TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 THE CHALLENGE......................................................................................................1

1.2 THE STRATEGIC VISION...........................................................................................2

1.2.1 The Objective.................................................................................................2

1.2.2 The Vision......................................................................................................2

1.3 KEY ELEMENTS IN THE IDP APPROACH...................................................................2

1.3.1 The IDP Process............................................................................................2

1.3.2 The IDP Principles........................................................................................3

1.4 INSTITUTIONALISING THE APPROACH......................................................................4

1.4.1 Responsibilities of Stakeholders within an IDP Framework.........................4

 

 

INTRODUCTION

1.1       THE CHALLENGE

The Integrated Development Plan (IDP) of the Commonwealth of Dominica is a unique and challenging task for two reasons. First, it seeks to promote the democratisation of holistic sustainable development planning in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Second, it seeks to define and establish a participatory process for Integrated Development Planning where the private sector and wider civil society play an enhanced role in the design and delivery of more transparent, accountable and decentralised development planning.

 

The Planning Framework of the IDP is recognizable by four very significant characteristics:

1.         It treats the values and vision of the people as key determinants of the direction and strategy for national development, and as such, provides a Framework that should reflect more closely the priority issues as determined by the stakeholders themselves;

2.         It defines mechanisms for ongoing stakeholder involvement in the preparation of the plan, definition of programs and projects, implementation of associated actions and in the review of performance for possible corrective action; (Refer to Annex A-13).

3.         It defines a new approach to development planning and implementation, that highlights cross-cutting and cross-sectoral issues and requires all stakeholders to signal their commitments during the planning process; (Refer to Annex A-11)

4.         It establishes a procedure in which a Development Plan directly influences the composition of public expenditure in the national budget; (Refer to Annex A-15, 16,17)

The challenge of the IDP is to release the unexplored planning potential of the people of Dominica and to present new and creative arrangements among sectors and stakeholders that can respond to the development planning needs facing the country.

 

Key success criteria of the IDP as a planning instrument include the following:

 

 

 

1.2              THE STRATEGIC VISION

 

1.2.1                The Objective

One of the objectives of this Consultancy is to define and establish a participatory process that allows all stakeholders in the national community to take shared responsibility for the management of the economy at the broadest level of society. During the course of the Consultancy, it was observed that the consultative and participatory approach allowed the major stakeholders (Private Sector, Public Sector and Civil Society) to signal their commitments to specific economic and social actions so that these could be integrated into a holistic approach to development. Partnership, therefore, has emerged as the cornerstone of the new planning process. This is the partnership in which the development vision as expressed by different stakeholders is acknowledged and fully respected.

 

1.2.2    The Vision

Essentially, the vision most commonly expressed by stakeholders centers around the following fundamental aspirations:

 

1.         To see and help build a society where there is harmony among and between people, and between people their God and His creation;

2.         To be part of a development strategy that addresses the immediate as well as medium and long term needs in ways that involve all sectors and segments of society in the planning and managing of that strategy and avoids compromising the development prospects of future generations;

3.         To live in a society that is stable and just, where discipline and respect for the individual is assured by a participatory and responsible approach to economic and social programmes at the community and the national levels.

4.         To experience dignity, pride, patriotism and a sense of belonging to country.

 

In summary, the vision is for a better quality of life, new and better ways of doing things and for expanded horizons, and greater opportunities and choices for present and future generations of Dominicans.

 

1.3       KEY ELEMENTS IN THE IDP APPROACH

1.3.1    The IDP Process

The IDP Planning process is one of consultations, participation and information sharing. It is built on the premise that the values and vision of the people of the country must be treated as key determinants of the direction and strategy for national development. As such, a key element of the IDP is the design of mechanisms for ongoing stakeholder involvement in the further refinement of the Plan, in the definition of new programs and projects, in undertaking supporting actions and in providing feedback on the performance in the Public Sector.

 

 

The objective of the IDP- Planning Process, is to engage persons in all sectors, (Public Sector, Private Sector and Civil Society) as stakeholders in the nation’s business, to perform the following functions:

 

 

1.3.2          The IDP Principles

The following principles have been applied in the preparation of the Integrated Development Plan:

 

Ownership: Developing a commitment to the policy/programme/project based on opportunities for active involvement in the process of shaping the vision, setting the goals, designing the mechanisms and timing and sequencing the actions for implementation of decisions.

 

Decentralization: Opening up opportunities, and providing the capacity for local and national organizations to share the responsibility for management of economic and social programmes.

 

Governance: Initiating processes and procedures of administration of Public and Corporate affairs that are responsive to the citizens.

 

Transparency: Ensuring openness in the public administration, so that all information vital to decision-making is reliable and available in a timely manner.

 

Participation: Providing an active role within the planning and decision-making process for all stakeholders including the opportunities for women, youth, indigenous people, and other marginalized groups.

 

Partnership: Engaging informal and formal mechanisms of cooperation, coordination and collaboration that focus on agreed goals in ways that reduce suspicion and distrust between stakeholders and enhance progress towards sustainable development.

 

Accountability: Ensuring that persons in positions of trust and responsibility are required to account for the decisions they make and the resources under their care.

 

Cross-sectoral: Taking account of impact of policies, plans and actions in one sector on other sectors.

 

Cross-cutting: Addressing stakeholders’ interests which cut across the conventional definitions of economic and social sectors and which require an holistic approach.

