Question 127

During the budget formulation stage, which of the following key topics does the executive’s engagement with citizens cover? For the purpose of this question, key topics are considered to be: 1. Macroeconomic issues; 2. Revenue forecasts, policies, and administration; 3. Social spending policies; 4. Deficit and debt levels; 5. Public investment projects; 6. Public services


 * a. The executive’s engagement with citizens covers all six topics
 * b. The executive’s engagement with citizens covers at least three (but less than six) of the above-mentioned topics
 * c. The executive’s engagement with citizens covers at least one (but less than three) of the above-mentioned topics
 * d. The requirements for a “c” response or above are not met.
 * e. Not applicable/other (please comment).

OBS Guidelines
This question reflects the GIFT principles of “Transparency” and “Timeliness”. Please consider all of the mechanisms currently used by the executive to promote public participation during the formulation of the annual budget.

Please note that while the public engagement can/may cover other topics -- and for this reason the other questions assessing the executive’s engagement with the public during budget formulation can be answered on the basis of engagement on topics other than the six listed above -- for the purpose of answering this question, “key topics” are considered to be only the ones listed above. If the executive’s engagement with the public covers topics other than the six listed above, please specify these topics in the comments.

Note also that this question assesses only the coverage of public engagement (i.e., “what issues is the public invited to engage on?”) and issues related to the depth of engagement or selectivity of engaged are not dealt with by this question.

If written materials about the public engagement, such as an invitation, do not specify the coverage of the public engagement, but the researcher has personally participated in the engagement, s/he may respond to this question based on firsthand experience of the coverage of the public engagement.

Answer “d” applies if requirements for a “c” response or above are not met or if the executive does not use public participation mechanisms during the budget formulation stage.

(1) What should we do in cases where the scope of the consultation does not specify the topics to be covered?
This situation was frequently encountered in OBS 2017. If researchers have attended the consultation, they can speak to which topics were covered and score accordingly; score the indicator based on the researchers written submission for the budget consultations; score the indicator based on the “Invite” or summary reports of the consultations, if any. However, if there is no evidence of which topics were covered, we could consistently opt for answer choice “c”. (Suad's sense is that if the executive identifies topics it wants to engage the citizens on, it is more likely that they are seeking concrete inputs, hoping for an outcome, thereby making the engagement somewhat more meaningful.)