The objective of the project is to assist line ministries (LM) strengthen capacities for efficient delivery of their financial management functions. In more operational terms, the project has the following three specific objectives:

• Supporting LMs in strengthening their internal coordination in financial management;
• Strengthening capacities of LMs for effective cooperation with their respective Ministry of Finance on financial programming and implementation issues;
• Promoting regional collaborative learning among LMs on financial management issues.

Together with the CEF’s contribution, the grant will support the following activities throughout the period September 2016 – December 2018:

• Initial (and final) visit to the beneficiaries and partners (that fall under the EU’s IPA program);
• Connecting LM finance officials through an online platform in support of their collaborative learning;
• Organizing a Training-of-Trainers to empower selected LM finance officials to apply effective knowledge exchange tools and take full ownership over the collaborative learning concept;
• Designing and delivering six learning initiatives on the following topics: Budget Submissions of Line Ministries; Fiscal Programming of Structural Reforms; EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA); Managing Public Investments; Program Budgeting and Policy Evaluation; and Financing of a Selected Sector.

On a mission to the CEF on July 7-8, 2016, the World Bank launched the project and discussed the implementation arrangements.