EU/PAT 16-19: Parlamentariskt Budget Office EU/PAT 16-19: Parliamentary Budget Office - Sida's contribution: PIC Parliamentary Budget Office Detta är ett tilläggsbeslut till 4/2018 och tilläggsbeslut 13/2020 och rör en förlängning av aktivitetsperioden av Sidas pågående kapacitetshöjande stöd till funktioner inom Kambodjas parlament. Kambodja inledde år 2004 en reform med syfte att stärka den offentliga finansiella styrningen (OFS). Reformen har finansierats av flera givare, däribland EU och Sida. Sedan 2011 har PIC fått svenskt stöd för att stödja genomförandet av sin verksamhet som bl.a. syftar till att bygga upp parlamentets analys- och utredningskapacitet. Det svenska stödet lämnas som ett kärnstöd till PIC:s nationella verksamhet.

Den senaste perioden som Sida stödjer med en total budget om MSEK 16,5 genomförs under perioden 2018-2020. Detta tilläggsbeslut innefattar en förlängning av aktivitetsperioden som egentligen ska avsultas 31 december 2020 men nu föreslås omfatta perioden fram till och med 31 mars 2021. Tilläggsbeslutet innefattar inget tillskott av medel.

Stödet under perioden 2018-2020 och även under förlängningen till 31 mars 2021 är ett budgetstöd till PIC:s Kambodja-verksamhet som bl.a. syftar till att stärka parlamentets förmåga att analysera statsbudgeten. Insatsen omfattar fortsatta utbildningsaktiviteter och fältbesök ute i landet, där parlamentarikernas kontakter med medborgarna står i fokus. Nätverkande och studiebesök vid andra parlament i regionen och/eller andra delar av världen ingår också men behöver sedan corona-pandemins start i början av 2020 ske online. PIC håller också på att omorganiseras för att även utöka sin regionala verksamhet till att omfatta liknande stöd som i Kambodja även till Myanmar, Laos och Vietnam. Detta kommer att ske genom att överföra PIC:s nuvarande verksamhet till en nystartad NGO som ska heta PCAsia fr o m 1 april 2021. En del av PIC:s verksamhet under förlängningen kommer att fokusera på denna omorganisation. This is a supplementary decision to decision 4/2018 and supplementary decision 13/2020. It concerns an extension of the activity period of Sida's ongoing capacity-enhancing support for functions within Cambodia's parliament. In 2004, Cambodia launched a reform aimed at strengthening public financial management (OFS). The reform has been funded by several donors, including the EU and Sida. Since 2011, PIC has received Swedish financing to support the implementation of its activities, which e.g. aims to build up the Cambodian Parliament's analytical and investigative capacity. The Swedish support is provided as a core support to PIC's national operations.

The current Sida financing is SEK 16.5 million which is being implemented during the period 2018-2020. This additional decision includes an extension of the activity period from 31 December 2020, up to and including 31 March 2021. The supplementary decision does not include any additional funding.

The support during the period 2018-2020 and also during the extension to 31 March 2021 is a budget support to PIC's Cambodia operations which, among other things, aims to strengthen Parliament's ability to analyze the state budget. The initiative includes continued training activities and field visits out in the country, where the parliamentarians' contacts with the citizens are in focus. Networking and study visits to other parliaments in the region and / or other parts of the world are also included, but need to take place online since the start of the corona pandemic in early 2020. The PIC is also being reorganized to extend its regional operations to include similar support, through peer learning and exchange, to Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. This will be done by transferring PIC's current operations to a newly started NGO called PCAsia from 1 April 2021. Part of PIC's operations during the extension will focus on this reorganization. One of the core tasks of a parliament is to approve and oversee the executive branch of government’s budget and economic policies. This oversight is by nature technical, but parliamentarians may not have the background or resources necessary to effectively scrutinize fiscal and economic policy. To do so adequately, parliamentarians may find it useful to be supported by a non-partisan research service that specializes in the national budget and economy.  This capacity is limited within the Cambodian Parliament— both the National Assembly (NA) and the Senate—and demand for such support is also limited. But by strengthening analytical capacity in the secretariats, it is expected that supply may drive demand for these services in the future by increasing knowledge about the value and importance of fiscal and economic oversight among parliamentarians themselves. 
The intervention financed under the PAT programme supports the establishment of a Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) training programme. The name of the programme was changed during the implementation to Fiscal Analysis Capacity Training (FACT) programme.
The intervention's intended outcomes are:1. Increased capacity of parliamentary staff to perform PBO-related tasks2. Enhanced understanding and knowledge of parliamentarians on budgetary matters3. An institutional foundation for a PBO in place.
The main focus of the intervention is to train ten staff members from the Senate’s research department to conduct budget analysis. In parallel with the capacity building of this group of trainees, PIC is laying the foundations to institutionalize the expert knowledge of these trainees once their training is complete. The final decision on which institutional arrangement Cambodia will choose in relation to budget oversight will be a decision for the Parliament and is not under the control of the intervention.