Good policies alone are not enough — governments also need public understanding to support and implement them effectively. To build support for budget reforms, this means helping people grasp the challenges, choices, and consequences involved in managing public finances.
Our work in this area highlights four key areas for action to help empower public understanding.
Together, these steps help build understanding and support for sustainably restoring public finances.
To highlight the challenges of building public understanding of government finances, we are hosting a series of webinars featuring distinguished experts and leaders in government, academia, multinational institutions and new media who explore new ways to engage citizens on the major fiscal issues facing OECD countries.
Previous webinars
12 May, María Camila González & Valerie Cifuentes, Economia para la pipol (Colombia), speaking on how to reach young audiences on financial topics.
7 May, 15h00 CEST — Simon Baugh, former Chief Executive of UK Government Communications
Speaking on 4 strategies for how to gain and secure trust trust.
21 April, 15h00 CEST — Stefania Secola, ECB Head of Digital Content
Speaking on the potential of digital media for public institutions
16 April, 10h00 CEST - Jim MacNamara, University of Technology Sydney
Speaking on how to connect with citizens on budget issues.
26 March 2026 - Simon Piatek (New Imagination Lab), Adriana Whiteley (Financial Times) & Sian Crucefix (The Lancet Group), speaking on the challenges facing policy communications in a new digital landscape.
1 December 2025 - Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University.
Speaking on public rationality and clear communications.
26 November 2025 - Nic Newman, University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Speaking about the challenges of communicating public finances in today's media landscape.
17 November 2025 - Michal Horváth, Former Minister of Finance of Slovakia.
Speaking on how public finance experts can improve public communications.
5 November 2025 - Warren Krafchik, Economist and social entrepreneur.
Speaking on how citizen engagement is central to building the public will for budget reforms.
16 October 2025 - Susan Tanaka, Peterson Foundation
Speaking on why we need to improve fiscal literacy and how we can do it.
8 October 2025 — Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen, Auditor-General of Norway.
Speaking on how independent institutions can be more active in engaging the public on fiscal issues.
