The power of making it simple : A Government Guide To Developing Citizens Budgets

Governments can encourage citizen participation by creating conditions that enable them to participate in a meaningful way. A very important one of these conditions is that all citizens have ready access to government information. “Access” means not simply physical access to documents, but accessibility. Where the government’s work is highly technical, it is not sufficient to simply make technical documents available. Citizens should have access to information in a language and through formats that ordinary people can understand and appreciate. This idea is as true of government budgets as of any other of the government’s policy and planning documents. Having access to key budget documents is essential for people to be able to develop a full and clear picture of how their government is raising and spending public money. ‘The Power of Making It Simple’ offers useful tips to governments interested in developing Citizens’ Budgets.