Defining the scope

Preparation Phase

DEFINING THE SCOPE

When preparing a nutrition public expenditure review (NPER), the first step is to decide on the breadth (sector and government level) and depth (level of analytical detail) of the analysis. In terms of the breadth, the NPER should cover not only the sectors that currently have expenditure programs that address nutrition (for example, health, food and agriculture, and water and sanitation) but also the government levels that execute these programs (figure 2.1). In terms of the depth, the conceptual structure of NPERs (as presented in figure O.1) should be referenced to determine the coverage of each block within the conceptual structure. Inclusion or exclusion of particular topics should depend on numerous factors, including the (1) objectives of the NPER, as determined by the entire NPER team (What questions is the NPER trying to answer?); (2) policy priorities, as articulated in the country’s nutrition strategy; (3) budget available to the NPER team; (4) time frame for the analysis; and (5) availability of data and related analytical studies to support the NPER.

When deciding on the breadth of the NPER, it is also important to consider whether it should include off-budget expenditures that do not appear in official public expenditure data.1 In the context of nutrition, there may be off-budget programs funded by multilateral or bilateral development agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), or private companies. This type of external funding is not recorded in the national budget. Therefore, the determination of whether to include it in the NPER (and, if so, what to include and exclude) depends primarily on the scale and importance of the development programs, as well as on the available access to data or willingness to engage in primary data collection (for example, through surveys). If the NPER team determines that externally funded programs constitute a fairly large portion of the country’s nutrition expenditures, there is a strong rationale for their inclusion. Several NPERs have included expenditures from development partners, including Bangladesh, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

A public expenditure review (PER) typically limits its scope to the expenditure side of public finance and does not examine the revenue side. A program focused on the revenue side of nutrition could refer, for example, to certain taxes