Conference on Public Participation Was Held in Slovenia

The TFMA member, the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia, together with the Global Initiative on Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) organized the conference on topic related to local government –  Public Participation in the Budget Process 11 May, 2017. The conference was also attended by the representative of the TFMA member SAI, the National Audit Office of Lithuania.

Public participation as a relatively new and exciting trend in the development of budgetary processes locally and globally was addressed during the conference. The main objectives of the conference were to raise the level of awareness of the opportunities offered by the participatory preparation of budgets and to encourage its use in municipalities also.  

Public participation as an important aspect in local governments refers to the variety of ways in which the general public, including civil society organizations and other non-state actors, are invited or given space to interact directly with public authorities by means of face-to-face communication, deliberation or decision-making or by written forms of communication, using electronic or paper media.  

It is now acknowledged that public participation is an essential element of open government, strong governance and a crucial element of the fiscal accountability ecosystem both at local and global levels. In fact, the world has witnessed an increase in awareness, prioritization and utilization of public participation over the last twenty‐five years, accepting that the public, including both private citizens and civil society organizations, are important agents of good governance and sustainable development alongside the state and market.

There are evidences that public participation in fiscal policy can strengthen the efficiency, equity, effectiveness, predictability, legitimacy and sustainability of fiscal management and, thereby, improve fiscal performance and enhance the likelihood of positive economic, social and environmental outcomes.

Material of the conference can be found at the webpage of the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia.