Mexico’s Fiscal Transparency Experience 1 Ministry of Finance Information The Ministry of Finance has historically published information on public finance. Some of this information was published as part of its regulatory obligations. However, information was also published by the Executive initiative, as the case of the “Public Finance Statistics”. This section includes monthly data on of the revenue, expenditure, debt, transfers to local government, etc. The Budget Transparency Portal We decided to create a website with useful information on how resources are spent. Unlike other international experiences, the portal´s objective is to disseminate information about the entire budget, with a citizen-oriented vision. For that we have: • Gathered budget information in one place. • Presented information in plain language and open formats. • Verified information that complies with the guidelines proposed by international cooperation agencies and social organizations. • Had direct and constant dialogue with social organizations and members of academia. • Generated easy access for the user. • Established a data warehouse that would incorporate the budget information that is generated periodically. • Linked the portal with information systems of the Ministry, so that the information is updated in real time. The Budget Transparency Portal The portal seeks to link all stages of the budget process: planning, programming, budgeting, exercise and control, monitoring, evaluation and accountability. 4 Main objectives and contents of the Portal Objective • Contents i Greater transparency in public-resource management. • • • • • Government Finance Statistics Resources transfered to local governments Budget Analytical information Quarterly reports in open formats Year-end report Fiscal transparency in citizen language. • • • • • Citizens budget Citizen year-end report FAQ Glossary Social media Thematic transparency, with particular attention to citizens interests. • Investment projects • Performance information (indicators and goals) • External evaluations Liaison with Civil Society OGP commitment to make all performance information public Evaluations, Indicators Matrix, Synthetic Model of Performance Information Open Data -Spending -Revenues -Debt -Performance -Indicators - Goals -Results -Budget Information, databases and files can be downloaded to user's discretion. The data can be found in open file format "Excel" or “CSV" that let the users analyze and play with the information. Open data help locate projects geographically, make graphs and comparative analysis, among others. 7 Budget Transparency Publications Citizens Budget is an initiative for the citizens to be informed, clearly and transparently, how public resources are allocated and used. It explains the process of the Federal Budget , its content and criteria used to decide: Who spends it?, What is it spent on?, How is it spent? and where is it spent?. The Citizens Budget can be downloaded for viewing on iPad with dynamic texts and images. This booklet summarizes the information contained in the Citizens Budget. It shows the budget allocation and the priority programs of each sector (Education, Health, Social Development, etc.). This year was published the first edition of the Citizen Public Account, which explains the destination and results of resources exercised during 2012. It shows the main results of macroeconomic indicators, public finance and federal program goals, as well as the resources transferred to the states. Federal Budget Project 2014 (Citizens Version) 9 Detection of information needs • Social Media Communication through social media has been a key element, since it can detect people’s information needs, and notify on new content and other relevant information. • Suggestion Box By using this tool, we have been able to receive questions and concerns of the public that help us publishing missing information and to detect the level of use that the public give to certain data. 10 Transparency Award In 2012 the Portal won the first place in the "Innovation Award of Transparency for Institutional management improvement", awarded by the World Bank, the Federal Institute of Information Access and Data Protection (IFAI), the Ministry of Public Administration, the National Institute for Public Administration and the Supreme Audit Institution. This portal helped Mexico to improve its score on the Open Budget Index, from 52 to 61 points. Thus, Mexico rose 13 positions in the global scale, ranking among the countries that publish "sufficient budget information“. Budget transparency applied Transparency in the use of resources oriented for the reconstruction and emergency care. 12 Looking forward Increase social engagement and participation with fiscal information to encourage participation in public policy improvement. 13 Mexico’s Fiscal Transparency Experience 14