Posted by the PEFA Secretariat on the IMF PFM Blog
The PEFA Secretariat published a report that takes stock of the PFM Diagnostic Tools in use as of 2016. The report incorporates feedback following the publication of a consultation draft in 2017. The main objective of the report is to provide governments and their development partners with information to support selection of assessment tools that fits their needs. A companion guide has been prepared to provide an easy overview of the range of the PFM diagnostic tools.
The latest study is the third in a series of reports of public financial management (PFM) diagnostic tools undertaken by the PEFA Program. The report describes the key characteristics of 45 individual diagnostic tools for PFM systems used internationally and highlights the growth in the number and breadth of these tools since 2010. The report organizes the diagnostic tools in three groups defined by type:
broad diagnostic or analytical tools covering all aspects of the PFM system (12 tools)
tools focusing on individual PFM elements, institutions or sub-systems and (24 tools)
tools used by development partners to assess fiduciary risk (9 tools)
The report describes the tools’ technical and institutional coverage, assessment methodology and application options.
The total number of tools identified has increased from 33 in 2010 to 45 today. The increase in the number of tools has been most noticeable for those which focus on individual PFM elements, institutions or sub-systems, with a concentration of new tools in revenue administration, fiscal transparency, public investment management and sub-national government.
Most of the PFM diagnostic tools identified in 2010 have been updated or replaced by a new version. Updates and replacements have typically expanded the subject-matter coverage. The coverage of many tools has been expanded and updated in line with international standards and good practices of PFM.
Detailed assessment tools on specific subjects remain in demand despite the enhanced subject coverage of the broad diagnostic tools. Most PFM functions are covered by such specialized tools but some gaps remain in areas such as internal control and internal audit where widely accepted international standards exist.
About half of the tools may be undertaken as self-assessments by the government whose PFM systems are being reviewed. The other half can only be undertaken by external assessors.
The 2010 Stocktake included a range of proposals for streamlining coverage of tools and enhancing collaboration between tool custodians. There has been good progress on implementing most of these recommendations. However, less progress has been made on the recommendations to enhance collaboration between development partners at country level to reduce duplicative processes, building government capacity, and reducing transaction costs associated with undertaking diagnostics.
PEFA has maintained its position as the most commonly used instrument for assessing the quality of public finance management systems. An examination of the relationship between PEFA and other diagnostic tools covered by the report suggests that PEFA is complementary to many of the other tools, particularly those which focus on specific areas of PFM.
Thank you Bruce Summers for reaching out and your interest in the PEFA supplementary framework for assessing gender responsive public financial management.
We actually just launched the framework earlier today. Please see these two links for more information: LINK 1 and LINK 2.
Seven countries participated in piloting: Antigua and Barbuda, Fiji, Haiti, Indonesia, St Lucia, Tonga, and Ukraine.
We actually have a great story from Indonesia on their experience with testing the framework and using the assessment results to further streamline gender considerations in their budget process. The Indonesia story can be accessing by clicking this LINK.
Several countries have already expressed interest in using the framework. Requests to conduct this assessment can be shared directly with the PEFA Secretariat at services@pefa.org.
Hi Urska Zrinski , thank you for this information and for all the hard work you and others have done on the The PEFA gender responsive PFM supplementary assessment (PEFA GRPFM). 3 quick questions 1) When was this launched? 2) Which countries are using/testing this so far? 3) Is there a process for getting in the queue for signing up to test/try this?
Hi Urska Zrinski , thank you for this information and for all the hard work you and others have done on the The PEFA gender responsive PFM supplementary assessment (PEFA GRPFM). 3 quick questions 1) When was this launched? 2) Which countries are using/testing this so far? 3) Is there a process for getting in the queue for signing up to test/try this?
The PEFA gender responsive public financial management framework has been developed to help countries assess to what extent their PFM systems respond to differing needs of men and women and subgroups of these categories, e.g., youth, elderly, people with disabilities, etc., and promote and contribute to gender equality. GRPFM is relevant in countries where addressing gender inequalities is high on the political agenda and where gender equality policies are already in place.
The framework has nine indicators distributed across the budget cycle and can be applied at both national and subnational levels.
WHY PEFA GENDER RESPONSIVE PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK?
The GRPFM framework has been developed as a response to suggestions from groups and individuals involved in PFM and gender responsive budgeting (GRB) reforms during the public consultation of the update of the PEFA framework in 2016. These suggestions identified gender responsiveness as a major gap in existing PFM diagnostic tools that needs to be addressed.
The PEFA GRPFM framework builds on the work of other stakeholders involved in gender responsive PFM. In particular, UN Women has devoted significant resources to support gender equality and women’s rights through gender responsive budgeting.
