It is recognized that the national budget is the government’s most important economic policy instrument, and as such it can be a powerful tool in transforming the lives and meeting the basic needs of society’s poorest citizens. As such, the allocation and utilization of public resources has to be made more transparent. It also means that citizens have to take greater interest on how governments use public resources than has hitherto been the case.

This cannot be achieved without first demystifying the budget cycle, linking the budget process to medium term and long term planning as well as building the capacity of non-state actors to effectively engage in
the budgetary process. This programme looks at the various tools and approaches applied in budget participation and monitoring that are suitable for diverse local contexts will be discussed.