How Is My Tax Money Spent?

Project facts

Project promoter:
Institute for Structural Research
Project Number:
PL05-0335
Target groups
Non governmental organisation,
Civil servants/Public administration staff
Status:
Completed
Initial project cost:
€69,277
Final project cost:
€63,172
From EEA Grants:
€ 56,425
The project is carried out in:
Poland

More information

Description

The goal of the project is to strengthen public scrutiny over the financial management at the level of central government in Poland. First, IBS will make a structured and visual presentation of public finance statistics in 2004-2016. Secondly, the ePF will develop an interactive web-based application that will help visualise the various positions of government spending and to what extend government spending is consistent with the perceptions and needs of users. Thirdly, the ePF will encourage non-governmental organisations and citizens to use this data and application in their own watchdog activities. Finally, IBS is going to encourage public administration to improve the methods of disclosing public finance information to the general public and it is going to develop and promote a relevant manual. The project is implemented in partnership with the ePF. ePF is one of the most important organizations acting upon open and transparent authorities as well as civil engagement.

Summary of project results

Openness and transparency of public finances form the key factors in building civil society. The information on state finances, easily available and presented in an intelligible way, are necessary to evaluate activities led by the government, both from the expert, and civil perspectives. But the possibility to control public finances in Poland is significantly limited because of insufficient availability of data and unclear methods of their presentation. The data make it impossible to precisely diagnose the directions of spending resources by the public sector. The aim of the project was to strengthen civil control over the state finances. For this purpose, information tools were created enhancing access and intelligibility of data on public finances for citizens, and publications were prepared diagnosing the situation of the Polish public finances. The activities led under the project were to contribute to better presentation of financial data by public administration and to encourage professional debate on the state finances. Under the project, data on public finances in Poland were arranged, made available and discussed. The main result of the project is an interactive Internet application showing how much resources are spent by the state for various public objectives and to what extent the structure of the expenses is in line with the beliefs and preferences of their users. A data warehouse on public finances was also created, gathering in one place all key data on the state finances for the years 2006-2014 and making them easily available to citizens. Under the project, also five reports on public finances in Poland were prepared. The reports discuss deficiencies in the transparency of public finances, present an opinion on the state budget for 2016, analyse evolution of Polish public finances in the years 2004-2014, and diagnose the state of Polish public finances when compared to other EU states. A handbook for public administration and NGOs was also developed where examples of good practices are indicated, making the access to data on the state finances easier for citizens. The project benefited civil society in general, watchdog organisations (in particular those active in the field of economy and public policies), and public administration. The partner of the project was the Foundation eState (presently, the Fundament Union), responsible for the IT part of the project and supporting promotion and dissemination of the results of the project.

Summary of bilateral results