The PEFA GRPFM framework also builds on the recent work of numerous individuals involved in GRB as well as that of institutions that have promoted its importance including, among others, the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) and the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Over the last 12 months the PEFA GRPFM framework was tested in seven countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Fiji, Haiti, Indonesia, St Lucia, Tonga, and Ukraine, and the lessons learned from the testing have been incorporated into the final GRPFM framework.
APPROACH TO ASSESSMENT
The PEFA gender responsive PFM supplementary assessment is intended to be conducted on an optional basis concurrently with a PEFA assessment and presented in an annex to the PEFA report.
While the PEFA GRPFM supplementary assessment can also be carried out as a stand-alone activity, it is preferable if this is done concurrently with a PEFA assessment to capitalize on data already collected during the PEFA assessment process and the marginal cost of the additional work required.
The decision to carry out a PEFA GRPFM assessment is solely at the discretion of country authorities. At a country level, the findings of a PEFA GRPFM assessment are expected to contribute to discussions on the extent to which gender aspects are considered throughout the budget cycle.
The guidance introduces the framework and provides information on the definition and objectives of gender responsive PFM assessment. It provides an overview of the context and key trends in the application of GRPFM and presents detailed measurement guidance including clarifications and definitions for a set of key questions to assess a country’s performance in applying gender considerations to its PFM systems, processes, and institutions.
The guidance also includes country case studies highlighting examples of the use of gender responsive PFM in various countries and regions around the world.
The framework and guidance are currently being translated into French and Spanish and the translated versions will be available at the PEFA website in the forthcoming weeks.
Hi Urska Zrinski , thank you for this information and for all the hard work you and others have done on the The PEFA gender responsive PFM supplementary assessment (PEFA GRPFM). 3 quick questions 1) When was this launched? 2) Which countries are using/testing this so far? 3) Is there a process for getting in the queue for signing up to test/try this?
The PEFA gender responsive PFM supplementary assessment is intended to be conducted on a voluntary basis concurrently with a PEFA assessment and presented in an annex to the PEFA report. While the PEFA GRPFM supplementary assessment can also be carried out as a stand-alone activity, it is preferable if this is done concurrently with a PEFA assessment to capitalize on data already collected during the PEFA assessment process. This should also result in cost and resource efficiency gains.
The decision to carry out a PEFA GRPFM assessment is solely at the discretion of country authorities. At a country level, the findings of a PEFA GRPFM assessment are expected to contribute to discussions on the extent to which gender aspects are considered throughout the budget cycle. The supplementary GRPFM analysis provides a snapshot of GRB practices and is expected to broaden discussions of PFM reform, action planning, and the contribution of PFM to efficient service delivery by including information on the PFM impacts on men, women, and different subgroups of these categories and on gender equality.
The PEFA GRPFM framework is presented in the form of questions and indicators mapped to relevant PEFA indicators across the budget cycle. Selected questions and indicators correspond to the evolving practice in gender responsive PFM in countries around the world. Therefore, not every element of the PEFA methodology is presented in the GRPFM framework; only those that are in line with countries’ practices in mainstreaming gender and gender impact analysis into public budgetary decision making are included and where adequate international practice has been established.
The PEFA GRPFM framework can be applied at both national and subnational levels.
The PEFA gender responsive PFM supplementary assessment is intended to be conducted on a voluntary basis concurrently with a PEFA assessment and presented in an annex to the PEFA report. While the PEFA GRPFM supplementary assessment can also be carried out as a stand-alone activity, it is preferable if this is done concurrently with a PEFA assessment to capitalize on data already collected during the PEFA assessment process. This should also result in cost and resource efficiency gains.
The decision to carry out a PEFA GRPFM assessment is solely at the discretion of country authorities. At a country level, the findings of a PEFA GRPFM assessment are expected to contribute to discussions on the extent to which gender aspects are considered throughout the budget cycle. The supplementary GRPFM analysis provides a snapshot of GRB practices and is expected to broaden discussions of PFM reform, action planning, and the contribution of PFM to efficient service delivery by including information on the PFM impacts on men, women, and different subgroups of these categories and on gender equality.
The PEFA GRPFM framework is presented in the form of questions and indicators mapped to relevant PEFA indicators across the budget cycle. Selected questions and indicators correspond to the evolving practice in gender responsive PFM in countries around the world. Therefore, not every element of the PEFA methodology is presented in the GRPFM framework; only those that are in line with countries’ practices in mainstreaming gender and gender impact analysis into public budgetary decision making are included and where adequate international practice has been established.
The PEFA GRPFM framework can be applied at both national and subnational levels.
