Within the framework of the EUROsociAL II programme, financed by the European Union, from 30th November to 3rd December 2015, specialised assistance was provided in Paraguay for the construction and definition of products in order to lay the methodological and technical groundwork to enable the country's Directorate-General of Budget (DGP) to take on redesign of its current Catalogue of Products. 

Paraguay has been working since 2011 on gradual implementation of Results-based Budgeting with the objective of improving the way that goods and services provided by public entities reach citizens. In this context, the redesign of the catalogue of products (goods and services) is being approached as a necessity so that the goods and services are consistent with the objectives of the entities that execute them and so that, based on these, results indicators can be developed for same. 

In this context, the technical assistance was carried out in two phases. The first phase, in April, established the roadmap for preparing the definition, formulation and update of the Catalogue of Products included in the national budget. 

The second phase, carried out in November-December, presented the main conclusions to the DGP's technical staff, providing them with a situational diagnosis and a report for the redesign of the catalogue of products, highlighting the main strong and weak points affecting same in the opinion of the experts. This action included the advice of two Spanish experts: the Deputy Director General of Budget Programmes for Economic Activities in the Directorate-General of Budget, and the General State Administration's Regional Comptroller in the self-governing community of La Rioja. 

Likewise, it contributed elements for an internal reflection on possible actions to be taken, both immediate and medium-/long-term, in order to improve this catalogue so that it can serve the theoretical purpose for which it was established within Paraguay's budget structure.

This activity is part of the “Budget-Plan Link” line of work of the EUROsociAL II Programme, financed by the European Union and coordinated by the FIIAPP, in which Spain's Institute for Tax Studies (IEF) is acting as an operational partner.