OECD review of the Italian Parliamentary Budget Office

5. In focus: Communications and impact

Effective communication is essential to independent fiscal institutions’ influence. IFIs rely on persuasion rather than coercion to inform policy debates and promote fiscal responsibility.

Previous chapters highlighted the UPB’s strong mandate, technical capacity and independence. This chapter examines how well those strengths translate into visibility and impact. It assesses the UPB’s current communications performance, identifies critical areas for improvement, and concludes with implications for its role in Italy’s fiscal ecosystem. The current fiscal context is marked by high public debt, an ageing population, and mounting spending pressures. This, coupled with the shift to a new EU fiscal framework, is a pivotal moment for the UPB to strengthen its visibility and voice so it can act as a fiscal advocate and champion long-term sustainability.

5.1. Assessment of communications and impact at the UPB

The UPB enjoys a strong reputation among technical stakeholders and parliamentarians. Its endorsement of official macroeconomic forecasts and thematic analyses, such as its work on the Superbonus and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, are widely regarded as impartial and rigorous. Parliamentary engagement is regular, and recent efforts by the UPB have improved visibility among experts.

However, the institution’s influence on broader public debate remains limited. Stakeholders consistently describe UPB outputs as analytically excellent but academically dense, reducing accessibility for non-specialist audiences.

The design and length of the UPB’s annual flagship report illustrates this challenge. The Budgetary Policy Report often exceeds 250 pages, and even its summary can run to 30 pages. This positions the content as being more suited for specialists rather than the general public. By contrast, high-impact OECD peers1 achieve broader reach by keeping core publications concise, addressing thematic issues in either very short boxes or in other publications rather than in chapters and layering technical detail in appendices (see Table 3). For example, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office typically publish reports under 50 pages, while the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) keeps its flagship Central Economic Plan to around 24 pages. These differences matter. Shorter, layered outputs are easier for journalists to quote and for citizens to understand.

Table 3. The UPB’s reports tend to be far longer than high-impact OECD peers

Length in pages

	Summary	Report
Italy UPB	30	252	Budgetary Policy Report
United Kingdom OBR	14	205	Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Spain AIReF	8	122	Report on the Initial Budget of the General Government
Portugal Public Finance Council	4	60	Analysis of the Draft State Budget
United States CBO	4	46	The Budget and Economic Outlook
Ireland Fiscal Council	1	42	Fiscal Assessment Report
Canada PBO	1	27	Economic and Fiscal Outlook
Netherlands CPB	1	24	Central Economic Plan 2025
Slovak Republic CBR	1	11	Evaluation of the General Government Budget Proposal

Note: Reports are taken from 2025 and are meant to be representative of flagship publications.

Readability metrics confirm that the UPB texts demand comprehension at the level of university graduates.2 Figure 6 compares the UPB’s executive summaries with those of peers using two measures: the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level and a CAREC score. The UPB scores nearly 16 on the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level, implying some 16 years of formal education to comfortably understand the text. Its CAREC score, which captures deeper linguistic features like narrative coherence, syntax, and word ambiguity indicates high conceptual density. By contrast, Ireland’s Fiscal Advisory Council scores much lower, indicating that its content is broadly more accessible.

Figure 6. The UPB’s language can be made more accessible

Notes: The Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level estimates readability based on sentence and word length, giving a grade-level score that reflects structural complexity but not conceptual difficulty. By contrast, CAREC uses natural language processing to assess how humans understand text, considering features such as coherence, ambiguity and syntax. Higher CAREC scores indicate greater complexity.

Source: The analysis is produced using the Automatic Readability Tool for English (ARTE) on English language versions of the executive summaries for each of the reports listed in Table 3. In cases where the text is long, the first 1 000 words of the summaries are used.

These readability gaps matter because clarity is essential for IFIs. The OECD Principles emphasise both transparency and accessibility as prerequisites for impact. Simplifying language – without sacrificing rigour – would allow the UPB’s analysis to resonate beyond technical circles. High-impact OECD peers achieve this by pairing plain-language summaries with technical appendices online, enabling journalists and the public to engage quickly with an IFI’s work while specialists can still access detailed methods and data.

The UPB has established various communications channels. It issues around 30 press releases annually, holds one press briefing for its flagship report, testifies in parliament, and maintains a LinkedIn presence (with reduced activity on X/Twitter). However, it does not systematically track media mentions, web analytics or parliamentary citations. This lack of a feedback loop makes it difficult for the UPB to refine its messaging or to allocate its resources effectively. The experiences of international peers underscore the importance of tracking impact systematically so as to refine impact.

The UPB’s footprint in national discourse is relatively small, reinforcing the case for proactive engagement and better tracking of impact. Figure 7 illustrates four aspects: mentions in major national media outlets, the share of budget-related articles citing UPB work, public search interest scaled against relevant fiscal topics, and the time spent with non-zero search activity relative to peers. The data show that the UPB is cited in less than 5% of budget-related news stories and registers lower public search interest than institutions such as Spain’s AIReF and Canada’s PBO. While the UPB does maintain some year-round activity, peers sustain higher baselines, driven by steady output of short formats and regular background engagement with journalists.

