Presentation given by Tibor Draskovics.

1. © OECD
AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Workshop on options for
medium-term planning
The Serbian case
Tibor Draskovics, Hungary, SIGMA expert
Podgorica, 30.09.2015

2. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Why Serbia?
• History?
• Language?
• Culture?
• Legal system?
1
Serbia is on the threshold of a comprehensive policy
reform

3. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
State of play in Serbia 2014-2015
• Medium-term institutional planning does exist
– on paper, no enforcement, very formalistic
• No coordination
• Completely bottom up
• Not connected to the budget
• No responsible organisation
• No standard policy making processs
2

4. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The brighter side…
• Secretariat for Public Policies (Republicki
Sekretarijat za Javne Politike) established
• Action Plan for Implementing the Government
Program developed
• Program budgeting introduced
• Regulatory (legal) elements of a
comprehensive policy reform developed and
ready for adoption
3

5. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Medium-term planning or policy reform
(in Serbia)?
• Medium-term planning is a crucial element of
the planning system
• The best planning system by itself cannot
make the necessary impact
• The entire policy cycle is to be looked at and
consistently improved
policy reform is needed
4

6. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The approach of the reform
5
Policy Planning
Political priorities
Problem
identification
Policy
development
Consultations
Coordination
Government
decision making
process
Implementation
Monitoring
Evaluation
Center
of Gov.
Med.Term
Planning

7. Legal
reg.
Guideline
s/manuals
Struct
ures
Policy planning-development-coordination-
implementation-monitoring – budgeting system
Effective
Government
Capacity
building
Civil
Soci
ety
Busi
ness
com
muni
ty
Line
ministri
es
MoF,
SEIO,
PMO
LS
GS/PPS
Proce
sses
6
Reform plan
Local
govern
ments
EU

8. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The legal package developed
• Zakon o planskom sistemu u Republici Srbijie;
• Uredba o metodologiji za izradu srednjorocnih
planova;
• Uredba o metodologiji za upravljanje javnim
politikama, analizi efekata javnih politika i
propisa i sadržaju pojedinačnih dokumenata
javnih politika
• Relevant for the entire public administration,
including local governments
7

9. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The key areas covered 1.
• Planning principles
 Reality, relevance, reliability
 Continuity
 Coordination and cooperation
 Fiscal feasibility
 Transparency and partnership
• Planning/policy documents
 Definitions
 Hierarchy
 Mandatory elements
8

10. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The key areas covered 2.
• Development of documents
 The process
 The tools (impact assessment, RIA)
 The key players/decision makers
• Implementation
• Monitoring
• Reporting
• Evaluation
9

11. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The Medium-Term (Institutional) Plan
(MTIP)
• The MTIP is the three years „strategic” plan of
the budget beneficiary (institution)
• Summary of objectives, measures and
resources
• Relevant for the area of responsibility (sector,
subsector, geographic area etc.) of the
institution and the institution itself
• Based on analysis/evaluation and other
documents
10

12. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Key principles to be followed by MTIPs
• Full alignment with higher level planning
documents
• All planned activities should be based on
already approved policy documents
• Timeline to be added
• Only approved funding can be planned
• Strickt control within the Government
• Full transparency for the public
11

13. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The medium-term plans within the system
12
Development Plan
National Dev./Investment
Plan
Staregies/policies
Government
Programme (GP)
Action Plan for GP
Fiscal
Strategy
/MTEFMedium-Term
(Institutional)
PlanGov.
Work
Plan
Budget

14. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Key elements of the MTIP 1.
• General part
 Competencies, responsibilities
 Orgchart
 Description of the „as is” and „to be” situation
 Priorities (max 3)
• Strategic part
 Objectives
 Measures
 Performance indicators
13

15. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Key elements of the MTIP 2.
• Plan of normative activities
 laws, bylaws and other regulations to be drafted
 With indication of priority and timing
 To be included into the Government Work Plan
• Program Budget structure
 All planned activities structured according the
budget requirements
 With source and amount of approved funding
• Overview of results of the situational analysis
14

16. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The MTIP planning cycle
• Once adopted to be reviewed and adjusted
annually (in spring)
 What is achieved what is not
 Changes in higher level policy documents
 Changes in the environment
• Additional review in the budgeting phase (in
autumn)
• Final approval in December (after the budget is
adopted)
15

17. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Links with the fiscal-budget planning
• Single (integrated) system/process concept
• Supported by integrated IT platform
• Continuous iteration of plans and resources
• Funding to be secured by
 Saving
 Reallocation
 External sources
 Requesting approval of new funding
• Dual sponsorship of the system:
 MoF
 PPS
16

18. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
The MTIP process
• To be drafted by working group within the
institution to ensure full overview
• To be approved internally by the top manager of
the institution, externally by MoF and PPS
• Continuous monitoring of implementation by the
institution
• Annual reporting to the Government
• Implementation and reporting controlled by MoF
and PPS
• The MTIP and the annual report is to be published
on the web site.
17

19. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Some lessons 1.
• Is it perfect? No
• Are all the preconditions in place? No
• Will the implementation be smooth? No
• Is it a model to be copied? No
• Can everything be planned? No
• Is it worth to look at and consider? Yes
18

20. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Some lessons 2.
• High(est) level political commitment
• Committed and capable leading organization
(CoG)
• Capacity building across the Government
• Gradual implementation – consistent
enforcement
• It is a different way of thinking, a different way
of Government – a real cultural change
19

21. AjointinitiativeoftheOECDandtheEuropeanUnion,
principallyfinancedbytheEU
Thanks for your kind attention.
Let’s discuss!
20