Introduction to PEFA (Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment)

Practical Information

The course is designed as a two-day course based upon full day sessions made up of four one and half hour modules. There shall be a lunch break and two coffee breaks each of the course days

Prerequisite - Participants are required to have a good understanding of Public Financial Management, acquired through attendance to the course PFM I or any other training or working experience.

For further information, please contact the DEVCO Training Team.

Training Objectives

The objective of the PEFA Performance Measurement Framework course is to provide EC officials with:

• An understanding of the PEFA assessment tool with a clear appreciation of both its strengths and weaknesses in gaining an insight into the status of Public Financial Management processes and practice in a given country.
• A basis to manage and engage in PEFA Assessments in a meaningful way especially with respect to planning an assessment, drafting or commenting the ToR, reviewing a draft PEFA Report, participating in the dialogue with government in an effective way in respect of undertaking PFM reforms and monitoring PFM reform progress over time.
• The capacity to establish a link between PEFA assessments and EU Budget Support.

The course is based on the version of the PEFA framework adopted beginning of 2016.

Target Audience

This course is intended for DEVCO staff in delegations and at HQs. It is also open to colleagues from DGs ECFIN, NEAR, TRADE, ECHO and from the EEAS. Participants are required to have a good understanding of Public Financial Management, acquired through attendance to the course PFM I or any other training or working experience. A limited number of places are available for government officials from partner countries and from EU Member States development agencies.

Method

The learning methods will include the following

• Introduction to key concepts of the PEFA Performance Measurement Framework through direct presentation and discussion methods
• The use of original source material developed by the consultants as well as training material developed by the PEFA Secretariat
• The use of extensive examples from many different countries with different experiences to illustrate the points put across
• The use of short work group exercises to consolidate concepts
• The use of case studies to deepen the understanding of deriving indicator scorings from the available evidence, as well as be able to distil through consideration of a summary assessment into appropriate reform platform focus

Language

This training is offered in English. 

Outline and Course Materials

Module 1 - The PEFA Programme & the Mechanics of the Framework (951.32 KB)

Module 2 - Group Work - Common Problems Working with Indicators (109.21 KB)
Case studies on scoring indicators (35.91)

Module 3 - The Assessment Process (189.18 KB)

Module 4 - Case on Concept Note for a PFM Performance Assessment (34.26 KB)

Module 5 - Interpreting a draft Assessment Report (152.32 KB)

Module 6 - Case Study on Interpreting a draft assessment (40.1 KB)

Module 7 - Sub-National Governments, Sector-level analysis, & Other PFM Diagnostic tools (566.94 KB)

Module 8 - Use of PEFA Assessments for Reform formulation & monitoring (148.41 KB)

Module 9 - Comparisons over time & Between Countries (131.89 KB)

All course modules can be downloaded together in a compressed zip file:Download (2.09 MB)