About the Manual
Published in April 2020 as Volume 1 of a planned series, the manual was authored by Alexandre Cote and Meenakshi Balasubramanian, with support from Oxfam in Timor-Leste, Oxfam Australia, CBM Australia, and the Australian Government’s NGO Cooperation Program.
Getting more money for disability related programs is only half the fight. This manual on CRPD compliant budget analysis, developed by the Center for Inclusive Policy (CIP) and CBM Australia with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) from India, the Philippines, Fiji, and Bangladesh (Asia-Pacific), argues that how governments spend matters just as much as how much, and lays out what it actually takes for OPDs to change both.
What Is CRPD-Compliant Budgeting?
The manual draws a sharp line between “inclusive budgeting,” “disability-responsive budgeting,” and true CRPD-compliant budgeting. The first two sound good but can let governments count spending on segregated schools or institutional care as progress. CRPD-compliant budgeting sets a higher bar: public funds must actively support rights realisation, never fund programs that contradict the Convention, and be transparently tracked with meaningful OPD consultation at every stage.
Why Should OPDs Get Involved in Budget Analysis?
The manual gives five reasons: it fulfils the CRPD principle of “nothing about us without us,” it sustains long-term pressure that outlasts any single project, it builds accountability for political commitments, it reframes the “we can’t afford it” argument governments often use, and it helps ensure resources reach the most marginalised groups among persons with disabilities , not just the most organised.
What Did India's Budget Analysis Process Look Like?
India’s case study, led by Meenakshi Balasubramanian, traces how a loose network of OPDs, formed around CRPD monitoring, learned to read government budgets from scratch. Their first analysis found that only 8 of 50 government ministries had programs specifically for persons with disabilities, and total spending amounted to just 0.009% of GDP. That early work eventually grew into Equals-CPSJ, a dedicated OPD now producing ongoing budget analysis across Indian states.
What Happened in Fiji and the Philippines?
Fiji’s experience shows what sustained engagement can achieve: budget advocacy by the Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation contributed to a new disability allowance that nearly doubled the country’s total disability budget in a single year. The Philippines took a bumpier path, an initial externally-run analysis produced good data but little OPD ownership, until a second attempt led directly by DPO members built the understanding needed for lasting engagement.
What Lessons Cut Across All Three Countries?
A few patterns repeated everywhere: budget analysis and advocacy take years, not months; more money isn’t automatically better if it flows to non-compliant programs like institutions; and disability-specific issues are often tangled up with broader problems, like corruption or weak fiscal decentralisation, that require alliances beyond the disability movement alone.
What Does CIP Recommend for OPDs Starting Out?
The manual’s practical advice: learn the CRPD thoroughly before engaging, connect with local budget and public finance experts, join broader civil society budget coalitions rather than working in isolation, and turn raw spending numbers into a clear narrative, since a number alone rarely moves a legislator.
