of potential
users, through the use of
social media and other
digital tools.
Building
a strong budget open data Based
on the experience of GIFT
Lead Steward, the Mexican
Ministry of Finance and
Public Credit, and
complemented with the
perspectives of GIFT
Steward, the Latin American
Open Data Initiative (ILDA)
this webinar addresses the
fundamental questions when
planning an open data
policy. Where to start? What
resources need to be
considered? How to monitor
and improve your budget open
data policy? How to promote
the use of the budget open
data?
COMMUNITY
WALL
New
Fiscal Transparency Portal
in El Salvador
El
Salvador’s Ministry of
Finance launched a new
fiscal transparency
portal. This new and
improved version was
created with the user in
mind, including useful
information on revenue,
expenditures, debt and
subnational transfers, all
with visualizations and
open data. We thank the
Ministry for allowing GIFT
to be part of this
important step for fiscal
transparency. Check it
out! www.transparenciafiscal.gob.sv
Congratulations!
UPCOMING
In
an effort to facilitate
transparency initiatives
through peer-exchange,
a Nigerian delegation will
be visiting our Stewards
in South Africa to learn
from their experience in
promoting fiscal
transparency and
participation hand in hand
with civil society,
through a user-centered
approach with digital
tools.
