Digital Commons Network^™

A Short Note On Political Risk, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

this note reviews why political risk and political risk assessment matter and what have been some of the models devised for assessing macro and micro level risk

Case Study: Promoting Indigenous School Leadership And Governance. Yirrkala School, Yirrkala Homelands School And Yambirrpa School Council East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory., Kathryn Moyle, Kevin P. Gillan

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

West Arnhem College – Gunbalanya School, West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory: Case Study – Co-Principalship, A Model For Indigenous Leadership And Governance., Kathryn Moyle, Kevin P. Gillan

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

Just Add Water: Colonisation, Water Governance, And The Australian Inland, Leah M. Gibbs

Leah Maree Gibbs

Water has played a key role in the development of the Australian inland and the nation. For European colonists, the dry and variable landscape challenged ideas about nature imported from northern temperate regions. I argue first, that colonists brought with them ideas for ordering nature and tools for transforming landscapes that led to inappropriate and destructive water management and the silencing of local voices and knowledge systems. Secondly, colonial patterns of ordering and transforming landscapes are ongoing, but new ways of governing water, which challenge colonialism, are emerging. In the first section of the paper I discuss colonial relationships with …

Organization, Mandate, Performance: Pacs In The Asian Region, Riccardo Pelizzo, Sruti Bandyopadhyay

Riccardo Pelizzo

the paper investigates the organization, the mandate and the performance of public accounts committees in Asia. The evidence presented here can easily be summarized in the following terms: PACs from Asia are bigger, better staffed and more likely to be chaired by an opposition MP than PACs in the rest of the world. These three characteristics are offset by the fact that in Asian PACs opposition parties are not represented nearly as well as they are in the rest of the world. In terms of mandate, PACs in Asia have on average a much wider mandate than they do elsewhere. …

A Model For Corporate Governance, Decision-Making, And Accountability In Today's Universities, Jack Flanagan, John Little, Edmund W. Watts

Ted Watts

The government’s goal over the past decade of increased self-reliance has required universities to adopt the corporate mantle of governance consistent with that used in the private sector. The corporatisation of the university sector brought with it a unique set of problems to which senior university management had not previously been exposed. The solution to some of these problems includes developing governance systems to guide strategic decision-making based on well-developed ethical principles. This paper suggests such an approach to governance based on contemporary management and ethical foundations. In this model governance is depicted as an achievement of thinking across four …

Health, Citizenship, And Human Rights Advocacy Initiative: Improving Access To Health Services In Mexico, Almudena Ocejo, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

When it comes to health care in Mexico, “universal” has never meant equal, particularly when it came to the access to adequate care for the country’s 52 million uninsured. Civil society organization Fundar — a research organization with a background in budgetary analysis — developed a successful advocacy strategy on health policy to change this.

The full version and short summary of this case study are available in English.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/health-citizenship-and-human-rights-advocacy-initiative-improving-access-to-health-services-in-mexico/

When Opportunity Beckons: The Impact Of The Public Service Accountability Monitor’S Work On Improving Health Budgets In South Africa, Alta Fölscher, John Kruger, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa struggles with high poverty, poor public infrastructure, and dysfunctional administrative systems. One result is that the Eastern Cape has the worst health outcomes in the country. This case study illustrates how a South African civil society organization has used its budgetary analysis to advocate for improvements in health service delivery.

The full version and short summary of this case study are available in English.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/when-opportunity-beckons-the-impact-of-the-public-service-accountability-monitors-work-on-improving-health-budgets-in-south-africa/

Public Accounts Committees In The Pacific Region, Riccardo Pelizzo

Riccardo Pelizzo

the paper analyzes the organization, the powers, the functioning and the performance of Public Account Committees in the Pacific region. In doing so the paper highlights some of the factors have contributed to making PACs from the Pacific island states work effectively.

Economic&Social Benefit Analysis Of Mining And Energy Projects In Solomon Islands And Papua New Guinea, Deogratias Harorimana Dr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

The World Bank states that mining encompasses metals and minerals. It includes open-pit and underground mining, large scale operations as well activities of small scale. (World Bank.org). Many big and strong economies of the world have mineral and mining as very important sector in terms of job creation and contribution towards the overall GDP of a country. The economic benefits brought about by the mining industry to many economies, especially the developing countries are substantial. Due to mining activities, infrastructure developments are taking place and governments are able to get tax incomes which eventually go towards improving services to the …

The Art Of Getting In The Way: Five Years Of The Bndes Platform, Peter Spink, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

When a coalition of civil society organizations began to pry into the finances of Brazil’s powerful national development bank, it challenged the status quo and advanced the call for a more transparent, balanced, and democratic economic policy.