Figure 7. The UPB’s visibility could be markedly improved

Source: OECD Fiscal Advocacy Index 2024.

Recent improvements in the UPB’s visibility are encouraging but they are insufficient to close the gap in terms of public impact. The UPB President’s increased media presence has raised awareness among experts and journalists. Moreover, the Council and staff are increasingly engaging with journalists on background. However, without shorter, layered content, more proactive engagement and better tracking of impact metrics, the UPB’s influence on the wider debate will remain constrained. This includes in relation to key priorities such as Italy’s long-term sustainability and major fiscal risks such as ageing pressures on spending. International experience shows that culture matters as much as protocols. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, for example, institutionalises plain-language writing and data-visualisation training for staff. It pairs accessible summaries with technical working papers, and it tracks its media impact to inform continuous improvement. These practices demonstrate that communications impact is not a by-product of analysis but a deliberate, organisation-wide effort.

5.2. How to improve communications and impact at the UPB

In order to improve communications and impact at the UPB, three critical improvements stand out: simplifying and diversifying outputs, engaging more proactively, and tracking and refining impact. Together, these actions will help the UPB evolve into a visible fiscal advocate while maintaining its reputation for technical excellence.

5.2.1. Simplify and diversify outputs

The UPB should move away from a model based on long technical reports and adopt a layered approach that combines depth with accessibility. Reports should evolve to be shorter and more focused, with sharper executive summaries written in plain language. Condensing these outputs will make them easier to read and quote.

Detailed analytical pieces currently embedded within large reports should be separated into self-contained papers. This approach, used by several OECD peers, creates clearer entry points for media coverage and allows the UPB to generate interest in advance of major releases. Publishing thematic papers ahead of flagship reports can provide “hooks” for journalists and sustain visibility.

Messaging should also be condensed into accessible summary content. One-page briefs and reusable charts can help convey key findings quickly and support dissemination through traditional and social media (see Box 3 for the example from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in the United Kingdom). At the same time, technical precision should not be sacrificed. Deeper methodological detail can be retained in online appendices, ensuring that specialist audiences have full access while casual readers are not overwhelmed. This can include publishing underlying datasets and technical details of models to allow external validation. This layered model balances transparency with usability.

Box 3. The United Kingdom OBR’s tiered communication approach

In order to shape analysis into content, the OBR in the United Kingdom presents the same information in multiple formats. Its communications strategy follows an inverted pyramid structure, balancing detail with accessibility. At the top, entire reports and papers provide the most detail but require the most effort to consume. As the content becomes more accessible, it is distilled into executive summaries and overviews. Finally, at the widest point of engagement, headlines and visual assets – such as tweets, infographics, and animations – serve to capture attention and direct audiences to deeper analysis.

5.2.2. Engage more proactively

Improving visibility requires more than publishing reports. The UPB should adopt a more strategic approach to engagement. By increasing its media presence and background engagement with journalists, the UPB can further build trust and improve the accuracy of coverage, while giving it further insight into how its work is interpreted and used.

The UPB might also consider hosting an annual conference focused on long-term fiscal themes. International experience shows the value of such events in sustaining visibility and fostering informed debate. This is something that is observed among international peers such as Spain’s AIReF, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Portuguese Public Finance Council (see Box 4). Similar initiatives would position the UPB as a thought leader on sustainability.

Box 4. OECD IFIs and annual events focussed on long-term fiscal themes

IFIs can complement their formal roles with public events focused on long-term fiscal topics. These events help sustain visibility, disseminate work, and foster informed debate on fiscal sustainability:

• AIReF in Spain organises annual workshops and seminars on longer-term fiscal issues. This includes workshops with all levels of government on the national fiscal framework and EU fiscal rules. Engaging subnational and local governments helps to position the IFI as a non-partisan mediator. Thematic seminars help validate AIReF's long-term assumptions and modelling, engaging academia and experts on topics such as demographic change, immigration and their fiscal impacts, and the long-term sustainability of public spending.

• The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council convenes an annual public conference dedicated to long-term fiscal issues. It brings together domestic and international experts with a focus on challenges beyond the short-term budget horizon, such as demographic pressures, housing, productivity, fiscal risks, and the long-run sustainability of public finances. The annual conference has become a key platform for informed debate on Ireland’s fiscal outlook.

• Portugal’s Public Finance Council (CFP) supports long-term fiscal debate primarily through annual or recurring events organised in partnership with universities and research institutions. These focus on structural issues affecting fiscal sustainability, drawing on academic research and international perspectives. Recent events have explored themes such as productivity and growth and their implications for debt sustainability and fiscal policy design. By partnering with academia, the Council broadens the analytical base of fiscal discussions and reaches audiences beyond core government stakeholders.

