1. Strategic planning and informed based budgeting in Romania
PAG Network
Prague, March 23, 2017
Radu Iacob
Counselor
The General Secretariat of the Government
The Department for Coordination of Policies and Priorities

2. Content
1. Context 2. Current efforts 3. Implementation timeline 4. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach 5. ICT tool for ISP Monitoring 6. Institutional Arrangements 7. Challenges in implementation 8. Questions

3. Context
2002 – budgetary programs introduced in the national legislation & medium term expenditure framework (1+3 years) – still an annual cash budget
2006 – 1st methodology for strategic planning
2008 – complementary methodology for budget programming
2011 – Fiscal Budgetary Strategy (1+2 years)

4. Context
2007 – 1st round of institutional strategic plans (ISPs) – the management/policy component
2009 – economic and financial crisis/change in government – the budget component is dropped
2012 – DDO-DPL program with the World Bank – conditionality to gradually revise the SP system

5. Context
2013 – 2 ISPs revised (internally based on the methodology)
2014 – 6 ISPs revised (idem)
2014 – New Strategy for Public Administration (ex-ante conditionality)
strengthen the planning, budgeting and policy monitoring processes in the Center of Government (CoG), Ministry of Public Finance (MoPF) and line ministries
enhance the efficiency of public spending

6. Context
– Min. of Agriculture – ISP – World Bank TA – ICT Tool for M&E
2013 – Amendment to the Law of Public Finances – MoPF should elaborate a new methodology for budget programming and pilot it in 2 ministries – Education and Health
2014 – 2015 – World Bank IDF Grant – TA at the level of Prime Minister’s Chancellery – new methodology & 2 new ISPs – Education and Health

7. Current efforts
"Extending the Strategic Planning system to the line ministries level” - SIPOCA 28 – TA with the support of the World Bank, in partnership with the Romanian Court of Accounts and the Romanian Academy – cofinanced by ESF – AC OP
Continues the work done for strengthening planning and policy monitoring developed under the WB IDF Grant
A key step towards introducing performance/informed- based budgeting in the Romanian public sector

8. Current efforts Outcomes:
Facilitating a high-level dialogue on the importance of improved priority-setting and strategic planning
Strengthening the ISP process (developed under the IDF) by further rolling it out to 13 ministries

9. Current efforts
Improving monitoring and reporting processes with the use of an IT tool
Creating a central dashboard that can inform the strategic prioritization based on performance on ISP priorities in line ministries
Building planning and monitoring capacities in the CoG as well as among the institutional counterparts

10. Current efforts

11. Implementation timeline
Result / deadline
September 2016
June 2017
June 2018
May 2019
New methodology for strategic planning
13 ISPs elaborated – phase I
ISP monitoring system
13 ISPs elaborated – phase II
13 ISPs elaborated – phase III
Final report
Final conference

12. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach
A document developed by each ministry
Setting out the concrete actions to be undertaken
and desired results to be achieved by the institution over the medium-term (1+3 years)
to realize its vision and strategic objectives
In the future, it will serve as the budget synthesis document for the yearly budget preparation
The ISP architecture comprises a planning hierarchy, a program budget structure and a logic model of a results chain

13. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach
Vision, Mandate
Impact Indicators
Impacts
Strategic Objectives
Outcome Indicators
Programs
Outcomes
Output
Indicators
Sub-Programs*
Outputs
Process Indicators
Measures
Inputs
Activities/Projects

14. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach
VISION
MISION
SECTORAL STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

15. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach
Need to integrate AGWP into the strategic planning process
AGWP could eventually include:
Policy priorities
Investment priorities
Annual Legislative calendar
Approved high-level strategies
Policy & delivery reviews
AGWP becomes Government’s Annual Operational Plan

16. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach
Budgeting the Strategic plan

17. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach
Budget on objectives and years – ex. MARD

18. Institutional Strategic Plan – structure and approach
Monitoring: GSG

19. ICT tool for ISP Monitoring

20. ICT tool for ISP Monitoring
GSG ISP dashboard

21. ICT tool for ISP Monitoring

22. ICT tool for ISP Monitoring

23. Institutional Arrangements
The implementation of the project is managed by the Department for the Coordination of Public Policies (DCPP), part of the GSG, with support from MoPF and participating line ministries
GSG in partnership with The Romanian Courts of Accounts and The Romanian Academy are the contractors of the EU funded project

24. Institutional Arrangements
World Bank - provides technical assistance for the GSG
End beneficiaries – 13 ministries:
MARD, MIA, MRDPAEF, MEc, MBEnv, MEd, MR&D, MPF, MEnv., MWF, MLabour, MHealth, MTrans

25. Challenges in implementation
The need to adapt the methodology to each sector’s specificities
Tensions between the design of the programs and the institutional structure of ministries
Resistance to change – the transition to program budgeting requires additional work in the short term
Limited capacity in terms of human resources
Political demand and support

26. Questions?
Thank you!