Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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/

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/

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 …

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 …

Show Me The Money: Budget Advocacy In Indonesia, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

In "Show Me the Money: Budget Advocacy in Indonesia," authors from five civil society organizations – IDEA, the Inisiatif Association, Lakpesdam NU, the Centre for Information and Regional Studies (PATTIRO), and the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) – present five case studies on their budget work to fight against corruption and improve the allocation of government resources, and five case studies from smaller organizations based in various local districts in the country.

In addition, check out the related two-page summaries that explore the impact of civil society budget work in Indonesia to improve policies and outcomes in school funding, …

Construyendo Políticas Públicas Globales: Una Aproximación Al Marco Teórico De Estudio. Working Paper N. 5, Mario A. Pinzón Mapc

Mario A Pinzón Camargo

El objetivo de este artículo es proporcionar un marco teórico a partir del cual sea posible hablar de las políticas públicas globales, como categoría de análisis de la gobernanza global. Se presenta una aproximación teórica basada en la teoría de la elección racional.

Quality Of Education Reforms: The Case Of Hakielimu’S Campaign Of 2005-2007, International Budget Partnership

International Budget Partnership

HakiElimu is a civil society organization in Tanzania that works to ensure that all the country’s children receive high-quality basic education. When developing its Programme Strategy for 2004-2007, HakiElimu noted improvements in enrollment levels, but identified a lack of attention to education quality. This case study describes the campaign that led to improvements in Tanzania’s schools.

A short summary and one page summary of this case study are available in English. Summaries are also available in Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese.

LINK: http://internationalbudget.org/publications/quality-of-education-reforms-the-case-of-hakielimus-campaign-of-2005-2007/

Participatory Rural Appraisal, Ganesh Chandra

Ganesh Chandra

Participation, empowerment and inclusion have become the new development buzzword. There has been a range of interpretations of the meaning of participation in development. Participatory development starts from the premise that it is important to identify and build upon strengths already present in communities. Perhaps the most widespread appearance of participation in mainstream development has been seen in the form of participatory methodologies of research, intended to gather a wide range of information from local people at their livelihoods, needs, and strengths, at the same time as 'empowering' them through a process of collaborative analysis and learning. PRA is a …

‘The Better We Are Watched The Better We Behave’. Are Devolved Parliaments Providing A Better Window For Oversight?, Gordon Marnoch

Gordon Marnoch

The paper examines the health policy oversight systems operating in the United Kingdom, Scottish, Northern Ireland and Welsh parliaments/assemblies with specific comparisons drawn between current rules, practices and behaviours evident in parliamentary committees. Focusing on the 2007-8 parliament/assembly sessions, comparative data is presented relating to the attendance by members on committee, the amount of time devoted to health policy oversight, the percentage of committee places held by non-government party members, cross examination of key witnesses and hours spent examining the budget. Institutional obstacles and incentives relevant to effective oversight are compared.

Fisher Management Regimes And Fisheries Governance In Floodplain Wetland Of Assam, Ganesh Chandra

Ganesh Chandra

Assam is endowed with copious aquatic wealth in the form of beels, swamps, ponds and rivers. The floodplain wetlands (beels) extending over one lakh hectare, constitute the most important fishery resource of the state. The beels are considered as one of the most productive ecosystems owing to their characteristic interactions between land and water system. These wetlands are the common property resource and under different management regimes. Livelihood of fishers’ family from time immemorial is dependent upon fishing in floodplain wetlands. Fishers include the actual fishermen belonging to the Schedule castes and the Maimal community of the district of Cachar. …

Strategic Planning And Performance: An Exploratory Study Of Housing Associations In Northern Ireland, Gordon Marnoch, Roger Courtney, Arthur Williamson

Gordon Marnoch

Housing associations are a key part of the non-profit sector and the adoption of strategic planning by this sector is of considerable significance. This article provides a qualitative report examining the use of strategic planning practices by housing associations in Northern Ireland, and the impact of such action on the performance of the associations. The article also critically examines reasons for the non-profit housing sectors’ enthusiasm for strategic planning practices concluding that strategic planning is a legitimating seeking activity as well as a rational analytic process.

Regional And Municipal Governance Of Public Private Partnerships, Louis Gunnigan

Louis Gunnigan

This module concentrates on the issues important to those who will be setting up PPPs and who are involved in government at a regional or municipal level. The module is centred on five tasks, namely:

• How to identify PPP opportunities and to find the best private sector partners for a PPP;

• How to organize a PPP programme within a government by enhancing cooperation amongst the relevant departments and ministries, local, regional and national authorities;

• How to be an effective manager and leader in a dynamic PPP unit;

• How to engage public support for PPPs;

• How …

The Performance Metrics Boom And Parliamentary Scrutiny And Evaluation, Gordon Marnoch

Gordon Marnoch

This paper deals with a series of questions which are posed in relation to performance metrics and the practices of parliamentarians as ‘end-users’ scrutinising and evaluating public policies. Does the availability of an extensive range of metrics allow parliamentarians to scrutinise governments’ policy records and progress with specific programmes? Alternately is there evidence of ‘producer capture’ in the sense that metrics are used to narrowly ‘frame issues’, to the exclusion of key dimensions which might otherwise be subject to political scrutiny? Are performance metrics which require relatively high degrees of analytic capacity on the part of parliamentarians ignored due to …

A Review Of Empirical Research On Politicians’ Behaviour As End-Users Of Performance Metrics, Gordon Marnoch

Gordon Marnoch

This working paper reviews in detail seven key empirical studies, which examined the behaviour of politicians as ‘end-users’ of performance metrics. In addition to considering main findings, the review has been used to examine alternative research designs and methods, which may be employed in a study investigating performance metrics and user behaviour in the Scottish Parliament. The review suggests use is limited in the context of oversight and conditional on certain institutional factors.

Scottish Devolution: Identity And Impact And The Case Of Community Care For The Elderly, Gordon Marnoch

Gordon Marnoch

This article examines the emergent identity and impact of devolution in Scotland. Using the case of community care for the elderly, a model is set out for capturing the different interpretive perspectives evident in relation to a particular policy area in 1999–2001. The political story of the ‘free personal care’ issue, in which the Scottish Executive were unexpectedly forced into adopting a markedly different policy from the rest of the UK, is examined in some detail. Setting the episode in a broader context, four discursive thematics are identified in relation to the policy case. A model is demonstrated for examining …