CDI & WBI 'e-training' Course on Parliamentary Financial Scrutiny

The size and complexity of government makes budgeting in the public sector inherently complex. Budget documents can comprise thousands of pages; the format of the budget is not always easily understandable; and thorough analysis can take considerable time. Accordingly, budget scrutiny can be a daunting challenge facing parliamentarians when they are asked to consider the annual revenue and expenditure proposals of the government. From a long-term perspective, the influence of parliaments on budget policy has declined in many countries. It now appears, however, that many parliaments are rethinking their role in the budget process and reasserting themselves as more active players.

In order to make a contribution towards supporting parliamentarians and parliamentary staff to effectively participate in the budget process, CDI launched a new training course on "Effective Financial Scrutiny: The Role of Parliament in Public Finance" on Tuesday 29 July 2008. The course was designed and developed in partnership with the World Bank Institute (WBI) as part of CDI’s professional development program for parliamentary members and staff in our region. The course focused on the following:

* Examining the evolution of parliament's power of the purse;
* An introduction to the budget;
* The budget process;
* Parliamentary approval of the budget;
* Parliament and the audit of public accounts;
* Opening up the parliamentary process; and
* Strengthening parliamentary involvement.

In a first for CDI and the parliaments we assist, the course was delivered by videoconference and online. Participants attended videoconferencing sites in their respective countries and were linked into the facilitators and presenters in Canberra and Washington DC using the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network. The course ran for four weeks with two sessions per week between 29 July and 21 August 2008. 56 parliamentarians and parliamentary officials, including 20 women, from four countries - Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Fiji and Indonesia – participated in the course.

CDI Deputy Director, Mr Quinton Clements, and Mr Rick Stapenhurst from WBI convened the course. They were joined by a range of presenters including Mr James Brumby of the World Bank, Mr Bill Dorotinsky of the International Monetary Fund, Ms Robyn McClelland and Mr Russell Chafer from the Australian Parliament, Mr Tom Clarke from the Australian National Audit Office and Mr Mitchell O’Brien of WBI.

Click on the links here for further details, including access to the course materials in the 2nd table below:

Effective Financial Scrutiny: The Role of Parliament in Public Finance:
	Full Course Report		World Bank Institute
	Course Program

Course Units			Course Materials
	Unit 1	Examining the evolution of parliament's power of the purse		Units 1-2 (26 pages)
	Unit 2	An introduction to the budget
	Unit 3	The budget process		Units 3-4 (23 pages)
	Unit 4	Parliamentary approval of the budget
	Unit 5	Parliament and the audit of public accounts		Units 5-8 (33 pages)
	Unit 6	Opening up the parliamentary process
	Unit 7	Strengthening parliamentary involvement
	Unit 8	Gender Budgeting
		Glossary & Appendices		Glossary & Appendices (44 pages)
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	All Units 1- 8			Complete Document - Units 1-8 (126 pages)