The Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia) programme on Fiscal Analysis Capacity Training (FACT) on Climate Finance and Policy Costing conducted a two-week onsite training session in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 18 to 29 November, 2024. This training brought together 16 parliamentary staff from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, aimed at strengthening their skills in sustainable finance scrutiny and social policy costings to support their parliaments.
The training was a pivotal component of the current FACT programme, which combines hybrid and onsite sessions. It featured two specialised modules designed to provide participants with practical skills on:
1.
Public Finance for Sustainable Development and Climate Action (November 18–22, 2024): Organised in collaboration with PCAsia’s Environment and Climate Change Programme and supported by resources from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this module focused on climate budget scrutiny. Participants gained skills to analyse and align public budgets with climate action goals, contributing to foster sustainable development.
2.
Parliamentary Budget Offices (PBOs) and Policy Costings (November 25–29, 2024): Delivered by expert trainers from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, this module provided in-depth insights into conducting policy costings and overseeing PBO operations. The session emphasised the use of practical tools and approaches for policy costings, drawing on practices from the NSW PBO. From the five-day training, participants learned the framework and governance necessary to perform costing, how to analyse costing requests and how to write-up and effectively communicate the results.
The onsite training offered a dynamic platform for collaborative learning, allowing participants to engage in interactive sessions with expert trainers and peers. This approach facilitated the exchange of experiences to enhance professional networks across the region.
To ensure practical application of the skills gained, participants were tasked with preparing climate budget briefs and policy costing reports. These deliverables will highlight the immediate relevance of the training, equipping participants with the capability to contribute effectively to evidence-based analysis within their respective parliaments.
Upon completion of the onsite session, the participants showed their appreciation of the overall content and quality of the training, as stated by several training participants:
“Thanks for PCAsia and all friends for the training on Climate Budget Financing and Policy Costing. Those materials in the training we really needed in Indonesia. One word for the training is Transformative” – Dr. Ari Mulianta GINTING – Former Acting Head of the Center for Budget Analysis and State Financial Accountability, Indonesia’s House of Representatives
“Thank you, PCAsia, for giving me the opportunity to participate in the training, to the resource persons for the valuable learnings and to the other participants as well for the camaraderie” – Ms. Arlene Ferrer SISON – Legislative Staff Officer, Senate of the Philippines
Instructors Ms Swavika PRASAD (left) and Ms Katie HILL (middle) observing and providing comments on the presentation of the results of costing calculation training participant Ms SIN Sopheara (right)
Participants preparing their policy costing calculations with support from the instructors