1. 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

2. 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: 2

3. 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.

4. a criteria of carrying out a plan or strategy of doing business
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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.

5. 2. Benefits of Priotization
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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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 4. Points of deviation: cont..
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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.

10. 4. Points of deviation: cont..
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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).

11. 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

12. 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.

13. Thank You Contacts: elizabeth.gachuiri@unctad.org