Guide. Civic Participation in the Budget Process

The guide opens with a chapter on the basic concepts of civic participation in the budget process. Four further chapters cover specific areas: the European integration agenda, social policy, justice and the economy. Participation is presented as a core element of open government, alongside transparency, integrity and accountability, based on the idea that citizens should access public information, understand it, contribute to decisions and monitor the actions of authorities.

Its overall aim is to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of civil society, so that it can engage actively in the budget process and cooperate with local and central authorities to formulate and promote community and citizen needs. It was produced with financial support from the European Union and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation under the project “Civil Society for European Integration”, implemented with IPRE, IVC and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Its content reflects the authors' views only.