Our money, our responsibility: A Citizens’ Guide to Monitoring Government Expenditures

How can citizens monitor government expenditure? What are the best strategies for effecting budgetary change? This guide looks at the work undertaken by 17 organizations in 12 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It offers an overview of government budget implementation processes and provides practical, tested tools that can be used by civil society organizations interested in monitoring government expenditures. The guide is split into two distinct Parts: Part One looks at the overall budget process and why there may be differences between the funding appropriated in budgets and how those funds actually get spent. Parts Two–Five provide a close-up look at the four stages in which civil society groups can track and monitor expenditures: budget execution, procurement, measuring impact, and the audit and legislative oversight process.