Public Participation in Fiscal Policy
Tbilisi. Europe Foundation and the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) are hosting the launching event of their joint initiative that aims at contributing to open and inclusive public participation in the design and implementation of fiscal policy.
The cooperation between Europe Foundation and GIFT is based on the premise that open and inclusive participation in public policy making is a cornerstone of poverty reduction and sustainable economic development. To achieve real participation, however, there should be a reciprocal relationship between citizens and public authorities, “in which citizens provide resources to and entrust governments with stewardship over public resources, and, in turn, expect to receive information on public finances and fiscal policies and to have opportunities to participate in fiscal policy-making”.
Together, Europe Foundation and GIFT Network will target civil society organizations (CSOs) and public authorities to strengthen CSO capacity to engage in policy dialogue and to foster civil society participation in fiscal policy making, for citizen-oriented service delivery policies that lead to visible results for Georgian citizens. Toward these ends, Europe Foundation will organize capacity building and networking opportunities for CSOs and public authorities and will promote the GIFT principles through roundtable discussions on specific challenges to civic engagement in policy making. In the nearest future, Europe Foundation and GIFT will unveil a review of international best practices on how to ensure open and direct civic participation in public policies to support Georgia’s efforts in this area. In addition, it is envisioned to provide grant support to CSOs either to monitor public service delivery or to promote collaboration between CSOs and local authorities for designing more effective and needs-based services.
Source: http://www.epfound.ge
