Topic Guide: the Budget Process

The power of making it simple: a government guide to developing citizens budgets. Blyberg, A., Guerrero, J.P., & Ramkumar, V., International Budget Partnership (IBP), 2012. http://internationalbudget.org/publications/the-power-of-making-it-simple-a-government-guide-to-developing-citizens-budgets/  

This guide targets governments seeking practical guidance on how to make their public finance systems more transparent. Together with the IBP’s Guide to Transparency in Government Budget Reports: Why Are Budget Reports Important and What Should They Include? (2010) and the Guide to Transparency in Public Finances: Looking Beyond the Core Budget (2011) (referenced in the section quasi-fiscal operations and off-budget funds), it forms a series of publications which complement each other. The Power of Making It Simple complements these two by focusing specifically on citizens budgets and offering useful tips to governments interested in developing one. (Also available in French and Spanish.)  

Producing a citizens’ guide to the budget: why, what and how? Petrie M., Shields, J., OECD, 2010. http://www.oecd.org/gov/budget...  

As part of the growing search for more transparency and accountability in government finance, this article suggests guidelines for the production and dissemination of a citizens’ guide to the budget. Examples from a variety of countries help to illustrate why governments should publish an annual guide, what the contents and characteristics of a good guide should be, and how such a guide should be made accessible.  

Guide to transparency in government budget reports: why are budget reports important and what should they include? Ramkumar, V., Shapiro, I., IBP, 2010. http://internationalbudget.org...  

This guide supports governments in their efforts to meet international good practice standards on budget transparency by providing guidance on what reports and documents they should be producing and making available throughout the budget process, and what information should be in those reports. Further, it links to model documents from other countries. The guide covers the pre-budget statement, executive’s budget proposal, citizens budget, enacted budget, in-year reports, mid-year review, year-end report and audit report. (Also available in in French, Portuguese and Spanish.)  

Our money, our responsibility: a citizens’ guide to monitoring government expenditures. Ramkumar, V. IBP, 2008. http://internationalbudget.org...  

This guide offers an overview of government budget implementation, including budget execution, procurement, impact measurement, and auditing and legislative oversight processes. It provides practical, tested tools that can be used by independent organisations interested in monitoring government expenditures. The guidebook is intended to help civil society groups monitor the overall budget process and to understand why there may be differences between the funding appropriated in budgets and how those funds actually get spent. (Also available in Bahasa Indonesian, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.)  

Guide to transparency in government budget reports: how civil society can use budget reports for research and advocacy. Vivek Ramkumar and Isaac Shapiro (eds.), IBP. http://internationalbudget.org/wp-content/uploads/Guide-to-Transparency-in-Government-Budget-Reports-How-Civil-Society-Can-Use-Budget-Reports-for-Research-and-Advocacy-English.pdf  

This guide provides essential information on how CSOs can use, and have used, the eight key budget reports that their government should be making available throughout the budget process – the pre-budget statement, executive’s budget proposal, citizens budget, enacted budget, in-year reports, mid-year review, year-end report and audit report – for research and advocacy purposes. (Also available in in French, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic.)