Public opinion polls as a tool for identifying public needs and their use in budget planning

Budgets of public entities are intended to meet the public needs of citizens living in the relevant territory. Identifying such needs is a relevant independent task. The authors examine public surveys conducted during the preparation and execution of public hearings on budgetary matters as an effective tool for identifying public needs. The article presents the results of a citizen survey on budget policy issues initiated by the Research Financial Institute of the Ministry of Finance of Russia and conducted in 35 constituent entities of the Russian Federation in November 2023 during public hearings on draft regional budgets for 2024. They show the priorities of the population in budget services, which should be taken into account at the initial stage of budget planning in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The aim of this article is to familiarize the scientific community and specialists of financial authorities with the main results of the survey.