Gender-Responsive Budgeting in the Kyrgyz Republic

The level of development achieved in social and political institutions in the Kyrgyz Republic (hereafter KR) provides an opportunity and a suitable foundation for the cooperation of state and non-governmental organizations on relevant issues in the development agenda of the country. Ensuring the transparency and fairness of budgeting processes is, in particular, an example of such an intersection of interests. Different players offer their own approaches and technologies to ensure efficiency of this process.

Thanks to the project “Increasing Accountability in Financing for Gender Equality” funded by the European Union (hereafter EU), the non-government organization “Innovative solution” and its partner, UN Women in Kyrgyzstan, were able to make a significant contribution to the advancement of gender-sensitive budgeting (hereafter GSB)technologies in the country through different kinds of interventions supporting the capacity and resources of key state agencies – the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Social Development (the authorized body for gender policy), as well as civil society activists.

This paper describes the context, key activities and project objectives, thanks to which GSB case in KR can be considered successful. The cooperation experience between different players in GSB showcased the possibility and ability of a non-governmental organization to be a serious resource for budgeting policy in the country, as “Innovative solution Inc.”, at the request of state agencies, has analyzed and revised methodological fundamentals of the budgeting process to include a gender dimension in to these standards.

The paper describes GSB development in KR, provides an overview of initiatives implemented by GSB partners at local and national levels, and describes the results and products of the project to promote GSB.

Equally important is the analysis of contextual and factor features of GSB in KR which makes the experience of GSB advancement special and unique

The innovative project products form the basis for further development and dissemination of knowledge about GSB and successful implementation of commitments on financing for gender equality by government agencies.

This case will be useful for all actors involved in different stages of the budgeting process at local and national levels.