The Building PFM Capabilities (BPFMC) programme was developed by the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), in collaboration with the Building State Capability (BSC) Program at Harvard’s Center for International Development. Fifteen teams from nine African countries successfully took part in the programme in 2017 and 2018.

The BPFMC programme stands in contrast with traditional approaches to PFM reform, which primarily focuses on technical fixes and have had mixed results. CABRI’s programme takes the view that PFM reform does not lend itself to a one-size-fits-all approach and requires the careful management of political and administrative constraints together with a deep understanding of the local context. As such, the BPFMC programme puts teams of government practitioners centre stage and equips them with an approach that drives incremental change. Locally identified PFM problems are tackled through a structured eight-month action-oriented programme.