VISIONING AND THE STRATEGIC PLANNING
PROCESS: JOURNEY SO FAR
Essien Abel Essien
Director, Strategic Planning
ECOWAS Commission
CONTENT PAGE
1.
Objectives of the Town Hall session
2.
ECOWAS Vision 2020
3.
Linking the Vision to our role
4.
SPU’s Strategic Mandate
5.
What we need to do
6.
Best Practices vs. the Current Reality of the Commission
7.
So where are we now?
8.
Development of the 2010-2014 Strategic Plan
9.
Pyramids of Success and Translation
10. Role of Staff
OBJECTIVES OF THIS TOWNHALL SESSION
• To communicate the ECOWAS Vision 2020
• To communicate the strategic planning process
• To indicate the role of each individual within the pyramids of
success and translation developed as backbones to the
strategic development process
• To examine critical success factors for achieving an efficient
implementation of the strategy
• To ensure a participatory approach in the implementation of
the strategic plan
ECOWAS VISION 2020
• To create a borderless, peaceful, prosperous and cohesive
region, built on good governance and where people have the
capacity to access and harness its enormous resources
through the creation of opportunities for sustainable
development and environmental preservation
KEYWORDS
ENABLERS
•
Borderless
•
Access
•
Peace
•
Harnessing
•
Prosperity
•
•
Cohesion
Creation of
opportunities
•
Good governance
OBJECTIVES
•
Sustainable
development
•
Environmental
preservation
LINKING THE VISION TO OUR ROLE
KEYWORDS
Borderless
Peace
Prosperity
Cohesion
Good governance
Trade Dept. etc.
Political Affairs, Peace & Security Dept. etc.
All Departments
Macroeconomic Dept., Human Development Dept. & Gender Dept. etc.
Political Affairs, Peace & Security Dept., ECOWAS Court of Justice, and
Parliament, etc.
ENABLERS
Access
Harnessing
Creation of opportunities
WHO ADMINISTERS
AND PAYS FOR THE
PROCESSES?
Infrastructure Dept. etc.
All Departments
Macroeconomic Dept., Human Development Dept. etc.
Administration & Finance Dept.
SPU’S STRATEGIC MANDATE
MANDATE 1
MANDATE 2
MANDATE 3
MANDATE 4
MANDATE 5
Formulate a
regional strategy
based on
regional
integration and
aligned with the
development
agenda of the
NEPAD
Framework
Ensure
conversion into
operational,
sectoral,
regional and
national
programs
Develop a
detailed
regional
strategic plan
indicating key
implications and
strategic
options for
implementation
Develop
short/medium
and long term
work plans
Develop a
mechanism for
facilitating
coordination of
the Commission
strategic plans
in collaboration
with the
Commissioners
and Directors.
What we need to do
We need to
be clear
about the
objectives of
ECOWAS
region/Comm
ission
• Determine our
main strategic
mandate
How are
we going
to do this?
• Determine our
strategic vision
& mission
We need 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
Allows us to
consciously
be
responsive
to the
demands of
the
Communitiy
• Define goals
and
intermediate
and short-term
objectives
• Develop a
strategy profile
for the future
• Draw an action
timetable
Strategy lies in making the tough decisions about
what is most important to achieving success.
BEST PRACTICES VS. CURRENT REALITY OF THE
COMMISSION
BEST PRACTICES
CURRENT REALITY
Decentralized planning system
Low Capacity to Decentralized
Large workforce to address
competing pressures
Lack of Competencies/Prioritizing
Modern IT Infrastructure
Financial Resources/Knowledge
Knowledge-Based Institution
Meeting-Based Institution
Community Projects
Absence of Projects
Project Generated Funds
Donor Dependency
So where are we now?
