The PEFA Secretariat in collaboration with the University of Guelph and University of Essex is launching a new research report “Fostering Health Service Delivery via Public Financial Management: The Case of Participatory Budgeting in Benin’s Local Governments” today. This paper is a product of the first PEFA sponsored Research Competition launched in 2019 that focused on PFM and service delivery.
The principle of Participatory Budgeting (PB), as a mechanism to foster the involvement of local communities in subnational PFM systems, rarely generates strong opposition. Yet the depth or extent of its implementation and efficacy in many countries are seen to be limited in scope or lacking in dynamism.
Drawing from a fieldwork of PB practices in selected municipalities in Benin and insights from different actors in the field (elected representatives, government officials, community groups, civil society organizations, donors), the research work adds to existing expositions on PB’s and role in service delivery. At the same time, the researchers see the need for a step change at the PFM supra-national policy and national/subnational levels to ensure PB can be developed in a more strategic, sustainable, and inclusive way.
The webinar “Participatory Budgeting for Service Delivery and Beyond” on 3 May 2021 stimulated a lively debate on the research paper and the questions it raised. See a summary and recording of the event here.
The paper was authored by Philippe Lassou from the University of Guelph and Kelum Jayasinghe, Teerooven Soobaroyen, Pawan Adhikari, Andy Wynne, and Maxime Akakpo.
The report is available under PEFA Research.
For questions and information contact PEFA Secretariat at: services@pefa.org
