Budget Community of Practice (BCOP) Update on Progress Mikhail Prokhorik, BCOP Executive Committee Member, BCOP plenary meeting, Belarus, February 2016

BCOP MEMBERSHIP 60 representatives from Ministries of Finance from 21 different countries. BCOP aims to strengthen budget methodology, planning and transparency in PEMPAL member countries.

BCOP PRIORITIES BCoP organizes its activities around the following main themes: 1.Sharpening knowledge for effective fiscal management (ie program budgeting; fiscal rules; long term budgeting; management of fiscal risks, wage bill and consolidation plans). 2.Strengthening fiscal transparency and accountability with a focus on budget literacy, transparency and public participation initiatives. 3.Facilitating knowledge exchange between: a)budget related Departments of our 21 member country MoFs b)other COPs, through joint initiatives or activities c)OECD member and accession countries in Europe and Central Asia at annual Senior Budget Officers’ (SBO) meetings. 4.Expanding internationally available data on PEMPAL countries on budget transparency; fiscal rules; program budgeting practices; and fiscal risks.

BCOP MANAGEMENT Since February 2015 Armenia plenary on fiscal consolidation, there were 10 BCoP events:  study visit to South Africa on public finance reforms and peer- learning approaches used in Africa countries  study visit on budget transparency and participatory budgeting in Croatia  BCOP participation in OECD CESEE SBO meeting  2 workshops of the BCOP Budget Literacy and Transparency Working Group  VC of the BCOP Budget Literacy and Transparency Working Group  3 VCs of the Wage Bill Management working group, and  BCOP participation in the OECD SBO meeting on performance and results

BCOP MANAGEMENT BCOP events are organized by :  The BCOP Executive Committee who provides strategic oversight (9 people from 7 member countries)  The World Bank Resource Team who provides content support (3 core members: Maya Gusarova, Deanna Aubrey and Naida Čaršimamović Vukotić)  The PEMPAL Secretariat who provides logistical and administrative support (BCOP coordinator is Ksenia Galantsova) BCOP events implemented according to BCOP Action Plan approved by PEMPAL Steering Committee.

BCOP Executive Committee Members CHAIRDEPUTY CHAIRS Ms. Gelardina Prodani Ministry of Finance Albania Ms. Anna Belenchuk Ministry of Finance Russian Federation Mr. Mikhail Prokhorik Ministry of Finance Belarus Mr. Alija Aljović Federal Ministry of Finance, Bosnia and Herzegovina Ms. Mladenka Karačić Ministry of Finance Croatia Mr. Kanat Asangulov Ministry of Finance Kyrgyz Republic Ms. Elena Zyunina Ministry of Finance Russian Federation Mr. Nikolay Begchin Ministry of Finance Russian Federation Mr. Hakan Ay Ministry of Finance Turkey

RESULTS ACHIEVED OVER LAST YEAR Fiscal Consolidation: 16 countries from BCOP met to discuss measures and tools under implementation to recover from the global economic crisis of Discussions focused on experience, lessons, tools, and country examples of fiscal consolidation Wage Bill Management: Working Group examined several critical issues in pay policy and wage bill management by reviewing international experience and disseminating lessons learnt. Examples include: Turkish MIS on Personnel Expenditure Management Croatia approaches to wage bill management Latin American countries experiences in improving HRM efficiency Slovenia reforms in public sector pay - April (More information will be provided in a presentation on Day 3. Links to materials provided in a document in your folders).

RESULTS ACHIEVED OVER LAST YEAR The Budget Literacy and Transparency: The Working Group comprises 15 member countries and has achieved the following: documented member country practices and status of reforms. examined approaches of engaging citizens by Canada, UK, Russian Federation and Croatia. conducted study visit to Croatia to examine citizens’ budgets and participation at the state and local levels. examined 2015 Open Budget Index ratings and approaches used by Romania, Russian Federation and Kyrgyz Republic. begun work on a knowledge product identifying challenges in producing citizens’ budgets and how they could be addressed. Links to materials provided in a document in your folders. More information on work program will be provided on Day 3.

