Murray Petrie Lead Technical Advisor, - PowerPoint Presentation

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Murray PetrieLead Technical Advisor, GIFTGIFT Stewards Meetings,Washington DC, December 1-2, 2015

#FiscalTransparency

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN FISCAL POLICY

: Approval of GIFT Principles and Next Steps

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GIFT’s work program on public participation in fiscal policyOriginated with GIFT High Level Principle 10: moving beyond disclosure.

Eight country case studies.Development of ‘Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policy’ 2012-2015.

A series of workshops 2012-2015.

Public consultation in 2015.Proposed GIFT Participation Principles.Preparation of an associated Guide to help implement the Principles.Development of indicators to measure participation in fiscal policy.Proposed next steps.

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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN FISCAL POLICY:Draft GIFT Principles

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WHY a new set of principles on public participation?Going beyond disclosure to direct public participation:Disclosure alone insufficient for accountability.

Participation a right of citizens.Support existing governance systems.

To improve quality of policy design and implementation.

GIFT HL Principle 10: Citizens should have the right and they, and all non-state actors, should have effective opportunities to participate directly in public debate and discussion over the design and implementation

of fiscal policies.

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SCOPE of PUBLIC PARTICIPATION in fiscal policy

Invited v autonomous participation

Covers

all fiscal policy and budget making activities:The annual budget cycle (8 documents)Fiscal policy reviews and new policy initiatives outside the annual budget cycle (revenues, expenditures, financing, assets and liabilities)The design and delivery of public services The

planning, appraisal & implementation of public investment

projects

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Development of proposed GIFT Principles Initial draft norm discussed in Brasilia and Washington 2012.

Series of regional (OGP FOWG), country, and researcher workshops 2014-2015 (Bali, San José CR, Cape Town, Washington, Manila, Mexico City).

Review of wide range of international and national official and civil society, academic, practitioner documents.

Web-based public consultation August-October 2015. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN FISCAL POLICY:

Draft GIFT Principles

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Proposed GIFT Participation Principles

PRINCIPLE 1: Openness

Provide full information on and be responsive with respect to the purpose, scope, constraints, intended outcomes, process and timelines, as well as the actual results of participation and next steps.

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Pro-actively use multiple mechanisms to reach out to and provide a safe space for all, including traditionally excluded and vulnerable groups and individuals, and voices that are seldom heard, without discrimination on any grounds; [and consider public inputs on an objective basis irrespective of their source.]

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN FISCAL POLICY:

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Allow

and support individuals and communities, including those directly affected, to articulate their interests in their own ways, and to choose means of engagement that they prefer, while recognizing there may be groups that have standing to speak on behalf of others.

PRINCIPLE 3: Respect for self-expression

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Allow

sufficient time in the budget and policy cycles for the public to provide inputs at each

phase; engage early while a range of options is still open; and, where desirable, allow for more than one round of engagement. PRINCIPLE 4: Timeliness

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Facilitate

public participation in general by disseminating complete fiscal information and all other relevant data, in formats and using mechanisms that are easy for all to

access and understand, and to use, re-use and transform. PRINCIPLE 5: Accessibility

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Provide

all relevant information to support

each engagement, highlighting and informing key policy choices and trade-offs, identifying potential social, economic, and environmental impacts, and incorporating a diversity of perspectives; [provide timely and specific feedback on public inputs and how they have been incorporated or not in official policy or advice.]PRINCIPLE 6: Transparency

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Use

a mix of mechanisms proportionate to the scale and impact of the

issue.PRINCIPLE 7: Proportionality

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Conduct

on-going and regular engagement to increase knowledge sharing and mutual trust over time; institutionalise public participation where appropriate and effective; and regularly review and evaluate experience to improve future engagement

.PRINCIPLE 8: Sustainability

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Ensure

that mechanisms for participation complement and support existing

governance and accountability systems.PRINCIPLE 9: Complementarity

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Non-state

actors, in turn, should be open about their mission, the interests they seek to advance, and who they represent; should observe any agreed rules for engagement and act with integrity; and should recognize that public resources are scarce and that fiscal policy entails difficult choices in seeking to advance the

public interest.PRINCIPLE 10: Non-state actors Transparency

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27 responses, range of perspectives.

