Key challenges in Prioritization – Small and Big Agency Perspectives P.Horna Sunday, April 28, 2019 Key challenges in Prioritization – Small and Big Agency Perspectives ICN Agency Effectiveness Workshop 2016 Gaborone, Botswana, 10th and 11th of March Thursday Presentation by: Elizabeth GACHUIRI-Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD 1

What prioritization entails Benefits of Prioritization P.Horna Sunday, April 28, 2019 Issues to be addressed What prioritization entails Benefits of Prioritization Some Common principles Points of deviation Maximizing benefits Final Remarks UNCTAD has over the years published background studies on Agency Effectiveness and offered a discussion forum to member states during its inter-Governmental meetings. Some areas covered are Evatuation Criteria, Communication, Knowledge and human resource management, prioritization and fooundations of effective agency among others All documentation on UNCTAD IGE are available on: www.unctad.org/competition. 2

Prioritization: one tool for agency effectiveness P.Horna 4/28/2019 Prioritization: one tool for agency effectiveness Involves a critical look of how agency can maximize use of scarce reources A tool among others. Makes one piece of a puzzle Looking deeper into the fabric of an agency.

a criteria of carrying out a plan or strategy of doing business P.Horna 4/28/2019 1. What prioritization entails: cont.. Establish: a criteria of carrying out a plan or strategy of doing business Choices and opportunity costs considerations Steps and timeframe for action: Seeing the present and fitting in the future gaols into action plans Ability to choose and choose right: Not always the case! A bad choice can make the authority loose credibility A weighting action.

2. Benefits of Priotization P.Horna 4/28/2019 2. Benefits of Priotization Agency is able to: identify specific objectives to help guide its staff make consistent resource allocation decisions and permit the political and business communities to understand and critique the choices

Priortize activities - consideration should be given to fitting plan into overall agency strategy. Opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of decisions, in order to identify areas of improvements

3. Some Common principles Priority setting is useful to every comp Agency Resource utilization is central to operations of any agency Plan of use is therefore key to this effort Strive to apply best practices- A measure of effectiveness

4. Points of deviation Legal instrument support Political support P.Horna 4/28/2019 4. Points of deviation Legal instrument support Political support Financial provision Staffing strategies: Appointments etc Autonomy /independence Some Agencies have legal instrument provision which requires the agency to have a prioritization plan. Others don't have such support. Inadequate legislation in terms of addressing anticompetitive conduct in domestic economy and in terms of facilitating effective enforcement; Political support or lack of it can either frustrate and ehance the prioritization effort. Some Agencies are well resourced while others are not. Prioritization may be affected either positively or negatively depending on resource base to execute. Budget not large enough for agency to operate effectively Staff appointments especially high level can be political in some cases. Some agency heads change with change of government: frustrates strategy Autonomy and influence by the body politique also affects prioritization efforts

4. Points of deviation: cont.. P.Horna 4/28/2019 4. Points of deviation: cont.. Prioritizing activities based on: ability to determine the effects on consumer welfare in the market the likelihood of a successful outcome; and resource costs and measurement Challenges of measuring consumer welfare and attribution to agency prioritized activies. Some agencies may be able and others are not. Ensuring the likelihood of a positive outcome is not given. Resources to establish such also differs frim agency to agency.

4. Points of deviation: cont.. P.Horna 4/28/2019 4. Points of deviation: cont.. Levels of competition culture among the business community, government, media and general public; Insufficient cooperation and coordination with particular government ministries and other Judiciary awareness of competition law and its economics; Setting priorities for tasks according to available resources, (allocating resources also depends on priority setting, availability of adequate human resources, contractual status of staff and knowledge management).

P.Horna 4/28/2019 5. Maximizing Benefits Degree of liability of conspirators in criminal cases and the deterrent impact; Balance between cost and benefit, and market impact) Non-market impact Public expectations. C&B: Spurring compliance through deterrent enforcement or through advocacy Non Market: leadership, communication P. Expectations: including parliament, government, consumers and other stakeholders including sectoral regulators

6. Final Remarks Prioritization is indeed an important aspect of agency effectiveness. But every agency will operate within its own parameters guided by what is at its disposal The famous phrase: no-one-size-fits-all is applicable here too.

Thank You Contacts: elizabeth.gachuiri@unctad.org www.unctad.org/competition