Budgets can be complex documents. Many people feel intimidated by budget work, assuming that it requires very technical skills. The reality is that budget work can be straightforward. While some budgets are more sophisticated than others, the bottom line is usually simple. Using basic arithmetic, civil society can use budget information to talk in powerful ways about how public resources are used for education.

By analysing education financing, citizens can understand budget priorities and the factors that influence education expenditure. Budget analysis has been used in many countries to lobby governments to prioritise education in public spending. It has also strengthened the ability of the poor and marginalised to advocate for their right to education.

This guide provides civil society organisations (CSOs) in the education sector with the basic information they need to get started on budget work. It introduces core concepts relating to budgets, and discusses ways of analysing them. It also demonstrates how budget work can inform strategic advocacy messages, and bring about change in the education sector. The guide is divided into five areas:

Budget work in education: describes the role of civil society in education budget work

Budget basics: explains what the budget tells us, and how the budget cycle works

Getting started: provides background information on identifying key actors in the budget process, legal frameworks, and where to gain access to information on the budget

Budget work in practice: explains the difference between budget analysis, monitoring, and tracking, and gives worked examples of these activities.

What next?: provides information on how to use data for advocacy purposes, as well as where and when to disseminate it.

As well as background information and budget exercises, short case studies throughout the guide demonstrate the many innovative ways in which budget work has been applied in the education sector. At the end of the guide there is a dictionary of economic and budget terminology. There is also a list of useful reference materials where you can find out more about budget work, both in the education sector and more generally.