Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) refers to the application of gender mainstreaming in the budgetary process. It means a gender based assessment of budgets, incorporating a gender perspective at all levels of the budgetary process and restructuring revenues and expenditures in order to promote gender equality.

Over the past few years, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has been supporting government and non-governmental organizations in South East Europe to undertake various initiatives aimed at promoting the use of gender responsive budgeting. This work has taken place in four countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia and Serbia. It aims at advancing the implementation of national and international commitments on gender equality through incorporating gender perspective in policy and budget making processes and strengthen women’s participation in decision-making and monitoring.

In FYR Macedonia, UNIFEM work on gender responsive budgeting at local level is implemented in the framework of a project financially supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is implemented in the period December 2008 - April 2010 and takes place in two pilot municipalities – Municipality of Tetovo and Municipality of Bitola.


This project contributes directly to the implementation of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality (NAPGE) 2007-2012, particularly towards the following activities that are envisioned in the area of “Strengthening of institutional capacities and mechanisms for inclusion of gender perspectives in public policies, strategies and action plans and inclusion of methods of gender budgeting at national and local level.” The project aims at:
- Increased capacity and commitment of government officials involved in policy and budget making in two municipalities in Macedonia and of Members of Parliament on gender responsive budgets;
- Strengthened capacities of local NGOs and gender equality commissions in two municipalities in Macedonia on gender responsive budgets;
- Partnerships expanded between gender equality advocates from local NGOs, gender commissions, local councilors and local governments officials from two municipalities in Macedonia;
- Networks of actors working on GRB strengthened at regional and sub-regional level through exchange of experience between Macedonia and other SEE and EU countries.

Activities implemented in the framework of the project
Over the course of the project the following activities are implemented:

Selection of pilot municipalities
The municipalities of Tetovo and Bitola have been selected as pilot municipalities where the project is being implemented based on several criteria, including political will and active Commission for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men. Upon selection of the Municipalities, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with each, outlining commitments and responsibilities of UNIFEM and the local governments in carrying out gender responsive budgeting activities per the project.

Mapping study
Upon selection of the pilot municipalities, baseline assessment/mapping study of the processes of policy making and budgeting was carried out. The study (one per each municipality) was done by local consultant and includes overview of institutional and political contexts in the municipalities and of development and socio-economic priorities; description of gender responsive budgeting as a tool on local level; function and capacities of existing gender machinery; existing mechanisms for citizen and women’s participation in policy and budget making processes.

Field research for assessment of participation, needs and priorities of women and men in the selected municipalities
As a basis for capacity building and advocacy activities on GRB in the two municipalities, UNIFEM supported a representative survey of citizens’ awareness with regards local policy-making process, their satisfaction with public services and their needs in relation to specific areas within the competence of the local government.

In the period March-July, 2009, two non-governmental organizations - “Women’s Forum” of– Tetovo, and “Klea” – Bitola – carried out a questionnaire-based survey among 2,500 citizens (in Tetovo) and 2,200 (in Bitola) that examined their satisfaction with local government provided services; knowledge of and participation in local governance and budgetary processes; and, key needs in areas that the municipality has responsibilities for. In addition to collecting quantitative and qualitative data about these issues, the survey questionnaires were designed in such a way as to educate respondents about municipal competencies, municipal budget development, and ways in which citizens can get involved in the policy-making process. The collected information have been disaggregated and analyzed according to different variables, i.e. citizens’ sex, age, location, and ethnicity, and a summary of the analyses will be published in one joint publication at the end of the project.

Workshops to discuss possibilities for gender responsive budgeting in the municipalities
In the month of September, 2009, UNIFEM, in close collaboration with the Commissions for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men in the Municipalities of Tetovo and Bitola, organized a half-day workshop in each municipality, with the aim to discuss the developments on the GRB project at local level and to accent the linkage between gender budgeting at local level and national level. The workshops consisted of presentations on what has been achieved so far, and discussion on next steps with focus on planned analysis of municipal programs and budgets from gender perspective. The main purpose of this discussion was to determinate which municipal programs will be analyzed in order to propose ways to increase gender sensitivity of the programs.

Analysis of municipal programs and budgets from gender perspective
In order to create stronger understanding among local counterparts in the two municipalities on the gender aspects of current municipal programs and budgets, UNIFEM commissioned analysis of selected programs from gender perspective. The research is on going and is conducted in the period October 2009 - March, 2010, and is being carried out by two local consultants.

The analysis is focusing on programs related to social protection and education, and assesses the extent to which gender equality issues have been considered in the development and implementation of these programs. Based on data availability, the analysis will aim at examining budget allocations within the particular program over the past 2 years, as well as what is proposed for the coming year, focusing on adequacy of specific allocations, trends and variation, and beneficiaries. The final analyses will provide suggestions as to what additional information should be generated and measures taken by the municipality in order to implement and track these services/programmes more effectively from a gender perspective. A summary of the analysis will also be published in one joint publication at the end of the project.

Training on gender responsive policy making and budgeting for local stakeholders
A training “Gender Responsive Policy Making and Budgeting at the Local Level in Macedonia” took place in November, 2009, in Ohrid. The training was attended by 30 participants from the two municipalities, namely local counselors and members of the local administration, as well as representatives from municipalities in two other countries in South East Europe: Albania and Serbia, as well as guest speakers from Cordoba Provincial Government, Province of Andalusia, Spain. The goal of the training was to strengthen capacities of local stakeholders on gender mainstreaming and gender responsive budgeting and to provide opportunities for exchange of experiences between countries. The training was delivered by international and national experts and was the first training that covered the topic of GRB at local level in the country which brought international experiences and local level experiences in one place.

Parliamentary Public Hearing on GRB
Besides local municipalities, the project entails activities with Members of national Parliament (MPs)_in identifying their role in gender responsive budgeting and building their capacities. Considering the important role that legislators have in generating demand for GRB in a given country, a Parliamentary Public Hearing on Gender Responsive Budgeting was supported in May, 2009. The hearing was the first on this topic convened, and was organized in cooperation with the Parliamentary Committee for Equal Opportunites between Women and Men. The purpose of the hearing was to introduce the concept of GRB to the public and the steps that have been initiated towards the application of this tool, to discuss the role of the Parliament in performing oversight in the mainstreaming of gender perspective in budgetary processes, and to exchange experiences with two European Union member states: the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Republic of Austria. In addition, the handbook “Parliament, the Budget, and the Gender”, 2004, by Joachim Wehner and Winnie Byanyima (key resource for Parliamentarians) was translated into Macedonian and Albanian and distributed to MPs and to participants. Copies of the publication are available for interested parties.

Future Planned Activities
Until the end of the project, several additional activities will be implemented:
• Organization of one round table per municipality to discuss work completed and future plans with citizenry towards improving participation in policy planning and budgeting processes.
• Study tours/exchange of experiences between the representatives of Macedonian municipalities and municipalities in Albania and Serbia where GRB work at local level has been implemented in recent years.
• Participation of local stakeholders in international conference on gender budgeting, which will be organized in February in Skopje to strengthen linkages with national level efforts towards GRB.
• Capacity development of MPs on GRB
• Exchanging of experiences and best practices on GRB with MPs from another country.