Strengthening the Role of Civil Society in the Budget Process
What Is Civil Society’s Role?
Civil society organizations (CSOs)—including NGOs, community groups, and advocacy networks—support public financial management by contributing independent analysis, mobilizing citizen voices, and monitoring government spending throughout the budget cycle.
Why It Matters
Involving CSOs helps open traditionally closed budget processes, making them more transparent, inclusive, and accountable. Their engagement amplifies marginalized perspectives, promotes greater equity in fiscal decisions, and strengthens oversight of how public funds are used.
Objectives of Engagement
- Participation: Expand citizen and CSO involvement in budget formulation, approval, execution, and audit.
- Transparency: Translate complex budget information into clear, accessible formats to foster public understanding and informed dialogue.
- Oversight: Act as watchdogs by monitoring implementation, identifying misuse or inefficiencies, and supporting follow‑up on audit findings.
Nexus PFM Services
- Capacity Building Workshops: Train CSOs on entry points within the budget cycle, advocacy strategies, and how to analyze and use budget data.
- E-courses & Learning resources: We create accessible, bilingual e-learning tools and online courses to strengthen foundational knowledge of budgeting, gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), and fiscal governance.
- Coalition Building: Facilitate coordination among CSOs for joint monitoring, research, and advocacy efforts at national and sub‑national levels.
Notable Projects
- E-Course on Public Financial Management for Parliamentary Network Africa (PNA): Delivered regional public finance workshops across Africa and Asia, emphasising CSO engagement in budgeting.
- Support to Parliament Committees – Rwanda: Delivered training to strengthen collaboration between parliament and civil society for improved audit engagement and public communication.
