Budget Advocacy is the term used to describe the increased participation, analysis and support of the civil society organizations in appreciating budget and budgetary decisions for better accomplishment of the economic, social and cultural rights. Budget analysis can be used as a means of claiming rights for and by the vulnerable sections of society like women, children, poor, etc., and promoting good governance and vibrant democracy. Governments now are gradually recognizing the need for citizen's participation in budget formulation. The scope of this module on budget advocacy has been prepared to enable the reader to:

The concept of budget analysis and advocacy is now widely regarded as a central component of a growing arsenal of approaches developed by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for fostering government accountability. Applied budget work refers to preparation of an inclusive budget framework that takes into consideration the opinion of the civil society through discussions, meetings and deliberations. The objective of applied budget work is to raise the level of budget literacy among those involved in the budget policy and bring in more people into the policy debate thus enhancing the quality of the budget. This requires policy-linked research together with research linked to advocacy. Thus the mainstay of budget advocacy is based on key principles like transparency, accountability, participation, adequacy, priority, progress and equity; one can ensure continued participation of the civil society. Applied budget work encourages the involvement of policy makers, media and the public at all stages of budgeting for better formulation and execution. This brings in transparency and enhances the accountability of the State in public expenditure management. The principal stages of budgeting include formulation, enactment, execution and evaluation and auditing.

Improved transparency in the budget process can disclose the basis on which priorities are formulated and clarify the roles and responsibilities of individuals in the government who take these decisions. The elements of a sound budget system suggest that budget advocacy is not analysis of the budget post-presentation but inclusion of the civil society in all the stages of formulation of the budget. Some of the key tools of Budget advocacy are:

Applied budget work has gathered momentum across the globe with more and more non-governmental research organizations operating in a broad spectrum of activities including budget policy analysis, analyses of socio-economic issues and impact of budgetary processes and sector specific budget studies. A number of Institutions like Developing Initiative for Social and Human Actions (DISHA) in India, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies in Bangalore, India, Budget Information Service - Institute for Democracy in South Africa etc., are actively engaged in budget analysis and public expenditure tracking.

Some of the best practices and successful budget advocacy interventions have been collected and hosted on the site. Some interesting books on budget advocacy that would give a meaningful insight to the concept are Guide to Budget work for NGOs - An IBP Publication, Can civil society add value to budget decision-making? A description of civil society budget work by Warren krafchik and Our Money, Our Responsibility A Citizens' Guide to Monitoring government expenditures by Vivek Ramkumar.