Alfrun Tryggvadottir from OECD presentation. 5th session of the 6th Annual Meeting of the OECD Gender Budgeting Network held on 22-23 September 2022

1. [Add slide title here]
Spending Reviews
Fiscal challenges and gender budgeting
23/09/2022

2. [Add slide title here]
2
>Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments are facing
challenges to their public finances over the medium and long-run
>Significant spending pressures in high-priority areas of climate change
and healthcare – amongst many others - requires governments to look
into prioritisation of fiscal resources
>In a tighter fiscal context, there is a risk that objectives relating to
gender equality, become a lower priority.
> Important to have gender budgeting closely aligned with the budget
process
Fiscal challenges in OECD countries

3. [Add slide title here]
3
Spending reviews defined
> Spending reviews are tools for systematically analysing the government’s existing expenditure.
> They complement other budgetary tools, such as performance budgeting.
> They are widely used by OECD countries.
> Enabling the government to manage the aggregate level of expenditure
> Aligning expenditure according to the priorities of the government
> Improving effectiveness within programmes and policies
What is a spending review?
Purposes of a spending review

4. [Add slide title here]
4
>Governments will need to look critically into ways to prioritise
expenditure and facilitate reallocation of fiscal resources.
>Spending reviews provide governments with means to support the
sustainability of public finances through systematic analysis of existing
expenditure.
> They are likely to be increasingly important, being a core instrument for
expenditure prioritisation and reallocation.
>The integration of a gender perspective to spending reviews can allow
gender equality considerations to be taken into account in decisions
around the budget
The importance of spending reviews

5. [Add slide title here]
5
The use of spending reviews in OECD countries
The number of OECD
countries that conduct
spending reviews has
increased over the past
decade.

6. [Add slide title here]
6
> Carrying out comprehensive and substantial reviews
> Carrying out reviews that cover a substantive % of the budget to ensure political interest
> Aligning spending reviews and other tools such as gender and green
> These reviews can help governments systematically analyse expenditure in relation to a
country’s key priorities.
> Using existing resources and data
> Supreme Audit Office, performance data, good quality information and data on gender
equality
> Building up capacities
> In ministries and in the MoF
Scaling up the use of spending reviews

7. [Add slide title here]
7
1. Formulate clear objectives and specify the scope
2. Identify distinct political and public service roles in the spending review
3. Set clear governance arrangements throughout the spending review
4. Ensure integration with the budget
5. Implement recommendations in an accountable and transparent manner
6. Ensure the transparency of spending review reports and the framework
7. Update the spending review framework periodically
Best practices for spending reviews

8. [Add slide title here]
8
> Spending reviews should be systematically integrated into the preparation of the
government’s budget
> The spending review timetable should be planned so that findings are available in time
for the budget formulation process.
> This allows government’s to take the results of spending reviews into consideration
during budget negotiations
> As such, spending reviews should be a regular part of the budget process
> Integrating a gender perspective into spending reviews moves gender considerations
closer to the budgetary decision-making process
> Evaluations, performance information and results of a gender analysis can have valuable input and
should be available and used in the spending review process.
Ensure integration with the budget process

9. [Add slide title here]
9
> Integrating a gender perspective during the spending review
process by making sure no cuts are made within areas that can
further increase gender imbalances
> Reallocating spending to an area that benefits gender equality
when a spending review is concluded
> During the spending review process, it is also possible to analyse
whether gender considerations are reflected in funding certain
programmes
> It is important to keep in mind that gender considerations are an
important step in estimating how well resources are used within
expenditure areas
Integrating a gender perspective into spending reviews

10. [Add slide title here]
10
>Solid gender budgeting framework
> Wealth of gender related data is essential!
>Strong spending review process
> Solid governance structure
> Alignment with the budget process
> Political support and commitment
What needs to be in place?

11. [Add slide title here]
11
>As governments formulate responses to support
economic recovery in the coming years, it is
specifically important not to overlook the impact and
consequences for gender equality.
>Spending reviews can be a useful tool to
mainstream gender into the budget process.
Concluding words

12. [Add slide title here]
Thank you!
Alfrun Tryggvadottir
Alfrun.Tryggvadottir@oecd.org
05/09/2022