ToolBOX
Indicators of parliamentary performance in the budget process
| Purpose |
To assess parliament's role in the budget process to prevent and combat corruption.” The objective is to provide parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and others who study parliament with practical means to evaluate parliamentary performance against general standards adapted to the circumstances of each country. The framework can be useful in preparing baseline studies, establishing benchmarks of progress and making comparisons between sub-national parliaments and of a given parliament over time. |
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| Types of data used |
Objectivedata only. All of the questions were constructed with the intention that they should capture easily observable phenomena. Researchers and peer reviewers completing the questionnaire must provide evidence for their responses, such as a reference to a budget document, a law, a public statement by a government official, or a face-to-face interview with a government official. |
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| Methodology |
The assessment of parliamentary performance in the budget process is conducted against five “performance tests”, namely:
The first and last of these tests represent the traditional concerns about how busy and how influential parliament is while the other three tests judge the contribution of parliament to core values of good governance.
The questionnaire consists of a total of 37 questions (indicators) and is answered by a multi-stakeholder group (incl. members of the National Assembly, Senators and representatives of Civil Society) Indicators are ranked on a scale that ranges from "not present at all" to "strongly present". |
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| Area of Governance |
Parliament
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| Pro-poor /gender sensitive aspects |
Some questions cover issues specific to the poor or women: Does parliament ensure that the poor are able to participate when it reviews the government's diagnosis of poverty and setting of priorities? Does parliament consult the poor in carrying out its evaluations of poverty reduction programs? Does parliament employ gender analysis in seeking to influence budget priorities? In monitoring the budget? Does parliament consult women's groups during the budget process? Does parliament consult civil society organizations and business in its review of the budget? |
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| Example indicators |
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| Where to find this tool | ||
| Actionability |
Yes, the results of the assessment can be used by civil society and development advocates to identify priorities in strengthening parliament's role in the budget process to combat corruption. However, a more specific diagnostic will be required for identifying the causes underlying a poor performance as measured by any indicator (i.e. questions are mainly of “yes/no” type, but do not investigate “why”) Also, a lack of consensus regarding the appropriate standard of performance can reduce the validity of results (for e.g. what qualifies as being a score 5, i.e. “strongly transparent” vs. a score 4?) |
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| Complementarity |
Questions address mainly anti-corruption “inputs”, i.e. assessing the existence of policies and effectiveness of mechanisms for effective participation and oversight by parliament in the budget process. Furthermore, questions ask about what occurs in practice, rather than about the requirements that may be in law. |