Over 250 Participants from 76 Countries Joined the PEFA Event in Budapest

PEFA 2016, the upgraded PEFA Framework, was launched in Budapest, Hungary on 26-29 April, 2016. More than 250 people from 76 countries participated in the event which discussed how PEFA has evolved since establishment, examined the main features of PEFA 2016, and considered future directions for achieving the best outcomes from the PEFA program.

The event was hosted by the PEFA Secretariat and PEFA partners, and included representatives from national and subnational governments, public financial management (PFM) practitioners, international financial, development and standards organizations, PEFA assessors, academics, research and training institutions.

Conference and group discussions

During the first two days of the event, participants heard how and why the seven partners decided to create PEFA. The partners wanted a common tool for obtaining information needed by government and development institutions about country financial management performance. It was crucial that diagnostic work would be country led, and that the information would be shared amongst all stakeholders.

Participants heard how PEFA has developed into the ‘gold standard’ for high level PFM assessments with more than 500 reports produced in 149 countries at national and subnational levels. They also heard about PEFA partners’ plans to strengthen the usefulness and impact of PEFA through greater involvement by users in providing feedback and sharing knowledge on good practices.

The conference sessions, led by PEFA partners, contained inspiring presentations on the use of PEFA and related PFM reform experiences from many parts of the world, including Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Morocco, Tunisia, Liberia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Timor Leste, and Bangladesh. Participants heard how PEFA assessments have been instrumental in obtaining political support for PFM reforms, coordinated efforts to build understanding, identify priorities and sequence PFM reform actions as well as monitoring and evaluation.

Additional perspectives on PEFA and the challenges of analyzing PFM performance and achieving effective change were provided by international organizations such as GIFT, CIPFA, ODI, SIDA’s Gender Responsiveness project, CARTAC and other experienced PEFA users. They noted that PEFA provide users with information to apply a focused, coordinated, and evidence-based approach to institutional strengthening and capacity building in PFM. PEFA can also be a catalyst for a coordinated approach to reform, owned and led by countries themselves. Several of the panelists emphasized that PEFA scores should not be used simplistically as the sole basis for PFM reform design.

The most popular part of the event for many people was the exchange of experiences and ideas during group discussion on four important areas where PEFA is being strengthened as part of the upgraded program: PEFA for subnational government; strengthening PFM reform through PEFA; using PEFA to improve internal control; and opportunities for improving the usefulness of PEFA. These sessions generated a wealth of information on how to improve the effectiveness of PEFA which is being analyzed by the PEFA Secretariat and will be used in strengthening guidance and other aspects of the program over the coming months.

PFM tools marketplace

In addition to focusing on PEFA, the event was used as an opportunity for participants to get to know other PFM diagnostic tools. The PEFA partners have commissioned a study to map the range of PFM analytical techniques that have emerged over the last decade. The study will seek to explain the relationship between PEFA and other techniques and to provide advice to governments and their development partners on how to choose the right technical support methods for their needs.

The conference hosted a unique ‘marketplace’ where the sponsors of PEFA and other instruments provided information and advice to participants.

Training workshops

The event also launched the newly developed PEFA 2016 training program, which provided an overview of PEFA, detailed explanation of the scoring methodology, indicators and dimensions and the PEFA report content. The training program introduced participants to the four phases of the PEFA assessment cycle, and the ten steps to making the best use of PEFA.

Around 250 people participated in the training, which was delivered in seven groups and catering for four languages. The participants were generally very satisfied with the workshops and particularly enjoyed the practical exercises and case studies, in addition to the valuable interchange of views and experiences with people from other countries.

What next?

The Budapest event was an important step on the journey to transform PEFA into more than a respected and widely used methodology for PFM performance assessment. The PEFA Secretariat outlined a number of initiatives to expand guidance, launch a new website, develop an online PEFA assessment tool and hold further events in the coming year. Most importantly, the Secretariat announced its plans to increase exchange of information on good practices and PEFA success stories and to facilitate dialogue between users to help them achieve their PFM goals.