POLICY MAKING PROCESS

Transcription

1 POLICY MAKING PROCESS Hon. Dr. Kojo Appiah-Kubi DRUSSA-ISSER Executive Training on Influencing Policy 10 Dec 2015

2 1.0 Introduction Policy a statement of intent for achieving an objective. Deliberate statement aimed at achieving specific objective policies are formulated by the Government in order to provide a guideline in attaining certain objectives for the benefit of the people. Importance and objective of any policy to solve existing challenges/problems in any society used as a tool to safeguard and ensure better services to members of the society. Reasons for formulating a Policy Reforms (socio-economic, technological advancements, etc) within and outside the country.

3 Policy Process Ideal Policy Process suggests answers to the following questions: What are the prerequisites of a successful policy process? Who are the main actors and what is their role? What are the main steps in the policy process?

4 Prerequisites of a successful policy process 1. Sustainability in action 1.1 Alignment with other national processes Ø Bringing coherence to a set of tested and approved employment interventions Ø Achieve internationally-set objectives to which the country has adhered e.g. SDGs 1.2 Building partnerships Ø The need to identify the actors with whom to establish partnerships such as sectoral ministries, MDAs ministries and agencies, the Central Bank, finance ministries and national planning agencies

5 Building partnerships Essence of building partnerships. Because the policies of key partners may have a clear impact on employment, whether directly or indirectly, collaboration facilitates the integration of the national employment policy into budgeting and planning cycles

6 1.3 Broad and sustained political commitment Ø A clear and strong political commitment emanating from the highest Government levels is key to ensuring sustainability Essence: A political commitment at the highest level ensures effective coordination between ministries of finance and economic affairs, line ministries (education, agriculture, infrastructure, local development, etc.), and the Ministry in charge of employment. e.g. pronouncements of the President, 2016 Budget

7 Pre-requisites (cont.) B. Clear institutional anchorage Who should be the champion? The Minister in charge of employment, or someone from the office of the or President, NEA, NDPC? To give visibility to the process. To get a clearly mandated leader to coordinate all the actors that should be involved in the process. To coordinate the multiplicity of institutions and actors involved, and the diversity of their intervention levels. For example: Industrial Policy:

8 Pre-requisites (cont.) C. An inclusive and accountable process Ø A good policy development process requires broadbased dialogue for successful implementation. Ø Dialogue at every step, from the situation analysis that leads to policy choices, all the way to the validation of the policy implementation, and later its evaluation

9 A Dialogue Process

10 Policy Making Process

11 Policy Making Process

12 The preparation phase The objectives of the preparation phase are: 1. To define the policy s development goal (e.g., the attainment of full, productive, annual targets, and freely chosen employment for all women and men). 2. To set the organizational framework for the policy process. 3. To prepare an indicative chronogramme of the policy process. 4. To plan and budget for the resources needed for the policy process.

13 The preparation phase Defining the policy s goal It should to capture the values or principles that will guide the rest of the process Emanate from issues that come onto the public policy agenda from various sources, including: political platforms, research and analysis, academia, workers and employers organizations, and civil society groups.

14 The preparation phase 2. Organizational framework for the policy process. Ø Ø Ø Identification of stakeholders and the modalities of their interventions A steering committee with members from government structures (Ministry of Finance, education, Infrastructure, etc.), and from trade unions and employers organizations, so as to ensure policy coherence, ownership, and sustainability A national technical team of technical experts in the Ministry in charge of Employment or consultant with a clear mandate and clear responsibilities designated to accompany the whole policy cycle.

15 Responsibilities of the technical team for organizing a broad social dialogue all along the policy development process (including obtaining a wide consensus on the policy s priorities); for supervising the consultants doing the diagnostic work (if any); for drafting the policy; for drafting the legal texts necessary to formally adopt the policy; for participating in the national budget preparation process and arbitrations; and for communicating about the policy development exercise to citizens.

16 B. The issue identification phase Situation analysis (diagnosis phase). what are the emerging policy concerns? to produce a statement of issues which identifies the opportunities and constraints of the labour market. Through research, and broad-based consultations to collect all the stakeholders views on the challenges they face and, in the case of social partners, on their constituents demands. Workers and employers organizations, civil society groups, members of organizations and communities

17 C. The formulation phase This involves Prioritization of policy issues Generation of policy options, Presentation of the rationale and justification for their choice. Results: This should lead to the formulation of a set of employment objectives, designed to address the problems identified and to exploit opportunities which may arise

18 Formulation Steps 1. Which issues/policy concerns to address in the NEP. 2. Which policy options to use to tackle the selected employment problems. 3. Choose policy interventions informed by a set of criteria or indicators, such as employment targets, fiscal space, complementarity or substitution of policies, etc. Ø The challenge is to find policy interventions that are technically reasonable and well adapted in the national context.

19 The validation phase This is to obtain a national consensus on the NEP After drafting, it must be submitted for the validation Possible Avenues regional workshops national stakeholders in a tripartite and/or national workshop Finalization: After validation, the national technical team should incorporate the comments received and finalize the policy document By the way the NEP needs to be translated into operational steps.

20 Adoption Formalization and executive force: Ø The NEP needs to be given executive force i.e. all the authority necessary for it to be taken serious and given the credibility by the actors. Means of formalization Ø Government official adoption Ø Issuing a statement, decree, conversion into a Law, or other Ø Integration into the National Development Framework

21 3. Communication Selling the NEP to the people Why sensitization? Ø To internalize both make the NEP and its contents to all those who are concerned, and Ø make them understand its meaning as a comprehensive and new mode of action to deal with employment challenges, i.e. the ways and means that every actor, public or private, in his field of responsibility, must contribute to the promotion of employment.

22 Adoption Through mass media, training workshops oral tradition through village theater or The distribution of gadgets and T-shirts, Websites, Social media, facebook etc.

23 E. The programming and budgeting phase This phase deals with the ff: Ø Specify the necessary conditions for ownership and authority Ø Itemize interventions in an operational manner and establish the authority and ownership of the NEP. Ø Define the plan which is going to allow the organization and progress for the implementation of the NEP. Ø Give information about the process, methods and conditions which are going to allow to fully integrate the imperative of employment in national policies and the national development framework. Ø Formulate the requirements relating to the strengthening of the technical and financial capacities without which the implementation cannot be made

24 F. The implementation phase Depends on other policies and on numerous actors with own interest basic principles underlying implementation are: 1. internalization of the objectives of the NEP by all concerned actors. 2. convergence of their efforts and their monitoring. 3. Dialogue and cooperation/concertation as a mode of organization of the implementation.

25 The implementation phase Key elements to ensure implementation of the NEP 1. Operationalize the tripartite, inter-ministerial coordination mechanism Ø For drafting or revision of legal texts, nominations, institutional audits, etc. 2. Operationalize the monitoring and evaluation framework Ø drafting or revision of legal texts, nominations, etc. 3. Financial resources must be brought to bear within a continuing annual stream of budget cycles.

26 The evaluation phase Have the initiative achieved its objectives, what were the effects, and are any policy changes needed? Measures of Evaluation Using social science research methods, including qualitative and quantitative techniques, to examine the effects of policies.

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29 Timelines For Policy Making Process

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31 7. The End Thank You

32 What is the Policy Stakeholder Analysis? Guidelines for Conducting a Stakeholder Analysis was developed to provide users with a framework for assessing whom key actors are and their interests, knowledge, positions, alliances, resources, power and importance. It is important to conduct a stakeholder analysis prior to implementation of a policy so that areas of resistance can be identified and acknowledged, and areas of support can be enhanced.