The region has
adopted the
2020 Strategic
Vision which
sets out a clear
strategic
direction
We are clear about our main
strategic mandate, vision and
mission
The 2010-2014
Strategic Plan
has been
submitted to
Management
We have aligned the strategic plan with
the 2020 Vision
We have
commenced the
preparation of
the medium term
action plan that
will define the
activities under
the Strategic
Plan
We have started
defining the
programs/projects/
activities under the
Strategic Plan
Other plans such
as the Capacity
Building Plan,
Communication
Plan etc. to
support and
announce the
strategies are
being developed
Development of the 2010-2014 Strategic Plan
Activities
Develop an
Action Plan
Documented
and submitted
Draft 0 Version
of the Strategic
Plan
Defined a
clear process
strategy
Established
an
Institutional
Framework
Arrangement
Develop
Capacity
Building Plan
having identified
capacity gaps
Communicate
Strategic Plan
to internal and
external
customers
Institute a
planning and
programming
system within
a program
planning cycle
Details
•
Management
Committee
•
Participatory
Approach
•
Strategic
Planning
Steering
Committee
•
Ownership
•
Acceptability/
Commitment
•
Strategic
Planning
Operational
Committee
•
Stakeholders
Confidence
•
ECOWAS
Commission
Agenda
•
Mission
•
Core Values
•
Environmental
Scan
•
Strategic
Framework
•
Implementation
Strategy
•
•
Identify Short
Term, Medium
to Long term
planning
issues
Integrate into a
multi-year
budgetary
framework
•
Set up
different
Stakeholder
Forums
•
Develop a
capacity
building plan
•
Monitoring and
Evaluation
System
•
Supportive ICT
infrastructure
•
Implementation
Review Reports
•
Midyear
Execution
Report
•
President’s
Annual Review
Reports
Pyramid of Success
Where are we going?
A borderless, peaceful, prosperous and cohesive region, built on good governance, and
where people have the capacity to access and harness its enormous resources through
the creation of opportunities for sustainable development and environmental
preservation.
VISION
MISSION
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?
What are we here to do?
Coordinate all activities leading to the promotion of cooperation and integration
among member states in order to raise the living standards of its people, by
enhancing their capacity to access and harness resources, maintain political and
economic stability, through the pursuance of sound economic management and
good governance, and adopting dialogue as a means of fostering relations among
member states.
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 as an organization?
Our capabilities can be structured into 3 key sub-architectures:
Processes, Technology and Organization
CAPABILITIES
ARCHITECTURE
Processes
Good
Governance
Good
Governance
Institutions
Technology
Organization
Facilities
Culture
Funding
People
Pyramid of Translation
ECOWAS
CITIZENS
END POINT of Delivery to ECOWAS Citizen
There is a need to ensure that only viable programs/projects (aligned
to the vision) are embarked upon, internal resources are properly
directed for effective implementation, and resources are properly
managed to ensure program/project sustenance over time.
PROGRAMS
/PROJECTS
Managing the financial resources for the
programs and projects
PEOPLE
MGMT
SYSTEM
A process management system defines how a business
operates and the way in which it delivers value to both to
its internal and external customers.
Processes involve both manual and automated activities,
and integrating these activities into a seamless and
harmonious flow provides process excellence and
competitive/cost cutting advantages.
These are key drivers of an effective process management
system as they continuously ensure that the right people
occupy the right positions, and they possess the right tools
to carry out their duties.
FINANCE
(management)
ICT
FACILITIES CULTURE
PROCESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Business Process
Manual
Key Performance
Indicators
Ownership/
Responsibilities
Business Rules/
Authority Limits/
Operations Manual
Automation
Support
Reports
Forms
Data
FINANCE
(mobilization of resources)
ECOWAS VISION
Having defined the vision, finances must be
sourced in-house and through external
channels to translate the vision into reality.
START POINT of Delivery to ECOWAS Citizen
CONTROL SYSTEM (Components – M&E, AUDIT, ICT etc.)
Programs/projects can only be successfully delivered to
ECOWAS citizens within an established program
management framework.
Our Role in the Implementation of the Strategic Plan