Openness is recognized as an important feature of a good fiscal policy. By enhancing governments’ accountability, citizens’ trust, and reducing opportunities for corruption, greater fiscal openness may contribute to more efficient collection and distribution of public resources. Researchers around the world and international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, the World Bank, the International Budget Partnership, the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency and the Open Government Partnership are showing growing interest in fiscal openness. Although expanding, the field of inquiry is still new, and many basic questions remain open. Which aspects of fiscal openness should be targeted? Where does demand for fiscal openness come from? Why are some governments more fiscally open than others? What impact does greater fiscal openness actually have? What is the role of technology, in particular of the internet and social media, in generating the demand for more and better fiscal information? How can we harness technology to provide such information? How can countries without extensive experience in this area benefit from those that have seen positive effects of greater fiscal openness?

The IPF has been involved in research on fiscal openness, particularly with respect to budget transparency and public participation at national and sub-national levels. Currently the IPF is coordinating a project Understanding, monitoring and analysing local government budget transparency: Case study of Croatia and Slovenia – Open Local Budget Index (OLBI), funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (IP-09-2014).