This handbook, the sixth in a series produced by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) together with different partners, has been written with the intention of strengthening parliament’s capacity in the budgetary process. It is the product of a particularly fruitful collaboration between the IPU, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank Institute (WBI) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). This strong working relationship has been cultivated through a series of jointly-organised regional and national seminars on Parliament and the Budgetary Process, Including from a Gender Perspective. With a fundamental commitment to furthering democratic principles and gender equality, these agencies have given substantial time, effort and resources to all these projects.