Strong support for all principles.

A number of useful suggestions, some appropriate for detailed good practices.Suggested simplification, re-ordering.Importance of identifying all potentially interested/affected and all potential impacts.Referred to additional

groups that should not be excluded.

Feedback from public consultation

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The Principles in practice: some country examples

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1. Openness

Brazil and Kenya: inclusion of public participation in Constitutions and laws provides clarity about expectations and processes.2. Inclusiveness

Kenya: multiple mechanisms publicise budget participation opportunities, with range of geographic locations and mechanisms for public to provide input.

Philippines: Community-Driven Development Program engages marginalised communities.

3. Respect for self-expression

South Africa: Citizen-based monitoring; Philippines: Bottom-up Budgeting.

4. Timeliness

Canada: engagement by executive during budget preparation and new policies, by legislature during budget consideration, by executive during program evaluation, and by SAI during auditing.

5. Accessibility

Mexico: creation of the Transparency Portal for fiscal data.

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The Principles in practice: some country examples

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6. Transparency

Croatia Fiscal Policy Committee; Canada public consultations.

7. Proportionality

UK

Cabinet Office requirement; principle in EU law on consultation.

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Sustainability

Brazil: public policy Councils, National Conferences and

Inter-council

Forums all routine part of institutional framework.

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Complementarity

Many legislatures provide for public testimony during budget oversight.

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Transparency of non-state actors

The Philippines DBM-CSO Principles of Engagement.

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Big themes from Mexico OGP SummitReal and meaningful public participation is

critical to success and

sustainability of OGP;

need to avoid ‘open-washing’ – but how, exactly, should states engage their citizens?Participation is a citizen right.Participation is key to SDG Goal 16 and building inclusive institutions, and critical to achieving all the SDGs.

Strong interest in practical guidance on public participation, including from FOWG.

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Issues for discussion: Approval of Proposed Principles

Any suggested revisions to proposed principles?Views on proposed subsequent work program:Develop good practices in public participation in fiscal policy.

Engage with IBP on review of participation questions in OBS.

Additional PEFA assessments.Prepare a Guide to Public Participation in Fiscal Policy.Initiate work on comprehensive measurement framework.Establish Participation Advisory Group.

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Supporting implementation of the participation principles with practical guidanceInitially, a simple expanded version of ‘principles in practice’

(slides 17, 18)Then progressive development of a set of proposed good practices, disaggregated by the executive, the legislature, the SAI, and civil society.

Likely to be desirable to recognize diversity of country circumstances by identifying basic/good/advanced practices.

Then prepare a Guide to Public Participation in Fiscal Policy.

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Initial work on measuringpublic participation in fiscal policyPEFA is being revised: GIFT suggested additional participation

elements be built into a number of PEFA indicators.The result was agreement to trial a supplementary indicator on participation, subject to agreement of the country authorities and the PEFA assessment team.Currently being trialled in

Philippines

as part of PEFA.Also being piloted in South Africa by Global Integrity.Once pilots reviewed, further assessments will be initiated in OGP countries undergoing PEFA reviews (Tunisia, South Africa, Peru, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia,Paraguay).

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Pilot supplementary PEFA indicatorOne indicator covering

four dimensions of fiscal policy:Public participation across the annual budget cycle:Budget preparation and Legislative approval.

Public participation in the design and delivery of public services (two of largest sectors).

Public participation in the appraisal and implementation of public investment projects (sample of largest projects).Public participation in oversight processes(legislative review, and Supreme Audit).PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN FISCAL POLICY:

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Further planned work on measuring public participation in fiscal policyGIFT will work with the IBP on a review of how public participation is measured in the OBS, for revisions to the next OBS

GIFT will also work on a comprehensive framework to measure public participation against the GIFT Participation Principles and Practices.

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Next stepsPublish the GIFT Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policy in December 2015.From January 2016 engage with IBP on review of participation questions in OBS

.Assess PEFA pilot, initiate up to 8 additional assessments.

Establish a consultative group to review further work on public participation (development of good practices, drafting of Guide, development of a comprehensive measurement framework).

Aim to complete a ‘zero’ draft of good practices for Stewards meeting mid-2016, a first complete draft by December 2016.

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