RESULTS ACHIEVED OVER LAST YEAR Program Budgeting: A new Working Group is being launched given continued high priority of this reform. Small delegation sent to annual OECD meeting on Performance and Results in 2014 and 2015 to gather ideas for the work of the group. More information on draft work program will be provided on Day 3. Study Visit on Public Finance and Peer Learning Reforms in South Africa: Comprehensive materials provided by South African Government on budget documentation, policies, processes, laws and procedures. Discussions also held with CABRI – a network similar to PEMPAL – which assisted BCOP Executive Committee in work done for mid-term review of PEMPAL Strategy. Event report includes links to all South African resources available at:

RESULTS ACHIEVED OVER LAST YEAR OECD CESEE SBO meeting: focused on issues such as budgeting for fiscal space, inclusive growth and performance budgeting. These annual meetings give the opportunity for PEMPAL members to share information and benchmark reforms with a wider representation of MoFs in the Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European (CESEE) region who are members of this regional OECD network. Materials from the OECD SBO meeting are available at the following link: PEMPAL Steering Committee met 4 times. Minutes available

RESULTS ACHIEVED OVER LAST YEAR BCOP Executive Committee met 4 times. Minutes available Mid-term review of PEMPAL Strategy undertaken. Results found original objectives remain valid and PEMPAL is making very good progress at all levels. Some adjustments made to current strategy. See strategy addendum: Review found main risk is sustainability of the network beyond the current Strategy. Thus, work on PEMPAL Strategy will begin this year to clarify strategic vision and longer-term future and funding :

PFM RESOURCES TRANSLATED FOR BCOP BCOP Event/Working Group materials are available on website, in all PEMPAL languages. Links to all materials shared since 2011 listed in a document in your folders. Examples from : World Bank report on Pay Flexibility and Government Performance Presentations on: e-payroll system of Turkey and wage bill management approach of Croatia Presentation by Inter-American Development Bank on the preliminary findings of study on enhancing efficiency of human resources in the public sector organizations in Latin America countries Presentation of PEMPAL budget literacy survey results; and country case studies of Russian Federation, Canada, and UK

PFM RESOURCES TRANSLATED FOR BCOP Examples from (continued): Findings of World Bank study on international budget literacy practices Citizens Budget of Kyrgyz Republic Presentations and materials from study visit on citizens’ budgets and participation at State and Local Levels in Croatia Guidelines of the Russian Federation on Citizens’ Budget (September 2015) Recommendations on Citizens Budget (prepared for Moldova Ministry of Finance), 2013, Analytical Center “Expert Group”, Moldova Guide to Developing Citizens Budgets by International Budget Partnership (IBP) Open Budget Index Results by IBP

BCOP FUTURE USD 330,000 allocated to BCOP by PEMPAL Steering Committee for Indicative BCOP action plan – Plenary meeting February, ,000 USD One Study Visit for Program Budgeting Working Group - 40,000 USD Two Working Group meetings and OECD CESEE SBO meeting – 104,500 USD (to achieve budget efficiencies, one meeting to be held before the annual OECD CESEE SBO meeting and another one back-to-back to annual plenary). Translation of materials – 9,000 USD Video meetings of Working Groups and Executive Committee meetings – 1,500 USD BCOP Executive Committee activities to develop PEMPAL Strategy (covered under different budget)  We need to know your PFM reform priorities to further develop this plan

WE WANT INFORMATION FROM YOU: By Day 3 of this plenary please provide the following information from each country:  Topic for next plenary meeting  Useful knowledge products and research you would like done  Any offers for your country to host meetings would be great! (Costs to be covered by PEMPAL)  Feedback on how this meeting is going and areas of improvement for the future  Social reporters (Secretariat)

BCOP, Yerevan, Armenia, February 2014

Questions? Thank you for your attention