Call for Research Proposals: Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability 2019, USA

ABOUT

The Call for Research Proposals aims to disentangle the role of PFM, as measured through PEFA, in strengthening public service delivery, particularly in education and health sectors. Research can be carried out at multiple levels, including global, regional (e.g., Europe and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, etc.), country level, and level of subnational governments. Research proposals might opt for a holistic approach to viewing PFM and its role on service delivery, particularly in education and health, or can investigate different PFM tools (e.g., medium-term expenditure frameworks, role of performance information and performance audits, cash management, Treasury Single Account, participatory budgeting, parliamentary oversight, etc.) as well as different approaches to PFM reform and to present their impact on service delivery.

Research proposals focusing on service delivery at the subnational level are particularly encouraged. In recent years, public sector reform and fiscal decentralization initiatives in many low and middle-income countries have given subnational governments (SNG) additional responsibilities for public financial management as well as for service delivery. The decentralization and delegation of service delivery responsibilities to SNGs are expected to bring decision making closer to people, leading to an increase in the effectiveness of the public sector and in the quality of public services. Since many public services —including education, health, water, sanitation — are consumed locally, decentralization is perceived as an important component of public sector reform efforts to achieve effective service delivery.

Research proposals might also focus on the role of specific PFM actors in PFM reform and their impact on service delivery, including line ministries, local governments, citizens, legislatures, and others. For example, in decentralized settings PFM arrangements for service delivery tend to be more complex due to the multi-layered relationships, fragmented accountability, and complex resources flows and reporting arrangements; the research can therefore aim to provide a better understanding of different PFM systems and the role of related actors, and how they underpin service delivery systems. Similarly, citizens and media can have a potentially important role in incentivizing political commitment to sustain PFM reforms and make them impactful and ensure that sufficient funds are allocated to priority areas, reach frontline providers on time and are used for their intended purposes in the most economical and efficient manner. 

Research proposals may also build on the existing research on fiscal policies and gender equality (e.g., IMF, 2017; OECD, 2017) and unscramble the role of gender in governance of service delivery. This can be done by assessing the role of different PFM institutions and tools (e.g., gender responsive performance indicators, inclusion of gender data in budget statements, etc.) – as measured by PEFA assessments and combined with other relevant tools and datasets – that promote gender equality or use gender-disaggregated data to enhance the equitable delivery of services. 

Some of the existing research that has used the PEFA dataset to measure PFM improvements has suggested that the existing quantitative analysis needs to be complemented by qualitative research. This is envisaged to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the role of specific contexts, the role of different stakeholders and their motivations in pursuing PFM reforms and how this influences their results and impact (de Renzio, 2009; Andrews, 2010; Fritz et al., 2017). Consequently, research proposals are invited to include qualitative or quantitative research methods or a combination of both. 

BACKGROUND

Public financial management has attracted significant interest and resources from development and research communities since the 1990s.Once development partners began to provide aid more programmatically, and especially began to provide budget support as opposed to targeted project-based aid, there was an acknowledgement that there was a critical need to focus on strengthening partner countries’ institutions (de Renzio, 2006) with an emphasis on the need to invest in strengthening PFM systems as one of the ways to minimize fiduciary risks (OECD, 2011) and as a tool for addressing poverty, inequality, and promoting economic growth (Sobhan, 2002; Allen, 2009).

PFM has therefore become a key component of the good governance agenda (Schiavo-Campo, 2007). Strong PFM systems are considered one of the enabling elements needed for the achievement of three of the quoted desirable fiscal and budgetary outcomes, namely: achievement of aggregate fiscal discipline by influencing the size of resource collection, management of debt, and public spending; strategic allocation of resources by influencing the composition of spending; and efficient service delivery by influencing the execution of spending and ensuring that budgeted revenues are used to achieve the best levels of public services within available resources (PEFA, 2016; Cangiano et al., 2013; Schick, 2013).

To have a better understanding of how different PFM systems perform, seven international development partners initiated the PEFA (Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability) program in 2001. They include the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and the UK's Department for International Development. The PEFA program provides a framework for assessing and reporting on the strengths and weaknesses of PFM using quantitative indicators to measure performance.

The PEFA framework was established to reduce duplication and costs of multiple assessments. It was conceptualized to facilitate a dialogue among governments and other relevant stakeholders on how to improve the effectiveness of fiscal policies. As part of the global effectiveness agenda, PEFA was also aimed at improving the results of development cooperation.

Since 2005, PEFA assessments have been carried out 590 times in 150 countries. While countries have on average shown overall improvements in PFM (Figure 1), global progress has, however, been mixed with wide variations across different regions and income levels. For example, when examining regional variations, countries in Europe and the Central Asia region have seen significant progress over the last decade while there have been discrepancies in performance among Middle-East and North African and Sub-Saharan countries. When analyzing performance based on income, low-income countries have made some gains, albeit from a low base; and in general countries with higher income per capita show better PFM performance (pefa.org; de Renzio, 2009; Fritz et al., 2017).

SELECTION CRITERIA

All proposals should clearly describe the following:

Research proposal summary

Please provide one-page executive summary, up to 500 words. The summary should include: i) rationale, ii) objectives, iii) methods, iv) expected outcomes.

Background

Please provide a two-page background that includes literature review of previous studies on the subject, stating its importance and rationale for proposing the study.

Objectives

Please state the overall objective expected to be achieved from this research and specific objectives which break down the general objective.

Methodology

The methodology section should describe the study design, data sources other than the PEFA data, and specify the approach to research and methods used.

Timeframe of proposed activities

Please indicate the activities to be conducted and the corresponding timing, including the submission of progress reports, first and final draft, as well as the final report including comments from the World Bank internal peer review process.

References cited

Any references cited should be listed using standardized citation style.

Proposal budget with justifications

Please include the research project budget breakdown with according justifications. 

SELECTION PROCESS

The deadline for submission of completed applications is February 28, 2019. Any applications received after this date will not be considered for funding.

Please note that the PEFA Secretariat is housed at the World Bank and that all selected research projects will be peer reviewed in line with the internal World Bank peer review process.

SUBSIDIES AND DURATION

The award amount will range from US$ 5,000 to US$ 50,000 for the research proposal. The proposed duration for which support is requested must not exceed 10 months. Selected individuals or firms will engage in consulting appointments or contracts with the World Bank.

ELIGIBILITY OF APPLICANTS

Public finance practitioners, scientists, researchers, and scholars are encouraged to submit proposals. While postgraduate students are not encouraged to submit research proposals on their own, they could support teams of main researchers.

REVIEW PROCESS

Research proposals will be reviewed by the PEFA Research Committee, composed of a panel of representatives of PEFA partners as well as members from the academia. The PEFA Research Committee will evaluate all papers in terms of originality, analytical rigor, and policy relevance and agree on a shortlist of accepted papers. 

Selected research proposals will be contacted by March 30, 2019 and will be required to produce an interim report outlining the initial research findings by August 30, 2019 and submit a final draft research paper for peer-review by October 11, 2019. The final papers are expected to be submitted by December 6, 2019 and presented at the PEFA Steering Committee meeting in December 2019. 

CONTACT

Any queries regarding the participation and selection in PEFA Call for Research Proposals 2019 may be sent to:

Urška Zrinski
PEFA 2019 Call for Research Proposals Coordinator
PEFA Secretariat

c/o The World Bank Group
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433 U.S.A
Phone: +1 202 458 0526
uzrinski@pefa.org 

APPLY

Proposals should be submitted via email at services@pefa.org with a corresponding subject ‘PEFA 2019 Call for Research Proposal’. 

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.