Inaugural Course on Budgeting for Strategic Priorities

The Joint Vienna Institute in collaboration with the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department held its first regional training on Budgeting for Strategic Priorities from August 31 to September 4, 2026. The course was completed by nineteen participants, mostly from ministries of finance from across the JVI region. The training aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of the principles, tools, and budget institutions that underpin budgeting for strategic priorities. It covered the comprehensive framework for integrating strategic priorities into the budget cycle, from preparation through execution, monitoring, and reporting. The course included specific focus on gender budgeting and green public financial management (PFM) tools and practices, in line with the growing adoption of these reforms across countries.

The course combined lectures, country experiences, technical exercises, and group presentations by participants to consolidate learning and support practical application of the concepts and analytical tools . Key topics covered included medium-term budgeting, budget structures and tagging, spending reviews, fiscal risk management, project appraisal and analysis, impact assessments, monitoring and reporting, external oversight, and legal and institutional arrangements to support budgeting for strategic priorities. Notably, core budget institutions including the medium-term budget framework, spending reviews, and program and performance-based budgeting drew particular interest from participants, consistent with their countries’ reform path. 

The country-level exercises gave participants a structured way to identify institutional gaps and potential entry points for reform. Presentations by selected countries illustrated reform experience and progress, including on how gender and climate budgeting tools such as tagging and budget statements can be adapted to different institutional contexts.  The interactive lecturers and sessions offered participants opportunities to ask questions and share experiences, further enriching learning. The overall feedback on the course was very positive, with participants highlighting the relevance of the topics covered, the lectures and discussions, along with the strong balance between theory and practice. 

Nompumelelo Radebe, International Monetary Fund