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Examining effective budget communication for citizens

BudgIT Information Technology Network

“Does access to information lead to empowerment and demands for accountability, and do demands for accountability always lead to responsiveness from public institutions?”

750,000

Nigerians reached by BudgIT in online and offline conversations about government finance and public sector efficiency

Start date
May 2016
End date
January 2017
Period: 8 months

Issue

There is a long-standing lack of accountability regarding public finance in Nigeria, meaning citizens often lack information about how government allocates revenues.

Considering the theory that Nigeria’s infrastructural and socio-economic challenges are due to this poor accountability, not by a lack of core resources, a need exists to increase citizens’ access to budget information.

Project

BudgIT has been working to plug this information gap about government revenue allocation by using diverse approaches to reach Nigerian citizens with different levels of literacy.

This practitioner research will examine BudgIT’s experience, testing an array of budget communication tools, to determine the most effective ways to build citizens’ interest in public finance in Nigeria.

It will ask whether better access to information leads to empowerment and demands for accountability, and if demands for accountability lead to responsiveness from public institutions.

Partner

A pioneer in the field of social advocacy and technology in Nigeria, BudgIT uses an array of tech tools to simplify matters concerning Nigeria’s budget and public spending for citizens. Its primary aim is to raise standards of transparency and accountability in government. With over 2,000 unique data requests each month from private, corporate and development entities and individuals, BudgIT is widely regarded as a trusted hub for public finance data in Nigeria.