Institutional/Organizational Improvement and Public-Private Dialogue Example Projects

Pakistan Districts That Work (DTW)

JAA is partnered with the Urban Institute (UI) in providing Pakistan districts with the skills and necessary tools for effective governance. JAA is providing technical and management assistance to local government officials at the districts level, management committees, and community organizations. In addition, JAA is responsible for establishing and maintaining cooperative relationships with representatives of local governments, community, and public interest groups, and planning and directing the development and communication of informational programs.

Increasing the Effectiveness of the Business Advisory Council (BAC) in Albania

JAA assisted Albanian stakeholders and the World Bank SEED Program to assess the Albanian Business Advisory Council (BAC), and to provide an action plan for improvement.

A Government of Albania (GoA) priority, the Project is designed to increase the efficiency of the BAC, addressing and strengthening public-private dialogue. The BAC was established through a Council of Ministers decision (February 2000), as a forum within which to discuss and advocate for important issues relating to Business Development Services; Customs and Fiscal Policies; Investment Promotion Policies and other matters related to investment and business. The BAC is composed of seventeen members representing key Ministries and the Business Community.

Prior to the JAA intervention, the BAC faced numerous challenges. The voice of the business community was weak and the BAC had several operational problems. BAC meetings were held without an annual agenda, but on an “emergency” basis, without sufficient time for preparation and/or consultations with respective experts. Meetings were not well structured, and often did not adequately adhere to the agenda. There was very little reporting, and little feedback to members on subjects discussed, decisions taken and follow-up. De facto, BAC activities were limited only to advocacy regarding government laws and decisions. BAC restructuring will ensure and facilitate continuous and increasingly strategic dialogue between government and business community; will clarify the mission and key objectives of the BAC; and improve responsibilities and operational linkages among stakeholders – all to better address Albania’s needs for economic growth and a sound, enabling business environment.

JAA conducted a detailed assessment of the BAC, discussed its issues with stakeholders and convened a roundtable to discuss proposals for improvement. JAA then provided very practical steps to improve both the operations and the strategic focus of the BAC. These have been incorporated into SEED’s implementation programming.

JAA conducted a diagnostic survey of the BAC’s efficiency, and then presented its findings to the Albania government, who requested JAA’s assistance to increase the efficiency of BAC operations, thus making it a more functional versus formal body.

JAA interviewed major stakeholders and reviewed international best practices, in order to provide the following outputs: definition of the BAC strategy, mission, objectives and action plan; design of an organizational and functional scheme and respective guideline of the BAC network (comprised of the BAC itself, the BMO network (MA and ChoC), government institutions, and Parliament; determination of types of information and reports to be produced; information flow (vertical and horizontal); definition of tasks and responsibilities of BAC members; and on-the-job training for the SME agency staff on techniques for collecting and processing information, analyzing and interpreting SME indicators, and recommending to decision makers the policy tools and instruments to be applied.

Restructuring of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and Preparation of a Two-Year Work Plan

JAA provided an analysis of the Uganda Investment Authority’s (UIA) performance, mission, strategy, staffing, organization, financial situation and stakeholders and assisted UIA to finalize its institutional objectives, its strategic plan and develop a two-year work plan. JAA provided the UIA with assistance in defining the necessary institutional restructuring requirements, to manage organizational changes and human resources issues.

Uganda: Support Private Enterprise Expansion and Development (SPEED); Assistance to the Ministry of Finance; Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED); the Uganda Export Promotion Board; the Uganda Investment Authority; and the Uganda Tourism Board

Under the Uganda SPEED Project, JAA assisted the Government of Uganda (GoU) to plan the merger of the Uganda Export Promotion Board, Uganda Investment Authority and Uganda Tourist Board. The work was carried out as part of the Medium Term Competitiveness Strategy (MTCS).

A merger of the UIA, UEPB and UTB had long been discussed. President Museveni, in September 2001, mandated the merger, conceived to improve results and achieve operating efficiencies related to the promotion of investment, exports and tourism.. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFPED) requested JAA to provide assistance to design the organization and work plan for the new entity, and the steps to be taken to implement the change. A team of three consultants undertook this challenging assignment.

Because of the sensitivity of the merger, the need to minimize disruptions and uncertainties, and the need to effectuate a smooth transition, a very transparent and step-wise process was conceived and implemented. SPEED was not asked to comment on or reconsider the President’s decision, but only to provide the optimum blueprint for implementation.

