A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a colleague who pointed out something that had been on my mind recently. Talking about recent events and seminars around Washington, she mentioned that she had attended three workshops in the past week, and all had centered on the same general topic – what the financial crisis means for the international development and aid community.
The current state of the global economy raises critical questions about the amount of money that aid agencies and foundations will be able to devote to projects in developing countries worldwide. For those working in the governance and anti-corruption field, some of the biggest headlines also provide a glaring reminder that the need for anti-corruption and monitoring efforts is extremely close to home.
And for those working on public spending efficiency in particular, the financial crisis presents a new challenge and perhaps a new opportunity. Speaking with former TAP grantees, it is clear that budget practitioners and advocates worldwide are anticipating that the next year or more will bring smaller amounts, if not smaller percentages, of public funds allocated towards sectors such as health and education, despite the fact that the need for greater funding has not gone away. This challenge is being met head-on by many innovative organizations, such as the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies (CBPS) in India. Leaders at CBPS have decided that the only way to continue pushing their agenda forward in a time like this is to acknowledge the difficult choices that policymakers are facing by putting together a workshop for officials and stakeholders. The idea behind this workshop is to recognize the new constraints that have been put in place by the downturn in the economy while presenting that significantly decreasing spending in health, education, and other social sectors is not the right way to deal with these issues.
While discussing issues such as these is not easy, the dialogue also presents a new opportunity – to discuss how to achieve better spending if not more spending. While more spending on health and education is certainly needed in the long-run, much of the funds currently allocated to these sectors is not being utilized effectively. Absenteeism and ghost workers represent a significant cost in many countries, and researchers continue to find evidence of leakage in funds dedicated to schools and health facilities. Perhaps at this time when asking for more money is an increasingly difficult battle, an easier middle ground is to start the discussion of efficiency of spending can be improved without adding a cent to current spending.