[OpenSpending] openspending Digest, Vol 47, Issue 8

Wed Nov 13 14:18:48 UTC 2013

Dear Pierre,

In terms of BOOST, the process is as follows (if wrong, somebody please 
correct me..)

i) Preparation - the BOOST team have to get sign off from WB country offices 
to start the BOOST process in country, they need government approval, and 
then after this they would receive budget classification/data from 
Governments to be able construct the BOOST database.

ii) Build the database - BOOST team build the database for the country, then 
they test it

iii) Using BOOST - getting countries utilising the database

iv) Capacity building - training to Government to use BOOST, and on how to 
update/mainstream it

v) Opening up of the BOOST database to public (Governments decision)

With the exception of Moldova, I would say the key issue for BOOST is that 
governments in general after the database has been built have not really 
bought into mainstreaming BOOST as part of country systems. Obviously it is 
a work in progress, but currently the majority of the updating of the 
country databases is actually done by the BOOST team, and not by the 
Governments (although they still provide the data to them). So the key issue 
is not the initial buy in of governments, but the continued interest by 
Governments to invest in BOOST and mainstream it into country systems. 
Therefore, I would say the process is very replicable in terms of 
establishing the database, but not yet replicable in terms of adoption. I am 
not part of the BOOST team, so maybe you want to discuss more with them on 
this, but I am happy to answer any questions or discuss this further with 
you or others at OKF?

In addition, I am sure people are aware (but in case you are not), the BOOST 
team is creating an open budget portal, which will go live on the 18th 
November, which will provide a central location to access the data 
(previously Government's had to create their own portal). The 
countries/regions due to go live are; Peru, Guatemala, Brazil - Mina Gerais, 
Brazil - Rio Grande, Armenia, Poland, Moldova, Togo, Kenya, Solomon Islands, 
Kiribati, Seychelles, Mauritius, Mexico, Paraguay

In terms of the Open data index - Government Spending;

I do not want to comment too much on this, as it is clearly in its infancy. 
However, there does seem to be quite a bit of overlap with the open budget 
index, so I am not sure if you want to discuss with IBP whether you want to 
cooperate with them on this? The other point of note I had was that it would 
be good to state what level of Government you are classifying/scoring. An 
example would be Nigeria and India in your index, which are actually at the 
federal level, which is only about 30 of total government expenditure, so 
you are really only assessing a fraction of the 'openness' of a countries 
spending. South Africa is a great example of a budget process that combines 
both the central and state level together. As with BOOST, if you want to 
discuss this further, then very happy to do so.

Hope this is of some interest to you,

Richard

-------
Richard Watts
Development Finance International
39 Hatton Garden
London, EC1N 8EH
Tel: (+44) 020 7404 9000
Web: http://www.development-finance.org/; 
http://www.governmentspendingwatch.org/

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <openspending-request at lists.okfn.org>
To: <openspending at lists.okfn.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 12:00 PM
Subject: openspending Digest, Vol 47, Issue 8

> Send openspending mailing list submissions to
> openspending at lists.okfn.org
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/openspending
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> openspending-request at lists.okfn.org
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> openspending-owner at lists.okfn.org
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of openspending digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Exploring Open Government Spending Data Best Practices
>      (Pierre Chrzanowski)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 12:16:00 +0100
> From: Pierre Chrzanowski <pierre.chrzanowski at gmail.com>
> To: OpenSpending Discussion List <openspending at lists.okfn.org>
> Subject: [OpenSpending] Exploring Open Government Spending Data Best
> Practices
> Message-ID:
> <CAB-gMst1o6To3V7v005jhvMk=jcZUNxpEcgq-nnH4x3CMT9m=w at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Dear All,
>
> Following the Open Data Index which showed there was still a long way to 
> go
> re Spending Data, I thought it would be worth gathering information on how
> countries implemented open publication of their spending data.
>
> So after a suggestion of Anders, I started a simple google presentation
> here [1] where I listed first ranked countries according to the OD Index.
> And I invite you to add details about the project you may know directly on
> the presentation or start a discussion about a specific example on this
> list.
>
> Questions to adress :
> - How do countries deliver in practise?
> - Which countries publish with thresholds eg. UK and US?
> - What are the standards used ?
> - Etc.
>
> For instance, I noted the work of Moldova and the World Bank with the 
> Boost
> program. What were the main steps of that project to get the country to
> publish its detailed expenditures ? How easy it is replicable ? It would 
> be
> good to have one simple slide on that.
>
> Result of this work will be added to the OpenSpending knowledge base
>
> And in case I am replicating an ongoing work somewhere else, please let us
> know
>
> Thanks a lot for your contribution !
>
> [1] http://goo.gl/j6TfD0
>
>
> -- 
> *Pierre Chrzanowski*
> *Open Knowledge Foundation France*
>
> Mail: pierre.chrzanowski at gmail.com
> Skype: pierre.chrzanowski | Twitter:
> @piezanowski<https://twitter.com/piezanowski>
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: 
> <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/openspending/attachments/20131113/b6909e93/attachment-0001.html>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
> _______________________________________________
> openspending mailing list
> openspending at lists.okfn.org
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/openspending
> Unsubscribe: http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/optionss/openspending
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of openspending Digest, Vol 47, Issue 8
> *******************************************
> 