Effective processes of capital budget formulation and capital budget execution are essential elements for ensuring a country’s social and economic development and its financial stability. Without a systematic plan for acquisition, construction, and development of capital assets, countries will not be able to provide essential services to their citizens and business community.
A key challenge in government budgeting is to select the best project to be carried out. This involves on the hand a tradeoff against current spending and on the other hand a tradeoff between alternative projects in each are of capital spending (roads, buildings, hospitals, ICT, pipelines etc.). Without good selection, well integrated in the budget process, there is a risk for too little or too much spending.
What you will learn
The objective of this workshop is to familiarize participants with the fundamentals of capital planning, capital budget formulation and capital budget execution.
These three areas will be further analyzed and discussed:
- Capital planning - developing policies, setting priorities, choosing projects, cost benefit analysis, determining multi-year cost estimates and assessing alternative methods of financing, with special attention to forms of public private partnerships;
- Integration in the regular budget process - baseline estimates, relation with medium-term budgeting; how to deal with cost overruns;
- Capital budget execution - procurement methods, project monitoring, changes in cost estimates, and project completion evaluations.
Who should attend
The workshop has been designed primarily for officials within the areas of capital planning, capital budget formulation and capital budget execution. Typically, participants are employees of ministries of finance or economic affairs, or other institutions involved in infrastructure, public housing or other areas of government investment policies.
To be able to fully participate, it is recommended that a participant has a certain degree of experience in capital budgeting. New graduates are, however, welcome, if accompanied by an experienced officer.
Your contributions
The workshop will be highly participatory. Participants are encouraged to be active in discussions and exercises throughout the three days.
Faculty
Mr. Dirk-Jan Kraan, Public Financial Management Advisor for South East Europe of the IMF
Dirk Kraan is a Dutch citizen. He holds MA degrees in Law (1970) and Economics (1976) from Erasmus University in Rotterdam and a PhD degree in Economics from the same university (1989). He worked in several positions in the Directorate General of the Budget of the Dutch Ministry of Finance from 1980 to 2002, lately as head of the Division of Policy Review of the Inspectorate of Finance (Expenditure Division). He joined the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2002 as a senior economist in the Budgeting and Public Expenditures Division of the Directorate of Public Governance and Territorial Development. At the OECD he was among other things responsible for the Eastern European program of the Budgeting and Expenditure Division and for the OECD Value for Money Study on the organization of central government. He recently joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to work as a Regional Public Financial Management Advisor for South East Europe based at the CEF in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Mr. Jos Nouwt, Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Netherlands
Jos Nouwt (1951) originates from the corner of the financial management. In this field he has worked in the Dutch Ministry of Finance for many years. Topics were the operation to improve financial management at the ministries and the introduction of agencies with an accrual accounting system. Between 2001 and 2009 he was a project director for the PPP renovation of the Ministry of Finance in The Hague. For the Dutch government this renovation was the first housing project with a so-called DBFMO agreement, a form of a public-private partnership. This type of PPP projects is characterized by a long-term cooperation between a private party and the State. The reason for choosing PPP is efficiency. After this project he became a project director for the new housing for the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment and the Medicines Evaluation Board. In 2011 it was decided to follow a PPP construction for this project, which is in the dialogue phase of a European tendering process. Jos Nouwt also leads the project ‘Together Housing of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport ', part of a program to reduce costs of central government’s housing in the Netherlands. Recently he was also appointed as a project director for central accommodation for the Healthcare Inspectorate.
From 2006 – 2013 he combined his jobs in the Netherlands with the function of a project leader to improve the Public Internal Financial Control system in the Republic of Macedonia; twinning projects financed by the European Union and a bilateral program between the Netherlands and the Republic of Macedonia.
Mr. Wijnand van Goudoever, Inspectorate of Finance, Ministry of Finance, the Netherlands
Wijnand van Goudoever is Inspector and Deputy Head of Division, advising the Minister of Finance on budgetary and economic aspects of social security arrangements, government pay and pension schemes. Until recently he was involved in the Infrastructure Ministry. A major part of his work was related to government investments, in particular in infrastructure and in strengthening the structure of the national economy. In a previous position, Mr, Van Goudoever was responsible for strategic policies and research concerning state government debt, i.a. advising on the efficiency of various financial instruments. Prior to joining the Ministry of Finance, he worked for the OECD in the area of public finance. Mr. van Goudoever is an economist by education. He holds a degree in corporate law as well.
Mr. Daniel M. Sturm, Reader (Associate Professor) in Economics, London School of Economics (LSE)
Mr. Sturm is a Reader in Economics at London School of Economics and Political Science. He holds a PhD in Economics from the same University. He is also a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. His research areas include International Trade, Economic Geography, Political Economy, and Environmental Economics. For more information about Professor Sturm, please refer to his personal web page at LSE: CLICK
Application procedure
Application Closing Date: Sep 13,2013
