ECOWAS COMMISSION
COMMISSION DE LA CEDEAO
STATUS REPORT ON THE STRATEGIC
PLANNING PROCESS:
Essien Abel Essien
Director, Strategic Planning
1.
Review of Work Plan at the Inception of the Unit
2.
Process Steps
3.
Where We Are Today
4.
Issues Uncovered
5.
Lingering Challenges
Strategic Planning Unit:
Mandate
•
Develop a mechanism for formulating sub-regional strategy and
implementing the regional integration and development agenda
•
Develop detailed regional strategic plan.
•
Ensure its conversion into operational, sectoral, regional and national
programmes.
•
Develop short/medium and long term work plan.
•
Develop a mechanism for facilitating coordination of the Commission’s
strategic plans in collaboration with the Commissioners and Directors.
STRATEGIC
DOCUMENTS
ECOWAS Vision 2020:
Adopted in 2007
Strategic Plan: 207 -2010:
Work in progress
TOWARDS AN
ECOWAS
OF PEOPLES
Medium Term Action Plan:
Implementable Activity Plan
Capacity Building Plan:
Operational
Building ECOWAS Future Now
ECOWAS Vision
•
•
Follow up on the finalization
with the Consultants.
Translate and produce a
final document for
circulation
Strategic Plan
 Institute a strategic planning
and programming system in
three phases
◦ Update the existing plan, taking
cognizance that the
implementation period was
almost coming to an end
◦ Develop an Action Plan and
integrate into the budgetary
system
◦ Design a supportive ICT
Infrastructure to aid monitoring
and evaluation
Process Steps (1 of 3)
We needed to be
clear about the
objectives of the
ECOWAS region /
Commission
• Determine our
main strategic
mandate
• Determine our
strategic vision &
mission
We needed to
appreciate the
resources we
have available to
meet these
objectives
• Carry out a SWOT
analysis to appreciate
our strengths and
identify our obstacles
• Define our critical
issues
• Decide what
resources are
required
Allowed us to
consciously be
responsive to the
demands of the
Community
• Define goals and
intermediate and
short-term objectives
• Develop a strategy
profile for the future
• Draw an action
timetable
Institute a Strategic Planning and
Programming System
Process Steps (2 of 3)
Program
and Plan
Synthesis
Established
an Institutional
Framework
Arrangement
Defined a
clear process
strategy
Draft the Zero
Version of the
Strategic Plan
Details
•
•
Analyze
Planning
Documents
• Management
Committee
• Participatory
Approach
• Agenda
• Steering Committee
• Ownership
• Core Values
Establish
linkages
• Operational
Committee
• Stakeholders
Confidence
• Environmental Scan
• ECOWAS Institutions
Coordinating
Committee
• Mission
• Strategic Framework
• Implementation
Strategy
Process Steps (3 Of 3)
Communicate
Strategic Planning
Process to internal
and external
customers
Develop an
Action Plan
Develop
Capacity
Building Plan
having identified
capacity gaps
Institute a
planning &
programming
system within a
program planning
cycle
Details
• Set up different
Stakeholder Forums
• Implementation
Strategy
• Town Hall Meetings
at the Commission
• Visit to ECOWAS
Institutions
• Identify planning
issues
• Develop a capacity
building plan
• Monitoring and Evaluation
System
• Map the Key
Performance
Indicators
• Supportive ICT infrastructure
• Carry out costing and
integrate into a multiyear budgetary
framework
• Midyear Execution Report
• Implementation Review
Reports
• President’s Annual Review
Reports
Where We Are?
The ECOWAS
Vision 2020 has
been translated
after several reviews
We have aligned the strategic plan with
the 2020 Vision
The regional Strategic
Plan was finalized in June
2009, translated into French
and circulated
We have started defining
the programs / projects /
activities under the
Strategic Plan
We have commenced
the preparation of
the medium term
action plan that
will define the activities
under the Strategic Plan
VISION
How are we going to
achieve this?...What plan
should we follow?...How do
we know when we have
met our goals?...How do we
keep on track?
MISSION
How do we do this?
The methods and tools necessary to achieve our
mission. It involves preparing the best way to
respond to the circumstances of the
organization's environment, whether or not these
circumstances are known in advance
STRATEGY
How should we structure our
capabilities to realize value and
work efficiently?
CAPABILITIES
ARCHITECTURE
Technology
Processes
Organization
Funding
Facilities
Institutions
Good
Governance
Culture
Issues uncovered
Intervention seven in Key Areas

Institutional Arrangement and
Technical Assistance Road Map

Organizational structure

Process Redesign

Control Systems

ICT Infrastructure Overhaul

Financial Strategy

Communication Strategy

Strategic Alliance
Defined by the key intervention
areas

These defines the technical
assistance needs

To support the reform and
facilitate change in the key areas

To aid the implementation of the
strategic plan
Development Partners (Pool Fund) Assistance is Required:
Lingering Challenges
Administrative
•
Lack of staff, work tools, and office

the regional strategic plan
space
•
•
•
Developing the action plan for
Conflicting Organizational

Mapping the action plan to the
arrangement leading to coordination
strategic objectives in the
nightmare
strategic plan
Lack of resources to carry out the

Difficulties in the
activity planning
implementation of an activity
Absence of clear business units
based/result based management
system
Management Buy-In is Required
Last Line
Strategic planning holds the key to development and
the promotion of economic integration in our region: