Since the creation of the partnership between SR and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, Rozvojový program OSN), 13 years have passed, during which almost 500 projects were implemented through SlovakAid in partner countries. Slovakia has built a functional institutional, legal and strategic framework, and in 2013 became a member of the club of the most advanced donors (the OECD Development Assistance Committee). The stable partnership between UNDP and SlovakAid is an important part of this story of "Slovak development cooperation."

The former Head of the Department of Development and Humanitarian Assistance at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Peter Hulenyi, while reviewing the successes of Slovak development cooperation during the European Year of Development in summer 2015, reminded that “partnerships between donors can have different forms and quality. Even in the short history of SlovakAid, one can find more or less successful stories. Among the most prominent, however, the partnership with UNDP should be considered the most notable.”

Peter Hulenyi mentioned that “cooperation began in essence right after SlovakAid was established in 2003, when in the UNDP Regional Center in Bratislava it became possible to create an ‘incubator’ for the future Slovak development agency SAMRS. The first project managers started there, the first manuals and procedures for the project cycle were prepared, and, most importantly, the first projects under the SlovakAid logo were approved and managed.”

According to him, after the establishment of agency SAMRS, cooperation between SlovakAid and UNDP naturally moved to a new position. Both donors offered what each excelled at—Slovakia's freshly gained experience from economic and social transformation, from reforms, from institution-building and from the democratization process, and UNDP's established network of regional offices in partner countries, a refined implementation mechanism and an independent expert team. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNDP was soon joined by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, and this resulted in an unprecedented cooperation format, which proved its viability, as shown by the current third phase of cooperation.

Following the successful implementation of the ‘Public Finance for Development’ programme, MF SR entered with UNDP and MZVaEZ SR into a new project, ‘Partnership of the Slovak Republic and UNDP for Results in International Development Cooperation.’ The implementation of the Public Finance for Development programme (in two partner countries: Moldova and Montenegro) continues within this project and is planned until the end of 2016.

Educating people in program-based budgeting

Public finance reform is generally considered to be one of the most successful areas of Slovakia’s economic transformation. Thanks to the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and UNDP for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, this reform has been transformed and implemented not only in Moldova (in the form of the programme ‘Public Finance for Development’) as part of the official development aid of the Slovak Republic for several years. The goal is to support the implementation of program-based budgeting in public administration, as well as to create conditions for sustainable capacity development. It is important for the programme’s success that the Moldovan side takes ownership of the reform agenda.

One key component of the programme is the support provided for implementing program-based budgeting (PBB). Slovak consultant Juraj Renčko, the advisor to the Slovak Minister of Finance during the reform period, said that this is all about linking policies and the people in charge of budgeting. It is about setting up communication, human resources and processes. Transparency reduces the possibility of fraud. The old system was designed for the short term (nobody cared what had been delivered or done). The new system is about a medium-term perspective that links strategy with the budget. Renčko also emphasizes: “Program-based budgeting (PBB) shows what you get for your money based on indicators. If you really want to implement what you need, you have to teach people in the partner country. Because the project ends and foreign consultants disappear. Then only the people in that country must continue the process.”

Important trainings within capacity building

In addition to the activities in Moldova focused on program-based budgeting, the project to strengthen capacities in public finances is also important—at the level of local public finances, among employees of local self-governments. Training is therefore a very important part of the ‘Public Finance for Development’ programme. The focus is on trainer training to ensure results—sustainable capacities in partner institutions and among their staff. Local trainers need coaching in addition to on-the-job support.

Aurelia Porumbescu from the Department of Public Budgeting at the Moldovan Ministry of Finance says: “Since this country focuses on granting autonomy to its regions, this type of budgeting can help local governments set priorities and the budget. That is then translated into better services for our citizens.” Now what they learned is being replicated—so far, 890 people have been trained across all of Moldova.

Watch the video with testimonies from Moldovan partners showing how the ‘Public Finance for Development’ programme and the mentioned reform look in practice. https://www.facebook.com/PublicFinance4Development/videos/1659737450945600/

Text: Božena Markovič Baluchová, Photo: www.publicfinance.undp.sk