During 2003-2010, Ecorys has provided over 130 modular trainings on Public Finance Management and related topics during in-country missions. An audience of approximately 500 participants – embassy staff, local stakeholders, other donors – participated in these training sessions. Participants indicated that the training increased their knowledge/skills on public finance management and related topics in the country context, and improved external dialogue on public finance management in the partner country.

Ecorys provided these sessions in the context of the Public Finance Management Support Programme, the support / advice / training programme to enhance capacity with respect to Public Finance Management (PFM) and related thematic issues at 25 Embassies of the Kingdom of The Netherlands (EKN) in partner countries and at Headquarters of the Ministry in The Hague.

In-house and selected PFM experts support staff of the embassies and other stakeholders (representatives of other donors, government officials from the Ministry of Finance and line ministries) with coaching and training during seven missions. The consultant provides technical support to embassy staff on budgeting, taxation, fiscal space and scaling up of aid, fiscal decentralisation, debt relief, aid modalities (incl. general and sectoral budget support), SWAPs, donor co-ordination, PRSPs and their costing, environmental fiscal reform and accountability and corruption. PFM tools such as Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF), Public Expenditure Reviews (PER) and Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) are also discussed with country examples. The programme focuses on improving the knowledge of the target group on local PFM issues, in terms of local budget processes and procedures as well as in contents (e.g. structure, sustainability, etc.) of the budget.

Embassies in the following countries participated: Albania, Bangladesh, Bénin, Bolivia, Bosnia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Kenya, Macedonia, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia.

Ecorys also provides various PFM training courses to other bilateral donors, including Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Ireland.

For more information about our PFM training courses, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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