Centro de Andlisis e lnvestigaci6n (FUNDAR), lnternational Budget Project (IBP) and the
lnternational Human Rights lnternship Program (HRIP)'s Using Budget Analysis to Advance
Human Rights (2004)
Three organizations came together to produce a guide to using budget analysis to advance
human rights: Centro de Andlisis e lnvestigaci6n (FUNDAR), an organization involved in
research, analysis, education and advocacy around issues of democracy in Mexico; the
lnternational Budget Project (lBP), part of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which
assists non-governmental organizations and researchers in their efforts to analyze budget
policies and improve budget processes and institutions; and the lnternational Human Rights
lnternship Program (lHRlP), part of the lnstitute of lnternational Education, which facilitates the
exchange of knowledge and experience among human rights organizations and between
organizations in the human rights field and other fields. These organizations propose a fivestep methodology:
Step 1. "Start with a 'rights frame of mind,' a perspective that considers a situation through the
lens of rights, looking for rights issues and for strategies to advance rights."
Step 2. "ldentify a case, a situation or a sector (e.9., health or education) of particular concern
and start developing it into a full case study."
Step 3. "Engage in an iterative process, starting with human rights standards, to get a fuller
idea of potential rights issues. Then go in either direction-gather other data or look at budget
figures. You will want in either case to identify how the government's budget could be
implicated in the case/situation/sector, and do some initial budget analysis to see what light
budget figures shed on the rights issues. You will likely also need to gather and analyze
additional, non-budget data (e.9., statistics) to develop your fuller picture. Pull these together,
return to the rights standards and do a more in-depth analysis. Follow this with a fuller budget
analysis and gathering of further information. Repeat this process, until you are satisfied you
have arrived at a clear picture of the case/situation/sector as well as rights and budget issues
involved."
Step
4. "Write up your findings."
Step
5. "Develop an advocacy
strategy that makes use of the findings."
Social Watch Philippines (SWP)'s Alternative Budget lnitiative e010,2011,2012)
Founded in 1995, Social Watch Philippines "is part of the Social Watch international network
dedicated to monitoring national obligations to economic and social rights." (Social Watch
Philippines,2010) "Financing for development" is SWP's key advocacy. ln 2006, SWP
launched the Alternative Budget lnitiative, "an advocacy campaign for reforms by formulating
and lobbying for alternative budget proposals." (Social Watch Philippines, 2010) ln its website,
SWP describes the Alternative Budget lnitiative thus:
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