Throughout Southeast Europe, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has invested in programs and activities that seek to increase the capacities of citizens, as individuals and in organizations, to participate more actively, effectively and responsibly in the life and governance of their societies. During fiscal year 2004, CRS implemented the Budget Allocation Tracking System (BATS). This project enabled participating countries in the Balkans to understand the budgeting system and its relationships with policy decision-making process.
CRS is currently implementing the Promoting Fiscal Transparency in the Balkans project. This initiative aims at increasing the level of transparency surrounding public budgets both at the national and at the local levels in Albania, Serbia-Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. This project proposes to work with civil society at both the national and sub-national level. Best practices in fiscal transparency at the local level will be identified and civil society will monitor that mechanisms are put in place to ensure the timely publication of fiscal information.
This project proposes to work with civil society at both the national and sub-national level. Best practices in fiscal transparency at the local level will be identified and civil society will monitor that mechanisms are put in place to ensure the timely publication of fiscal information.
URI was contracted by CRS to build the capacity of project staff and partners. URI designed and facilitated a three-day training for ten participants. The purpose of the training was to provide CRS staff and partners with the latest theories and practices related to civil society budget work with a special emphasis on successful examples from the Balkans. Training material provided a perspective on budget work at both national and local levels.
The training was compromised in three parts:
On the first part the participants were introduced in main concepts of National Budgets which included three presentations on Advocating for budget transparency, Budget Work, Analyzing Budget Policies and Proo Poor budgets.
The second part included a travel to Elbasan City (one of the Local Governments that implemented Participatory Budgeting in Albania) where the participants were introduced to main concepts of Participatory Budgeting and Local Budgets.
The third part was intended a group work, exercises and role play for the real application of the theoretical knowledge of the first two parts.
