COVID Module Question 25

Did citizens and CSOs have opportunities to participate during the formulation and approval of the emergency fiscal policy package under consideration?

Guidelines
Recognizing public participation as an essential component of open budgeting systems, the Open Budget Survey includes a separate section on public participation that assesses formal opportunities for the public to directly engage with the executive, legislature, and audit institutions during the budget process. The OBS participation indicators are based on the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s (GIFT) Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies. As highlighted in the recent post by GIFT, public participation in the context of COVID-19 is even more important. Notwithstanding the need for swift and decisive action, the participation of CSOs and members of the public can help positively shape the government’s COVID fiscal policy response and make sure it adequately addresses the needs of the most vulnerable communities.

Question 25 and 26 reflect the need for governments to design and implement fiscal measures through a process that is both transparent and inclusive. Question 25 assesses whether CSOs and/or citizens had the opportunity to participate in the formulation and approval of emergency fiscal policy packages and question 26 examines the extent to which citizens and/or civil society organizations had the opportunity to participate in monitoring the implementation of emergency fiscal policy measures.

This question asks whether the executive (the Ministry of Finance, lead budget agency, or central coordinating agency designated by the government to implement participation mechanisms) or legislature uses public participation mechanisms during the formulation and approval of emergency fiscal policy packages, and whether those mechanisms are meaningful. Executive mechanisms during the formulation of emergency fiscal policy packages are those that are open to all (where any CSO and/or individual member of the public can provide their input) or discretionary (where invited groups or individuals can provide their input). Legislative mechanisms during the approval of emergency fiscal policy packages are public hearings on emergency fiscal policy measures during which (i) citizens or CSOs are allowed to testify, including on a discretionary basis, or (ii) the legislature uses other means to receive and collect views from citizens and CSOs on the budget.

Participation mechanisms are meaningful if (i) the relevant government body makes an effort to include vulnerable and underrepresented groups; (ii) people can find out the purpose, scope, and intended outcomes for the public engagement; and, (iii) the relevant government body shares feedback they received and how it has been used. Researchers should provide evidence to support the use participation mechanisms, including links to media articles, copies of invitations, or interviews with government official(s) or individuals who participated in relevant processes. Researchers should also indicate in the comment box whether government bodies used existing or new participation mechanisms to engage the public during the formulation and approval of emergency fiscal policy packages.

Tick boxes: ''Please check the boxes of the items that appear in the relevant documentation. If none of the items are presented, please check ‘None of the Above’. In the comment box, please provide a detailed citation for each item selected below as described in the assessment directions as well as any additional details.''


 * ☐  Executive used participation mechanism during formulation
 * ☐  Executive made effort to include vulnerable and underrepresented groups
 * ☐  Executive provided comprehensive prior information on engagement
 * ☐  Executive provided feedback
 * ☐  Legislature used participation mechanism during approval
 * ☐  Legislature made effort to include vulnerable and underrepresented groups
 * ☐  Legislature provided comprehensive prior information on engagement