Finally, the UPB’s digital identity, in terms of its website, could benefit from a refresh. A clear tagline that encapsulates its mandate, combined with a more user-friendly design, would strengthen its institutional profile and make its outputs easier to access. This is something that the UPB’s recent launching of a redesign of its website can build on.

5.2.3. Track and refine impact

To ensure continuous improvement, the UPB should systematically monitor the reach and resonance of its communications. Tracking media mentions, social engagement and website analytics will provide insights into what works and where adjustments are needed. Post-publication reviews can help identify which messages and visuals generate the most traction. These practices are common among high-impact OECD peers and allow institutions to refine their strategies over time.

Embedding these routines will require modest investment but can deliver significant returns in terms of visibility and influence. By learning from its own performance and benchmarking against international examples, the UPB can ensure that its communications strategy remains dynamic and effective. Institutions such as Portugal’s Public Finance Council and Ireland’s Fiscal Advisory Council embed post-publication reviews, media-share metrics and social analytics into routine cycles, enabling teams to learn what resonates and adjust style, format and timing accordingly (see Box 5).

Box 5. Approaches to measuring and maximising impact across select OECD IFIs

Effective communication requires more than just publishing reports and tracking web hits. It demands a more systematic assessment of how messages resonate. IFIs increasingly use data-driven approaches to track their footprint and refine their strategies. For example:

• Portugal’s CFP employs a structured post-publication review. Eight days after releasing a report, the communications team conducts a comprehensive media analysis using tools like Google Analytics and clippings services. This routine allows them to quantify news coverage and social media engagement, aiming for year-on-year growth in visibility.

• The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council goes a step further by calculating its “media share” – the percentage of all public finance-related news that explicitly cites its work. By defining the total "market" of fiscal news and isolating their contribution, the Council can track its prevalence in the national debate over time. Post-release reviews focus on what messages resonated, allowing it to sharpen future messaging.

• Slovak Republic’s Council for Budget Responsibility (CBR) uses a commercial application to track mentions across selected outlets. While they do not yet set quantitative targets, the steady growth in citations helps assess communication efforts, particularly on social platforms.

• The Czech Fiscal Council leverages Google Analytics and social media tools to evaluate its outreach. Their monitoring has directly influenced strategy, highlighting the need for greater activity on social networks to boost their impact among the general public.

These examples demonstrate that regardless of resource levels, IFIs can use metrics – from simple hit counts to sophisticated market share analysis – to ensure their analysis remains a central part of the broader fiscal conversation.

5.2.1. Communications strategy

The roadmap for how the UPB can enhance its communications can be contained in a wider communications strategy. The three elements identified above – simplifying and diversifying output, engaging more proactively with wider audiences, and tracking and refining impact – should all be a part of this strategy. The strategy should include specific, measurable actions and be monitored annually.

As of 2021, half of all national and subnational IFIs had either an internal or published communications strategy (OECD, 2021[2]). More of them are moving in this direction. However, even in instances where such a tool is in place, there is a need for broader institutional buy-in and concrete expectations so that the strategy can be effective.

Some IFIs are more successful than others in translating the vision of the communications strategy into effective action. Box 6 provides examples from peer institutions in both Ireland and Portugal.

Box 6. A strategic approach to communications across selected OECD IFIs

Irish Fiscal Advisory Council: Prioritises accessibility through staff training in plain language and data visualisation. It uses a “layered” approach – ranging from simple summaries to technical papers – and actively tracks metrics like “media share” to measure and refine its impact.

Portuguese CFP: Codifies its approach in a formal, Board-approved multi-year strategy. Key features include structured media protocols and educational outreach, such as journalist training, to foster wider fiscal literacy beyond government stakeholders.

Netherlands CPB: Anchors its strategy in safeguarding reputation and maximising policy impact. It adopts an audience-centric approach, focusing on specific priority themes for 1-2 year periods and emphasising transparency regarding analytical limitations to maintain trust.

5.3. Conclusion

Communications are vital as Italy faces tough fiscal choices and the EU framework demands national ownership. With high debt and emerging fiscal pressures, the public needs impartial explanations of risks. To be visible, the UPB needs to provide timely, comprehensible analysis that anchors the debate.

The UPB starts with strong foundations. It has a robust mandate, strong independence, and technical respect. However, its flagship reports are long, with their readability demanding for non‑specialists. Moreover, its communications can be largely reactive, limiting their reach. Addressing these gaps will be essential to turn its technical excellence into broad public understanding and parliamentary salience.

By simplifying its outputs, increasing engagement, and adopting a concise communications strategy, the UPB can evolve into a more visible fiscal advocate. Explaining complex issues in plain language – while maintaining technical transparency in supporting online material – will ensure its analysis is widely read and trusted. These steps will bring Italy’s fiscal reality into focus, helping citizens and policymakers navigate the choices ahead.

Notes

← 1.  As measured by the OECD’s Fiscal Advocacy Index (OECD, 2025[3]).

← 2.  The results could be partially affected by the translation of texts into English.