Capacity Support for the Design and Operation of the Independent Budget Research Office within the King Prajadhipok's Institute Brief Description of the Proposed IDF Components/Activities (including Expected Outcome for each Component):  The proposed grant has the following objectives: 1.   To increase the oversight capabilities of both the public and parliament, particularly with regard to the budget 2.   To provide public input for better informed legislative decision-making surrounding economic and budget proposals 3.   To enhance budget-related local research capacity; and 4.   To institutionalize the fundamental practices necessary for the generation, gathering, analyses and dissemination of information relevant to public oversight of government. Activities/Components The following capacity building components are envisaged: 1.   Development of the blueprint of an IBO. Build the capacity of KPI to develop the blueprint for the IBO, including the design of the Office, its mission, role, tasks, structure and management.  These design aspects will be selected after a consultation process with stakeholders, including parliamentarians, civil society groups, and think tanks. Thai Members of Parliament and KPI representatives have participated in a series of learning activities aimed at increasing parliamentarians' and KPI's knowledge about international best practice concerning legislative budget offices.  This component is underway at present, organized and funded by WBI using its own resources; it will lay the foundation for the successful implementation of this project within a 30 month period. 2.   Action-Orientated Capacity Support to Enhance KPI's Ability to Establish an IBO. Capacity support will be provided to KPI to assist the Institute:    (a),,Determine the management and internal processes of the IBO, so that it is responsive to civil society needs, the parliamentary leadership, the Chair of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, and be accountable and responsive to the Committees' needs    (b),,Select and appoint an appropriately qualified Chief Policy Analyst who will be responsible for recruiting a team of budget and finance experts; and    (c),,Improve its understanding and knowledge about how to set-up an office within KPI, including selection and procurement by KPI of necessary equipment and software, such as data analysis and other relevant software, establish an information management system and subscribe to electronic databases.    Experience indicates that informed decisions about the management and processes of a newly established legislative budget office impacts on its ability to perform its primary functions.  Outputs from this action-orientated capacity support will include an organizational chart and by-laws of the IBO, recruitment of staff and development of an annual plan of action based on the budget-process cycle in Thailand. 3.   IBO Outputs.  Capacity support will be provided to the IBO in the form of formal trainings, the provision of consultant advisors, and periodic short term attachments so that the IBO can effectively carry out the following activities:    (a),,Policy analysis and independent research on budget issues of importance to civil society groups and parliament    (b),,Development of an efficient information management strategy, taking advantage of research generated by local think tanks, research institutions and organizations; and    (c),,Development and implementation of a professional development program for research staff.  This would include in-country training (including via Distance Learning), foreign training (where this is cost-effective), and short attachments to legislative budget offices and other similar institutions in other countries.    This proposed project provides for capacity support to assist KPI design/establish the IBO and, separately, for high-level consulting advisors to provide real time guidance and capacity support for the staff of the IBO during its incubation stage. Likely Outcomes of IDF-Financed Activities On completion of the IDF Components/ Activities, the IBO should be operating and well established. The planned outcome of this activity will be more informed and effective oversight of the budget process by both the Thai people and parliament and, thus, greater accountability of the Thai government to the electorate. This will be achieved by the IBO providing non-partisan budget information and analyses to the appropriate parliamentary oversight committees and civil society groups, thereby helping those committees and groups become more effective. Ownership and Sustainability KPI's annual operating budget is approved and allocated by Parliament, therefore ensuring KPI has parliamentary support for its proposed activities. Furthermore, KPI has received official endorsement from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance for this project. Parliamentarians will have an ownership stake in the IBO as its executive committee and working group will comprise, inter alia, parliamentarians, high-level government officials (including Budget Bureau of Thailand representatives) and distinguished academics. It is anticipated that when parliamentarians see the tangible benefits of an operating IBO, coupled with their sense of ownership over a non-partisan Office designed to support parliament's functions, they will continue allocating an annual budget to KPI that will ensure the sustainability of the IBO. See Concept Paper for further details (attached) This project aims to assist Parliament in strengthening non-partisan national budget analysis and assessment in Thailand through establishing an independent budget analysis office within King Prajadhipok#s Institute (KPI). The aim of the Independent Budget Office (IBO) is to provide non-partisan budget analysis and assessment for use by:  (1) Civil society groups to help them understand and participate in the national budget process; and  (2) The Thai Parliament to assist its scrutiny of the budget during the ex ante and ex post phase of the budget process  KPI is an independent public academic organization established in 1995 by an Act of Parliament to, among other things, provide parliamentary academic support. This IDF proposal would provide capacity support to KPI to design and operate the IBO.