The short summary and full version of this case study are available in English. The short summary case study is available in French and Spanish.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/the-art-of-getting-in-the-way-five-years-of-the-bndes-platform-2/

Raising The Stakes: The Impact Of Hakie Limu’S Advocacy Work On Education Policy And Budget In Tanzania, Ruth Carlitz, Rosie Mcgee, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

Tanzania has invested heavily in ensuring that all children have access to education. Civil society group HakiElimu stepped in to take the political commitment beyond enrollment and graduation targets to meaningful policy decisions that lead to higher quality schooling. This case study examines the issues, campaign, and impact.

The full version of this case study are available in English. The short summary case study is available in English, French, and Spanish.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/raising-the-stakes-the-impact-of-hakielimus-advocacy-work-on-education-policy-and-budget-in-tanzania/

Report On The Public Account Commmittee In South Sudan, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

this reports drafted on the basis of original data collected by the Author provides some key findings on the organization, structure, mandate, and activities performed by the Public Account Committee from South Sudan

Student Newspapers At Public Colleges And Universities: Lessons From The United States, Terry L. Hapney Jr., Charles J. Russo

Terry L. Hapney Jr., Ph.D.

Foreign Assistance And Fiscal Transparency: The Impact Of The Open Budget Initiative On Donor Policies And Practices, Linnea Mills, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

This paper presents research that sought to document how, when, and why three donor agencies — the U.S. Department of State, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) — have adopted the Open Budget Index in language and practice; assesses the contributions of the Open Budget Initiative and its partners to achieving these apparent advocacy successes; and analyzes other factors that may have influenced the decision of these three donors to use the language and methodology advocated by the Open Budget Initiative. In conclusion, the analysis of the three donor case studies covered in …

South African Legal Resources Centre Successfully Advocates For Adequate Education Facilities, Alison Hickey Tshangana, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is a South African nonprofit human rights organisation that conducts public interest litigation. In response to the South African government’s delays to remove mud schools in the Eastern Cape Province, LRC took the government to court in August 2010. As a result of the mounting legal pressures, in January 2011 the Eastern Cape Department of Education signed an agreement with LRC. According to the agreement, the national government would introduce a new three-year grant to address infrastructure backlogs, of which Eastern Cape would receive 78 percent of the total. In the interim, the provincial education …

Budget Transparency In Afghanistan: A Pathway To Building Public Trust In The State, Nematullah Bizhan

International Budget Partnership

This case study discusses major improvements in government budget transparency and public engagement in Afghanistan, presenting an analysis of the roles of the following actors in the trend toward more open budgeting: 1) the International Budget Partnership, foreign donors, civil society organizations, and the media; 2) the government; and 3) the legislature. This paper argues that by increasing its OBI score from 8 in 2008 to 21 in 2010, Afghanistan has made important progress, though it still remains below average. But donors, CSOs, and to some extent the media are putting increasing pressure on the government to improve its Public …

The Impact Of The International Budget Partnership's Open Budget Survey And Its Partner Institution's Advocacy On Budget Transparency In Honduras, Hugo Noe Pino, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

This case study looks at how the preparation and publication of the Open Budget Survey 2010 in Honduras increased awareness of Honduras’ budget transparency problems. The increased attention given to these issues brought together local civil society organizations, the International Budget Partnership, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the government of Honduras to make progress on budget transparency. Also, the IBP’s technical assistance to the government of Honduras played an important role in the recent publication of budget documents, which combined with a strong government will have provided the basis for public finance management reforms. Although the main incentive for the …

Budgeting, Auditing And Governance: Implementing The Accountability Framework, Professor Ben C Osisioma

Prof Ben Chuka Osisioma

Good public governance involves the management of public resources in a manner that guarantees sustainable development in an atmosphere of due process and rule of law, free from wastage and corruption. The goal is to guarantee a people’s right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food and fibre provision, quality education, fair justice and personal security. Good governance is rooted in quality institutions, informed and adequately motivated citizenry, and structures and processes that endure. The budget and audit tools are critical to the process, and within the requirements of accountability framework can bring the so-called dividends of democracy to citizens. In …

International Law And Ungoverned Space, Matthew Hoisington

Matthew Hoisington

Ungoverned spaces, strictly defined as “spaces not effectively governed by the state” exist all over the world, presenting particular difficulties to public international law, which is historically premised on sovereignty and state control. Examples of such spaces include cyberspace, south-central Somalia and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border. These spaces destabilize the international system in novel ways—and they might also be dangerous. Many of the terrorism plots from the late twentieth and early twenty-first century emanated from “safe havens” afforded by ungoverned spaces. The lack of governance over certain spaces also raises concerns over development, including the …