Strategic Public Financial Management: Budgeting, Climate Resilience and ESG Toolkit

Dates:

• 07 - 18 June 2027

• 04 - 15 October 2027

Workshop Overview

This two-week programme combines:

• Public Financial Management Reform: Sustainable Transformation
• Green Public Financial Management, ESG and Sustainable Financing

Strategic financial management is the engine that turns a government’s vision into reality. This two-week programme provides an integrated, practical examination of strategic budgeting, the formulation and approval stages of the budget cycle, and the application of green public financial management, climate resilience and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles.

Rather than treating budgeting as a purely technical exercise, this course empowers officials to view the cycle as a strategic tool for long-term development. The course emphasises the need for budgets to be realistic and deliverable at every level – from Parliament to individual service delivery units – in a process that integrates policy and operational planning.

Participants will learn how to move from traditional line-item budgeting to Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs) and Programme-Based Budgeting, ensuring that allocations support defined policy outcomes. They will also examine how climate and disaster risks, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Net Zero commitments and ESG obligations can be embedded in fiscal strategy, capital investment, procurement, reporting and financing decisions.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Strengthen Budget Formulation: Develop multi-year fiscal strategies that align national development plans with realistic revenue and expenditure forecasts.
• Master the MTEF: Implement Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks to ensure policy consistency and fiscal discipline across multiple years.
• Optimise Resource Allocation: Apply programme- and performance-based budgeting to improve service delivery outcomes.
• Utilise Digital Tools: Apply IFMIS, data analytics and AI to streamline budget preparation, improve data quality and support routine and sophisticated public finance tasks.
• Enhance the Approval Process: Improve budget documentation, transparency and legislative engagement to facilitate effective scrutiny.
• Assess Climate and ESG Risks: Identify climate change, disaster and ESG risks, their fiscal impacts and the opportunities facing public organisations.
• Green the PFM Framework: Adapt fiscal policy, public finance strategy and PFM processes to address ESG risks, opportunities and obligations.
• Align Investment with NDCs: Assess, plan and budget for capital investment in the context of national climate commitments and Net Zero goals.
• Mobilise Sustainable Finance: Evaluate credible private, official and multilateral financing options for sustainable investment.
• Address Cross-Functional ESG Issues: Respond to ESG considerations affecting finance, procurement, audit and pension investment functions.
• Strengthen Sustainability Reporting: Respond to climate-related disclosure, accounting and reporting requirements under IFRS and IPSAS and communicate effectively with stakeholders.

Key Topics

The Formulation Phase – Strategic Planning and Fiscal Strategy

• Linking national policy, development plans and climate commitments to the fiscal framework.
• Macroeconomic forecasting, revenue estimation and construction of a credible fiscal envelope.
• Emerging fiscal, climate, disaster and sustainability risks affecting PFM frameworks.

The MTEF and Multi-Year Ceilings

• Designing and implementing a robust Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.
• Setting top-down ceilings and managing bottom-up sector requirements.
• Integrating NDCs, Net Zero priorities and ESG obligations into medium-term resource allocation.

Programme and Performance-Based Budgeting

• Moving from inputs to outputs, outcomes and service delivery results.
• Developing key performance indicators and aligning the Chart of Accounts with programme structures.
• Embedding ESG, sustainability and environmental, climate and social impact assessment in programme and project appraisal.

Green PFM and the Sustainable Investment Cycle

• Practical approaches to greening the PFM cycle across different types of economies.
• Green budgeting, capital planning and sustainable procurement while minimising corruption risk.
• Local and global drivers for ESG adoption in public- and private-sector entities.

Climate and Sustainable Finance

• Private capital flows and multilateral strategies shaping the climate and sustainable finance landscape.
• Green, social, ESG and sustainability-linked bonds and other innovative instruments.
• Credible approaches to sourcing private and official development finance.

Digital Foundations – IFMIS, Data and AI

• Leveraging IFMIS for budget formulation, workflow management, version control and data consolidation.
• Using data analytics and AI to support routine and sophisticated public financial management tasks.

The Approval Phase – Legislative Engagement and Transparency

• Navigating the legal and regulatory framework governing the budget process.
• Strengthening the role of Parliament and civil society in budget scrutiny.
• Transparency, greenwashing, ethics, integrity and corruption risks.

Sustainability Disclosure and Reporting

• Climate-related disclosure, accounting and reporting requirements under IFRS and IPSAS.
• Sustainability and integrated ESG reporting under international frameworks.
• Building stakeholder trust through credible communication and assurance.

Who Should Attend

• Senior budget officers, directors of planning and public finance managers in Ministries of Finance.
• Finance directors, strategic planners and programme managers in line ministries, departments and agencies.
• Policy advisers working to align sector strategies, national budgets, NDCs and sustainable development priorities.
• Officials responsible for public investment, procurement, debt management, climate finance and development financing.
• Auditors, accountants, pension investment professionals and staff responsible for IFRS, IPSAS or sustainability reporting.
• Parliamentary Budget Office staff, members of finance committees and representatives involved in budget oversight and scrutiny.