Morocco: Strengthening Citizen Participation in Local Policymaking
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Béni Mellal-Khenifra, Morocco
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In Morocco, municipalities are responsible for designing and implementing action plans to achieve inclusive local development objectives. The municipalities of Béni Mellal and Khenifra, located in central Morocco, lack experience however in soliciting citizens’ input in policy design, including in the municipal budget.
To help strengthen citizen participation in local governance, FSVC organized a training for elected officials and senior civil servants of the municipal governments of Béni Mellal and Khenifra. The FSVC volunteer experts presented low-cost, easy-to-implement methodologies to gather citizen feedback in budget and policy decision, and prioritize ideas. They also explained the importance of communicating with the public how their input will be used.
As a result, the municipalities of Béni Mellal and Khenifra have acquired tools to better solicit and incorporate civil society’s input in local policy design. This will help spend limited budget resources into citizens’ most needed services.
This training was organized in partnership with FHI360, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
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Panama: Increasing Budget Transparency
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FSVC Virtual Workshop on Citizens Budget
November 2021
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A transparent, inclusive budget process constitutes an important pillar of democratic governance. By publishing key budget documents in a timely manner, a government increases opportunities for citizen engagement and oversight, hence creating mechanisms to prevent corruption.
The Government of Panama has committed to increase budget transparency in the Fourth Open Government Partnership Action Plan. To support Panama’s commitment, FSVC worked with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to develop the country’s first-ever Citizens Budget – a brief, non-technical representation of the Enacted Budget. FSVC’s volunteer experts explained the process of developing a Citizens Budget and its key components. The MEF then designed a first draft, and FSVC provided feedback to help strengthen it. Next, FSVC organized a public-private forum in which the MEF presented its draft Citizens Budget, and civil society organizations shared their feedback on the format and content.
As a result of this project, the MEF will be able to finalize its first-ever Citizens Budget, designed with input from citizens. By publishing this key budget document, Panama will be more aligned with international standards in fiscal transparency. The country is also paving the way for greater participation in its budgeting process in the future.
This project was implemented with funding from the U.S. Embassy in Panama.
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Tajikistan: Increasing Financial Inclusion
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Training on Market Research and Projections
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, October 2021
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Tajikistan has made impressive strides in financial inclusion over the past decade. The share of adults with an account at a financial institution reached 47% in 2017, compared with 11.5% in 2014 and just 2.5% in 2011 (OECD, 2019). Yet, the country still lags behind its neighbors in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
With funding from the U.S. Department of State, FSVC is providing technical assistance to Tajik financial institutions to expand access to financial services. FSVC organized a training for commercial banks and microfinance institutions in market research and projections. The FSVC volunteer experts explained how to use market research to understand the needs of potential clients. They also discussed how to design new and improved financial products for existing and prospective clients based on market research.
Thanks to this project, Tajik financial institutions are better equipped to diversify their financial products, in line with the population’s financial needs.
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Albania: Protecting Nonprofit Organizations against Terrorist Abuse
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Protecting nonprofit organizations (NPOs) from terrorist abuse is a critical component of the global fight against terrorism. With funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, FSVC is helping to build resilience against terrorist finance in the Albanian NPO sector.
As a part of this work, FSVC developed and presented an NPO vulnerability assessment methodology for Albanian supervisory authorities. The methodology provides a simple, structured tool to assess the vulnerabilities of NPOs and categorize them by risk level. Next, the Albanian General Directorate of Taxes (GDT) filled out the vulnerability assessment template with the available information on NPOs, and presented its findings and challenges to FSVC. FSVC then provided recommendations to address data challenges.
As a result of this project, Albanian supervisory authorities are equipped with tools to assess the vulnerabilities of NPOs against terrorism finance. They will be able to implement a risk-based approach to NPO supervision, to protect the sector from abuse while allowing NPOs to fulfill their civic mission.
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About Us
The Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) is a not-for-profit organization that helps strengthen financial sectors in developing and emerging market countries. It does so with the ultimate aim of promoting job creation, economic growth and a better quality of life. FSVC structures practical, results-oriented technical assistance and training missions staffed by senior financial sector professionals who serve as unpaid volunteer experts. Over the past 31 years, more than 10,000 volunteer experts from the international financial, legal and regulatory communities have taken part in 3,200 missions, impacting millions of people in 65 countries.
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