Expanding the PFM community in Tanzania

The UK government via the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is supporting the Government of Tanzania with a comprehensive set of public finance reform activities; including the Public Finance Management Reform Programme (PFMRP) phase V.

The Ecorys-led consortium providing Technical Assistance Services (TAS) for PFMRP-V has proudly established communities of practices (CoPs) at zonal level in Tanzania as knowledge-sharing tools to strengthen and sustain the capacity-building support. The CoPs are interactive and collaborative resources for Tanzania’s government staff to share knowledge on PFM challenges, innovations, and topical issues.

The CoPs were launched in May 2021 at zonal level as virtual meetings to bridge the physical distance between PFM practitioners; they convene regional PFM Champions and PFM practitioners at regional secretariat (RS) and local government authority (LGA) levels to share their experiences and learn from one another. CoPs serve as informal knowledge sharing hubs with no standing agenda, rather they are a forum for participants to raise topics that are pertinent and timely in their work. The CoPs address pressing issues such as a spike in qualified and adverse audit opinions from the most recent CAG audit, or how to enhance their own source revenue collections by LGAs.

During CoP discussions participants share challenges they face, identify any similarities in these challenges, disseminate practices that have worked well, and collectively identify innovative solutions. Through accessing the expertise of colleagues, the CoPs allow PFM professionals to expand their networks and increase synergies between RSs and LGAs at the zonal level.

The TAS and CoPs participants are keen to continue to increase the scope of the CoPs and invite PFM practitioners in Tanzania to learn more about this knowledge-sharing initiative through the case study and reach out to the TAS team for more information.

For more information contact Elena Ghitti, Consultant, International Development Unit.