Assessment teams score the questions mapped to selected PEFA indicators on a four-point ordinal scale from D to A, in line with the PEFA framework. However, please note that while the GRPFM assessment, similarly as the PEFA framework, ranks the performance of PFM systems from D to A, this calibration has been adjusted for the GRPFM supplementary framework to fit the needs of gender responsive PFM practices. To justify a score, every aspect specified in the scoring requirements must be fulfilled. A score of C reflects the basic level of performance for each indicator. A score of D means that the feature being measured is present at less than the basic level of performance or absent altogether or that there is insufficient information to score the indicator. A score of D due to insufficient information is distinguished from a score of D due to low-level performance by using an asterisk—that is, D*. In cases where the question is not applicable to a country’s circumstances, the assessment team should respond “NA.”. Figure below presents the calibration in line with the four-point ordinal scale and adjusted to fit the needs of GRPFM assessments and corresponding to existing GRB practices.
The PEFA gender responsive PFM supplementary assessment is intended to be conducted on a voluntary basis concurrently with a PEFA assessment and presented in an annex to the PEFA report. While the PEFA GRPFM supplementary assessment can also be carried out as a stand-alone activity, it is preferable if this is done concurrently with a PEFA assessment to capitalize on data already collected during the PEFA assessment process. This should also result in cost and resource efficiency gains.
The decision to carry out a PEFA GRPFM assessment is solely at the discretion of country authorities. At a country level, the findings of a PEFA GRPFM assessment are expected to contribute to discussions on the extent to which gender aspects are considered throughout the budget cycle. The supplementary GRPFM analysis provides a snapshot of GRB practices and is expected to broaden discussions of PFM reform, action planning, and the contribution of PFM to efficient service delivery by including information on the PFM impacts on men, women, and different subgroups of these categories and on gender equality.
The PEFA GRPFM framework is presented in the form of questions and indicators mapped to relevant PEFA indicators across the budget cycle. Selected questions and indicators correspond to the evolving practice in gender responsive PFM in countries around the world. Therefore, not every element of the PEFA methodology is presented in the GRPFM framework; only those that are in line with countries’ practices in mainstreaming gender and gender impact analysis into public budgetary decision making are included and where adequate international practice has been established.
The PEFA GRPFM framework can be applied at both national and subnational levels.
This is a regular biannual meeting of the PEFA Steering Committee. The event is hosted and moderated by the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department.
PEFA is a partnership program, initiated and managed by nine international development partners: the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Agency (AFD), Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the UK's Department for International Development, the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Finance of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg.
This is a regular biannual meeting of the PEFA Steering Committee. The event is hosted and moderated by the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department.
PEFA is a partnership program, initiated and managed by nine international development partners: the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Agency (AFD), Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the UK's Department for International Development, the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Finance of the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg.
The PEFA Secretariat is seeking feedback on a proposed PEFA Gender Module to assess gender responsiveness of countries’ public financial management systems. The PEFA Gender Module is a set of supplementary questions built on the PEFA framework to collect information on gender responsive public financial management practices.
The public consultation is now OPEN through March 13, 2019. We invite any interested PEFA stakeholders to provide feedback. The team is specifically interested in stakeholders’ comments on the following aspects of the draft Gender Module:
Proposed overall approach to collecting information on gender responsive public financial management practices using PEFA
Relevance and usefulness of the proposed set of questions to collect information on gender responsive public financial management
Following the consultation period, the proposed PEFA Gender Module will be updated taking into account comments received. It is also proposed for the module to be pilot tested to ensure that it is applicable across a wide range of country contexts and administrative heritages.
The PEFA Steering Committee will evaluate the pilots and decide on the PEFA Gender Module following the period of testing and consultation.
Please send any comments and suggestions with ‘PEFA Gender Module’ in the subject line to Jens Kromann Kristensen, Head of the PEFA Secretariat at jkristensen@pefa.org w/cc to the PEFA Secretariat services account at services@pefa.org.
About PEFA Gender Module
The PEFA gender module is a set of supplementary questions built on the PEFA framework to collect information on gender responsive public financial management practices.
The questions have been designed to cover all stages of the budget cycle: policy-based fiscal strategy and budgeting, predictability and control in budget execution, accounting and reporting, and external scrutiny and audit, including governments’ efforts to make information on fiscal performance publicly available and strengthen management of assets and liabilities.
The PEFA gender module is intended to be conducted on a voluntary basis. A decision to carry out a PEFA gender module will be solely at the discretion of country authorities. The findings of a PEFA gender assessment will be quality reviewed by the PEFA Secretariat similarly to all PEFA assessment reports.
The PEFA gender module was designed by the PEFA Secretariat as a response to requests that have been received from groups and practitioners involved in PFM and gender responsive budgeting reforms. A process of public consultation carried out to assess the upgraded PEFA framework identified gender responsiveness as a gap in existing PFM diagnostic tools that needed to be addressed.
