Pilot “Citizen Budget” Initiative (BG0059)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Bulgaria National Action Plan 2016-2018
Action Plan Cycle: 2016
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Sofia Municipality
Support Institution(s): National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria
Policy Areas
Capacity Building, Fiscal Openness, Local Commitments, Publication of Budget/Fiscal InformationIRM Review
IRM Report: Bulgaria End-of-Term Report 2016-2018, Bulgaria Mid-Term Report 2016-2018
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): High
Implementation i
Description
Increasing local governmental financial transparency through pilot citizen budget initiative in the municipalities Status quo/Problem addressed: Most Bulgarian municipalities actively publish information about their budgets, but often the information is too complex and its interpretation and understanding require specialized expertise. This in turn discourages the citizens and reduces citizen participation in such an important area as municipal finances. Main objective: To promote citizen participation by providing understandable information about municipal budgets or the so called citizen budget. Ambition: Introducing the “citizen budget” approach at the local level. Deliverables and impact: Improved understanding of municipal finances by the citizens; better capacity of municipal authorities to provide understandable and accessible information about the local budgets; development of effective outreach methods; more active citizen involvement in the formulation and control of municipal budgets.