Insights

Check out our latest blog and insights, spotlighting individuals who are blazing trails in budget work.

ASIVIKELANE Repairs Hub, Khayelitsha BM Section site visit, 18 July 2025. (Photo: David Harrison)

Temporary Toilets, Permanent Threats: Six Ways to Improve Sanitation in South Africa

Aug 21, 2026
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Budget Trailblazer: Blendi Hasaj

Jan 26, 2024
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Closing the Policy to Reality Gap: Khadija Errebah and the Long Fight to Bring Gender Equality to Life in Morocco

Mar 10, 2026
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Budget Trailblazer: Coşkun Cangöz

Mar 23, 2026
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Budget Trailblazer: Nemanja Nenadić

Mar 16, 2026
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Budget Trailblazer: Blendi Hasaj

Jan 26, 2024
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Who Watches the Borrowing? New Research Reveals Gaps on Debt Accountability

Apr 24, 2026
Cuba Houghton, Sally Torbert
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Closing the Policy to Reality Gap: Khadija Errebah and the Long Fight to Bring Gender Equality to Life in Morocco

Mar 10, 2026
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Budget Trailblazer: Coşkun Cangöz

Mar 23, 2026
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Temporary Toilets, Permanent Threats: Six Ways to Improve Sanitation in South Africa

Aug 21, 2026
When does a “temporary” service become a permanent threat? In Johannesburg, 52 percent of residents in informal settlements have used the same ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets for over 15 years, while 32 percent have used them for over 20 years. These toilets were designed to last just five to seven years. Yet, for many […]
OBS Unpacked

AI is Coming for Public Finance. What is it Actually Doing?

Aug 04, 2026
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is entering one of the most consequential areas of government: public financial management (PFM). The Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2025 offers a first baseline of how AI is entering this space, asking a focused question: where is AI being used in public financial management and for what purposes? AI applications are emerging […]
OBS Unpacked

Publishing the Budget Isn’t Enough: The Governance Challenge Behind Indonesia’s OECD Accession

Jul 20, 2026
Indonesia’s OECD accession is about more than meeting technical standards—it is about building institutions that ensure public money is spent effectively and accountably. While Indonesia has made significant progress in budget transparency, this blog argues that stronger spending reviews, integrated public financial data, independent oversight, and meaningful public participation are essential to ensure evidence informs budget decisions and improves outcomes for citizens.
OBS Unpacked

Beyond Green Tagging: Integrating Climate Budgeting into the Accountability Ecosystem

Jul 10, 2026
The Paris Agreement made clear that climate commitments require public finance, not just policy ambition. Countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) set targets, but targets don’t implement themselves—they require public choices about spending, taxation, subsidies, investment and risk. The budget is where climate goals are tested against real action. The OECD’s Beyond Green Tagging, and the […]
OBS Unpacked

The Role of Independent Fiscal Institutions in Budget Accountability: Lessons from the OBS

Jul 04, 2026
The Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2025 finds that most of the world’s budgets are becoming more open. However, the wealth of evidence this survey has produced over the past twenty years reinforces the reality that greater transparency is not enough to ensure real accountability. That, in part, requires institutions that can independently assess budget information, […]

Six Pathways to Creating Change: A Fresh Way to Understand Government Responsiveness and Civil Society Impact in Fiscal Governance

Jun 23, 2026
Anyone working closely with civil society organizations knows there is a form of impact that rarely gets acknowledged. It is the work of staying engaged when political conditions are hostile. Of building relationships that will only matter when an opportunity finally emerges. Of keeping a reform conversation alive when progress feels impossible. This is the […]

The Great Pull-Back: How Indonesia is Quietly Recentralizing Power and What Citizens are Doing About It

May 06, 2026
This blog traces how Indonesia’s once-celebrated decentralization model is gradually reversing, with fiscal power and decision-making shifting back to the central government in Jakarta. Through legal reforms, dominant political coalitions, and weakened oversight institutions such as parliament and audit bodies, the executive has consolidated control—reducing scrutiny, limiting local autonomy, and narrowing citizens’ influence over public spending. The consequences are tangible: fewer resources reaching communities, participatory processes becoming symbolic, and accountability mechanisms under strain.

Who Watches the Borrowing? New Research Reveals Gaps on Debt Accountability

Apr 24, 2026
Nearly half of the world’s population lives in countries where debt payments surpass spending on health and education, crowding out spending on schools and immunization. As debt levels rise and fiscal pressures intensify across the Global South, the question of who scrutinizes borrowing decisions, and with what tools, has never been more consequential. Last week […]

Financing justice: A Feminist Case for Fiscal Accountability

Mar 28, 2026
At the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), held in New York from 9 to 19 March 2026, governments reaffirmed commitments to advancing access to justice for women and girls. The Agreed Conclusions secured the backing of a majority of member states, despite opposition among few member states. In this […]
Budget Trailblazer

Budget Trailblazer: Coşkun Cangöz

Mar 23, 2026
Building a Bridge to Better Education in Türkiye Record inflation, shifting demographics and increased demand for public services are straining Türkiye’s public finances and putting the education of its young people at risk. Türkiye’s student performance in reading, mathematics and other areas is below many of its regional peers, and public spending on education has […]
Budget Trailblazer

Budget Trailblazer: Nemanja Nenadić

Mar 16, 2026
Serbia Inches Toward Accountability For more than 25 years, Nemanja Nenadić has been committed to shining a light on public spending in Serbia, working to make it more transparent, accountable and responsive to its people. As Program Director of Transparency Serbia, he has advocated for and watched as the country has made some strides, partly […]
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