The FISR Project – Fiscal Implications of Structural Reforms

The CEF has been entrusted with a mandate to design and implement the project ‘Strengthening Line Ministries’ Capacities to Assess Fiscal Implications of Structural Reforms’. The project will be carried out during the years 2019–2021 and it is funded by the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. It aims at supporting public officials, mainly from line ministries but also ministries of finance and other institutions in the EU candidate countries and potential candidates.

Background

The implementation of structural reforms often faces challenges in the prioritization of effective reforms, calculation of costs and securing budget for implementation. The project will enable participants to understand and address these challenges to ensure sound and consistent assessment of the fiscal implications of structural reforms.

Objectives

The FISR project strengthens:

  • Analytical and costing capacities of line ministries to improve their ability for comprehensive assessment of fiscal implications of structural reforms
  • Coordination within respective line ministries, as well as between the respective line ministries and a ministry of finance
  • Cooperation and exchange of good practices among public officials as well as institutions across the region

The project will also contribute to well-designed planning documents of structural reforms; enhanced budgeting; reinforced practical skills of public officials; established collaboration with Technical Assistance providers (IMF, OECD, TAIEX); and enhanced knowledge sharing via training public officials as trainers.

Knowledge Sections

The objectives will be supported by five knowledge sections:

  1. Strengthening costing capacity
    Advances the fiscal costing of structural reforms by introducing new costing skills and tools and approach to decision-making in the process.
  2. Enhancing budgeting
    Promotes understanding the nature and size of the impact of SRs on the national budget.
  3. Enabling environment for policy design and implementation
    Reinforces practical skills of line and finance ministries’ officials, and ERP coordinators needed for stronger government coordination, better budget negotiations, and confident reform implementation.
  4. Increasing cost transparency
    Enables transparency and accountability of structural reforms.
  5. Improving document quality
    Enhances the design of the planning documents of structural reforms/ERP.

Target group

The project is designed for EU candidates and potential candidates. It is meant for public officials at top, middle and junior levels involved in the design, fiscal planning, implementation and coordination of structural reforms and ERP, including:

  • Line ministries
    • Budget and finance officials
    • Policy-makers
    • Service delivery managers
  • Ministries of finance
    • Heads of main departments
    • Budget experts and analysts
    • HR and communication specialists
  • Agencies and other institutions
    • Budget and finance officials
  • National ERP coordinators
  • Structural reform coordinators

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Partners

Funded by the European Union