The public policy process proceeds by trial and error and requires learning from experience. Institutional learning process requires investment and is a non-replaceable process. You cannot replace the internal knowledge of one organization with that acquired by another institution or organization.
Based on the experiences of Latin America and the most advanced countries elements can be deducted to determine the a country’s ability to design and implement effective policies.
The public policy process proceeds by trial and error and requires learning from experience. Institutional learning process requires investment and is a non-replaceable process. You cannot replace the internal knowledge of one organization with that acquired by another institution or organization.
Based on the experiences of Latin America and the most advanced countries elements can be deducted to determine the a country’s ability to design and implement effective policies:
There is no single model for developing policies, and history matter (path dependency)
The ability to develop a strategic vision and to align policy objectives. The ability to define «innovation for what?» is crucial for effective policy design.
The creation of governance and funding mechanisms that translate strategy into action.
The development of instances (collegial as the Council of Ministers or individual) to ensure the transformation of strategy into a coherent program of action, if possible formalized commitments, budgets and goals.
The ability to have real impact on budget formulation. The commitment by the Ministry of Finance to align the budget decisions with the strategic guidelines is fundamental.
The investment in strategic intelligence, studies and evaluation within or related to the institutions responsible for the formulation of the strategy is an asset that facilitates learning and institutional capacity building to move towards more sophisticated policies more quickly and consistent with the country’s needs. The establishment of specialized units to conduct studies of various kinds (diagnoses, prospective studies, program evaluations, etc.), can contribute significantly to the improvement of program management, coordination and the earning process.
Open and accountable systems. Ensuring the participation of multiple stakeholders in the formulation and implementation is essential. Representation of relevant actors (leaders in business and academia) on directive committess of the agencies, increases not only relevance of the policies and strategies but also limits the risk of political and regulatory capture or distortion of national priorities.
Posted on: 02/01/2013
Reference: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oecd.org%2Fcentrodemexico%2F47435448.pdf
