Blog
The Open Budgets Blog features the opinions of the International Budget Partnership’s staff and associates on government budgets, poverty reduction, budget transparency and citizen participation.
Budget Trailblazers: Ubagu Amuche
In this section, we shine a spotlight on partners who are spearheading budget advocacy on the ground to affect transformational change in their communities.
Budget Trailblazers: Vara Prasad
In this section, we talk with the individuals and partners who are doing budget advocacy on the ground to affect transformational change in their community.
IBP Welcomes Experienced Leaders in Global Development to its Board of Trustees
We are excited to welcome new members Faith Mwangi-Powell and David Nussbaum and announce that Rakesh Rajani will take over as chair of IBP’s board of trustees.
A statement on the US Capitol attack
As advocates for open societies globally, the International Budget Partnership condemns the acts of terror and desecration of democratic institutions that took place in the US Capitol this week.
In case you missed it: high-level panel on promoting equity and accountability in the COVID-19 response
On Dec. 16, 2020, the Finance Ministry of the Republic of Indonesia and IBP held a high-level, virtual panel, “Getting it Right: Promoting Equity and Accountability in the COVID-19 Response,” which focused on equity and accountability in emergency public spending and how we can strengthen the role of civil society in monitoring these expenditures.
Light Continent: How African courts are redefining the contours of democracy and accountability
In this blog, IBP’s Jason Lakin explores how an emerging body of law across Africa is reshaping the contours of what we mean by democratic, accountable government and demanding that public officials clear a higher bar in making decisions without public oversight.
Civil society organizations and taxation: Emerging trends and priorities
Co-authored with the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), this blog explores the results of a collaborative scan of civil society organizations working in the taxation space with a specific interest in domestic taxation.
IBP joins the Addis Tax Initiative to strengthen the role of civil society in promoting equitable taxation
In October 2020, IBP formally joined the Addis Tax Initiative – a multi-stakeholder partnership that aims to enhance domestic revenue mobilization in developing countries – as part of its efforts to strengthen the role of civil society in promoting more equitable taxation in developing countries.
Putting the “social” into “social contracts”
IBP’s Jason Lakin argues that advocates for fair and equitable taxation must construct a broader narrative around the social contract as a fair agreement among free and equal people that can be justified to all who pledge to uphold it, only then can we build effective coalitions for tax justice that explicitly endorse redistribution through the tax system.
Government budgets responding to crisis: what we can learn from the Ebola emergency
This blog reviews lessons from two of the most impacted countries by the 2014 and 2015 Ebola crisis to help understand how government budgets change in response to a crisis and how these changes can impact budget credibility, particularly in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Overcoming barriers that limit accountability of public spending
Countries around the world have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by expending trillions of dollars to support their economies and provide relief to their populations, but a key challenge is ensuring that funds contribute to recovery and reach intended beneficiaries. Collaborations between supreme audit institutions and civil society groups can monitor government spending and ensure effective and lawful use of funds, improvement in public service delivery and response to disasters.
Part Three: From challenge to advocacy: how Social Justice put children at the heart of the budget
This is the third and final post in a series on the budget analysis and advocacy learning journey of IBP’s civil society partner, Social Justice in Cote d’Ivoire. The first part focuses on the partnership between IBP and Social Justice and how they started their budget analysis journey.
Du défi au plaidoyer : comment Social Justice Côte d’Ivoire met les enfants au cœur du budget
Le bruit court. Les conversations sur les réseaux sociaux sur YouTube, les webinaires avec des journalistes et des blogueurs et des réunions avec des hauts fonctionnaires de l’Etat étaient tous axés sur la question des cantines scolaires en Côte d’Ivoire. Le Ministre du Budget a reconnu la nécessité d’améliorer le financement et la reddition de compte sur les cantines qui contribuent à maintenir les enfants à l’école. Comment en sommes-nous arrivés là ?
Cash Transfer Programs as a Safety Net during COVID-19: The good and the bad
Social protection policies play a fundamental role in sustaining minimum living conditions for the most vulnerable, and during COVID-19, an increasing number of countries are adopting specific social protection measures to counteract the economic impact of the pandemic. This blog explores five of the many issues around cash transfer programs that we hope to explore further as an organization and alongside our Learning Network partners.
Part Two – From challenge to advocacy: how Social Justice put children at the heart of the budget
This is part two of a three-part series on the budget analysis and advocacy learning journey of IBP’s civil society partner, Social Justice in Cote d’Ivoire. The first part focuses on the partnership between IBP and Social Justice and how they started their budget analysis journey.
Du défi au plaidoyer : comment Social Justice Côte d’Ivoire met les enfants au cœur du budget
Il s'agit de la deuxième partie d'une série en trois parties sur l'analyse budgétaire et le parcours d'apprentissage du plaidoyer du partenaire de la société civile de l'IBP, Social Justice, en Côte d'Ivoire. La première partie est disponible ici. Les défis de...
From challenge to advocacy: how Social Justice put children at the heart of the budget
This is part one of a three-part series on the budget analysis and advocacy learning journey of IBP’s civil society partner, Social Justice in Cote d’Ivoire. The first part focuses on the partnership between IBP and Social Justice and how they started their budget analysis journey.
Du défi au plaidoyer : comment Social Justice Côte d’Ivoire met les enfants au cœur du budget
Il s’agit de la deuxième partie d’une série en trois parties sur l’analyse budgétaire et le parcours d’apprentissage du plaidoyer du partenaire de la société civile de l’IBP, Social Justice, en Côte d’Ivoire.
Promoting women’s equal participation in the economy
This blog explores the Indian state government’s intent to recognize women as workers and to present policy measures to advance this shift and include them in the paid economy.
Understanding the role of citizens in promoting equitable taxation: A peek at upcoming IBP publications
This blog introduces new resources IBP has developed as part of our Tax Equity Initiative to help civic actors deepen their engagement with tax reform and learn from each other.