The process was a valuable and innovative one, which has informed subsequent sectoral, investment and competitiveness thinking and implementation and subsequent government budget allocations. In the course of the assignment, the team prepared several technical notes, which continue to provide national guidance on matters concerning business-led economic growth.

Assistance to the Centre d’Appui aux Pétites et Moyennes Entreprises au Rwanda (CAPMER)

The Centre d’Appui aux Pétites et Moyennes Entreprises au Rwanda (CAPMER), a professional services organization with mandate to assist the growth and development of small and medium enterprise, was established in 2000. It is responsible to the Ministry of Commerce (MINICOM), and has been funded to-date through the UNIDO Programme Integré de Développement Industriel du Rwanda. It seeks to establish itself as a a credible resource offering quality consulting, training and information services to SMEs. UNIDO and CAPMER asked JAA to study and provide recommendations on how to restructure CAPMER as an independent organization with voting members that would include private entities, the government, and international agencies. UNIDO planned to continue support to CAPMER in the short term, and the World Bank Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project had dedicated a component to assisting CAPMER’s activities. The restructuring of CAPMER was a condition for this component of the World Bank loan.

JAA provided assistance to UNIDO in conducting this study. JAA assisted in obtaining agreement with the World Bank as to the requirements for effectiveness of the CAPMER component of the project; and helped CAPMER to prepare the needed inputs for the component effectiveness, to define its Business Plan and to identify its requirements under the World Bank Project component. JAA also provided recommendations on next steps in CAPMER finalizing and implementing their business plan under the World Bank Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project

Food Security Study

CARE's use of food aid has significantly influenced how CARE carries out programs and how it is structured. In addition, programming food aid has given CARE its visibility with host governments and communities, and has contributed enormously to the growth of the organization. Given the array of issues around food aid and how to use it, CARE undertook a comprehensive Policy Review on the use of food resources in its programs. This Review led to recommendations for an organization-wide, updated policy.

As part of this process, CARE developed five major policy papers. JAA was engaged by CARE to prepare three of the five the assessments: external trends and policies, stakeholder analyses, and food and its impact on CARE as an organization.

These analyses considered broad issues such as the use of food aid for emergency, general relief and safety net programs with direct distribution as the mechanism of choice; the appropriate degree of emphasis on monetization, as converting food aid into a cash resource provides greater program flexibility to address food insecurity in the long term; the socio-economic and political environments in which CARE operates; and effects of trade liberalization, economies in transition, new political leadership and philosophy in developing countries and declining donor foreign aid budgets.

JAA examined the impact of food resources on the CARE organization. The JAA team reviewed impacts on the organization’s financial and administrative and management (logistics, inventory and monitoring systems, internal audit, legal considerations, human resources, donor relations) choices.

JAA also analyzed major social, political and economic changes, trends and directions at global and regional levels and identified those that may have major effects on addressing food security. JAA examined the interests of different stakeholders who provided or received food resources, i.e. regions or countries experiencing long-term, chronic food deficits, short term cyclical deficits and those regions and countries normally food self-sufficient or would be net exporters of food. In the context of the identified changes, trends and directions, JAA examined the role, threats and opportunities for the use of food resources for alleviation of poverty. JAA studied the role of food as a resource in short-term natural disasters and complex political emergencies providing information on successes, lessons, threats and opportunities encountered in these situations.

JAA provided recommendations related to trends in globalization (including implications from technology and information, transnational business trends, international capital flows and trade trends, etc.); global ecology (including Implications from climate change, and trends pertaining to soil degradation, deforestation, from biodiversity and energy); food and agriculture (including Implications from food production, consumption and trade trends, and biotechnology issues); governance; and poverty.

Organizational and Technical Assistance to Opportunity International

JAA worked with Opportunity International on the development of appropriate organizational mechanisms, guidelines, incentives and approaches for improving the effectiveness of their sixty implementing partners and seven support partners worldwide. JAA provided effective solutions to the Board and the Director's concerns regarding improving results, organizational effectiveness, and technical assistance. JAA presented Opportunity International with best practices in corporate and social enterprise organization and management, and helped Opportunity International to create a strategy and action plan for organizational change. JAA was also responsible for facilitating the internal dialogue and decision-making process, which contributed to consensus and effective implementation of the strategy and action plan.

For information on more projects related to Institutional/Organizational Improvement and Public-Private Dialogue, please view our JAA Corporate Capabilities and Qualifications Document