SDG-aligned Budgeting

https://event.unitar.org/full-catalog/sdg-aligned-budgeting

Background

This self-paced Massive Open Online course (MOOC) has been developed by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A number of countries have attempted tobetter link their budgeting with the SDGs and national planning overall,however, the progress is uneven.   As underscored in the recent UNDP guidance, any country regardless of its budgeting system can take a number ofsteps that can help align the allocation of public resources with the national SDG priorities. This set of measures has however to be adapted to the specificsituation of the country. In addition, there is a broader need to enableParliaments to play a more active role when it comes to fiscal oversight inconnection with national priorities and SDGs as well as pro-actively influence budget formulation where national budgeting processes allow so.

This e-learning course aims to build the capacity of countries to fosterpolicy coherence by anchoring the SDGs in the national budgets; developnationally tailored approaches, apply best practice and tools to alignbudgeting with SDGs and national priorities, and enhance the Parliaments’engagement. The course is geared towards the needs of representatives fromMinistries of Finance, Economy and other Ministries that may be activelyinvolved in the budgeting processes, members of Parliament working on finance/budgetingissues, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI), academia and other stakeholdersincluding staff of UN Country Teams and international organizations.

Detailed guidelines onspecific areas - including SDGs and strategic budgeting, SDG budget coding andtagging, SDGs and subnational budgeting, and SDGs - transparency andaccountability, are being developed and will be made part of future trainingcourses on the above specific topics.

Event Objectives

This e-learning course aimsto build the national capacities and of staff of UN County Teams andinternational organizations – through raising awareness on how to foster policy coherence by anchoring the SDGs in the national budgets;   strengtheningtheir knowledge of possible approaches and tools on how to better align SDGbudgeting, and strengthening the role of the Parliaments in this respect.

Learning Objectives

It is expected that, by the end of the course, participants will bebetter positioned to:

• Define the importance of the budgeting aligned to     national strategies and SDGs to promote greater policy coherence

• Discuss how budgeting can be aligned with SDGs at     varying stages of PFM reform or maturity of performance-based budgeting     systems and more specifically in their country context

• Describe 2-3 approaches to strengthen the monitoring     of the SDG-aligned public spending using budget coding and to evaluate the     effectiveness of SDG related public spending given the specific country     context

• Explain how the role of Parliaments can be     strengthened when it comes to budgeting and fiscal oversight of SDGs

  
  

Content and Structure

Module 1. Why to alignbudgeting with national strategies and the SDGs
Module 2. How to align budgets with the SDGs: The UNDP approach
Module 3. Operationalizing SDG-aligned Budgeting
Module 4. Strengthening accountability and the role of Parliaments forSDG-aligned budgets

Methodology

This e-learning course is developed in English and consists of fourmodules. Each module is developed around the overall learning objectives, aswell as second-level learning objectives specific to each module. Each moduleincludes an interactive presentation complemented by a set of practice quizzes(“knowledge checks”/formative assessment). Each interactive lesson includesseveral scenarios developed around the topic presented, followed up byassessment questions. Prior to taking the modules, participants are invited totake an ex-ante quiz, composed of 6 questions, that aims to assess the baseline knowledge of the participant. The same set of questions will be asked in thefinal assessment together with other questions – a total of 20 questions - toassess the knowledge and skills acquired. The latter will be graded and willserve as basis for certification. The interactive lessons within the module are implemented in a way that one needs to review all information on the slideprior to proceeding further. Once completed, the respective sections will beunlocked on the sidebar.

Estimated net study timeranges between 1 – 2 hours per module depending on the individual’s pace.

Targeted Audience

The target audience of thee-learning course is relevant staff from Ministries of Finance, Economy andother Ministries that may be actively involved in the budgeting processes,members of parliament working on finance/budgeting issues, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI), academia and other stakeholders including staff of UNCountry Teams and international organizations working on SDG financingframeworks to guide the cooperation framework with the national counterparts.