Measuring Accountability: What Global Indices Tell Us About Budgets, Parliament, and Public Participation

These dynamic training courses explore how international indices reveal the strengths and gaps in public financial management, democratic participation, and parliamentary oversight. These courses are designed for policymakers, civil society organizations, and oversight bodies seeking to better understand and improve fiscal transparency and democratic accountability.

Participants will gain insights into globally recognized tools – such as the PEFA framework, Open Budget Survey, and DeMPA – that assess budget systems, citizen engagement, and institutional checks and balances. With targeted versions for international and Canadian audiences, these courses equip participants to interpret data, benchmark performance, and identify concrete areas for reform.

What courses does Nexus PFM Consulting offer?

  • Course 1: International Indices: What They Tell Us About Democracy, Public Participation and Parliament’s Role in the Budget Process: This workshop explores internationally recognized public financial management assessment tools, including the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) framework, the Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) tool, the Open Budget Survey, and the Public Debt Management Assessment Tool (PDMAT) of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. Each of these tools provides valuable insights into various public financial management practices, such as the role of civil society in the budget process, the involvement of parliament throughout the budget cycle, and the strength of PFM systems from budget formulation to audit and oversight.
  • Course 2: International Indices: What They Tell Us About Democracy, Public Participation and Parliament’s Role in the Budget Process (Canadian version): This workshop is designed for audiences at the federal and provincial levels in Canada, or organizations that wish to engage with government at those levels. It focuses on the Open Budget Survey, which provides comparable data for Canada at the national level, and examines international best practices in public engagement in the budget process, parliamentary oversight, and the role of the Auditor General and other oversight mechanisms. The goal is to compare how Canada stacks up against other countries and identify areas for improvement and innovation.