 

1.4  INSTITUTIONALISING THE APPROACH

 

1.4.1 Responsibilities of Stakeholders within an IDP Framework

1.4.1.1 Public sector

With regards to the public sector, the IDP concern is with institutional capacity at the level of policy making, at the level of administrative effectiveness and at the level of public service efficiency. The major challenge is to reorient the public service towards becoming a “customer-driven” service. This can be achieved if some of the old issues of encouraging innovation, involving staff and selecting senior managers are addressed with a view to modernizing the public service. More specifically, the IDP approach focuses on measures that enable the country’s public service to administer and co-manage policies and programmes in support of stabilization and growth in the economy in full partnership with the private sector and civil society. (Refer to Annex A-21)

 

The IDP requires a Public Sector that knows how to:

1.4.1.2 Private Sector

The successful recovery in economic activity within the emerging liberalized environment requires enhanced competitiveness, services, promotion and marketing and it is the private sector that will ultimately produce the competitive products and services in this new environment. The IDP approach recognizes that a new dynamic must be fashioned based on partnership between public, private and civil society sectors, which creates an enabling “environment” that converts national economic policy into programmes and projects of sustainable growth. In this respect, the IDP will require a Private Sector, which: (Refer to Annex A-24)

 

 

·         Builds its own combined capability (finance, manufacturing and primary production) to service a dynamic “extended domestic market” in the OECS and CARICOM in areas of primary production of food products; agro-processing, trade with water; personal skills and services; joint tourism destination marketing in sports and health events; (Refer to Annex A-22)

 

·         Participates in the formulation of a more cohesive set of Policies relating to Trade, Taxation, Utility and Port Costs, adoption of information technology and promotion of music, entertainment and art-form enterprises; (Refer to Annex A-17)

 

·         Is broadly representative of businesses in the informal sector, farmers and vendors in addition to representation of existing manufacturing, commercial and financial units of the private sector.

 

·          

1.4.1.3 Civil Society

Institutional and organizational capacity is essential in civil society to partner with public and private sectors in an IDP framework. The many examples of constructive partnering of civil society organizations with the public sector in particular, attest to the value of such institutional arrangements in attaining creative new approaches to development. (Refer to Annex A-24)

 

The Strategic Vision for Civil Society would require that NGOs, CBOs and other members of Civil Society continuously:

·        Strengthen their organizational capacity to share information and mobilize their membership to capture the benefits of economic programmes;

·        Within their area of competence, participate in the delivery of health and social services to targeted communities; in the management and maintenance of educational facilities; in the introduction of relevant content in the educational and training (human resource development) curricula; (Refer to Annex A-14)

·        Organize local area development committees to make an inventory of available skills and resources in the local area; initiate locally-based activities in agriculture, healthy lifestyles, land-resource management (forestry and watershed area) and rural based tourism; (Refer to Annex A-15)

·        Provide assistance through professional associations (architects, planners, engineers) to support local government in:

o Improving their community service activities

o Develop initiatives to attract more businesses to their communities;

 

The Diaspora

The Diaspora constitutes a most highly endowed group of Dominican. They have demonstrated in concrete terms their capacity to deliver goods and services to communities in support of development goals. Furthermore, they have readily adopted the approach of consultation and collaborative efforts, which the IDP itself flags as the hallmark of an inclusive planning process and are expected to be receptive to efforts at involving them in all stages of the process. (Refer to Annex A-24)

 

 

With respect to the further involvement of the Diaspora in Dominica’s development, the IDP proposes as part of the transition strategy the establishment of a Unit at the highest level of the public sector, to facilitate the participation and eventual re-entry of members of the Diaspora into Dominican society. This Unit can be the conduit and mechanism for addressing and resolving the problems faced by returning Dominicans. The Unit should also have the capability to address expeditiously the need for mechanisms that will facilitate investments of expertise and finances by the Diaspora in the local economy.

 

Additional transition measures that can be taken with respect to the Diaspora are:

 

 

Measures to Institutionalize the Approach

Immediate measures for institutionalizing the process are discussed in detail in Chapters 6 and 7 and include the following:

 

·        A National Public Education Programme for national development should be implemented, targeting schools, youth, the general population, and with the full engagement of established community organizations, the media and a reengineered Government Information Service. The objective of this campaign would be the continuous sensitization of the various publics and the motivation for sustained participation in developing future components of the IDP.

·        An Integrated Development Planning Commission (IDPC) should be established to promote, manage and monitor both the process and the implementation of the plan. Membership in this Commission would be drawn from the public and private sectors, and civil society.

·        The next phase of IDP planning consultations should be initiated no later than January 2003 in order to inform the budget formulation process for FY03/04. The IDPC should be assigned the responsibility of initiating the Process.

·        Active consideration should be given to the enactment of the necessary legislative and regulatory provisions to clearly indicate where the social and economic responsibility lies for the following processes and to allow for the full participation and representation of stakeholders in all national decision making functions with respect to:

o        The Integrated Develop Planning Process;

o        The Policy Development Process;

o        The modernization of the Public Service;

o        The Medium-Term Public Expenditure Framework;

o        The Preparation of the Annual Budget;

o        The Facilitation of Trade and the Creation of New Service Enterprises;

o        The Special Relationship with the Carib Community;

o        The Social and Economic Vulnerability Response;

o        The Process of Economic Recovery and Inclusion.

Indicators of Compatibility

The interactive consultative process, which characterizes the IDP, should permeate through all levels of decisions on projects. The more prevalent the “signature” of IDP-compatibility, the more successful will be the participation of stakeholders in the process.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................1

2.2 Sensitisation Meetings...........................................................................................2

2.3 Workshops...........................................................................................................4

2.4 Survey Instruments................................................................................................4

2.5 Documentation Review......................................................................…................5

 

2.1 INTRODUCTION

 

2.1.1    The project to define and establish an Integrated Development Plan and Planning Process1 sought to achieve the following results:

1)         A national information campaign designed to sensitise all stakeholders on the meaning and importance of Integrated Development Planning as well as encourage actors to identify their priorities and role in this new process;

2)         A national "Integrated Development Plan" encompassing cross-cutting and sectoral;

3)         A New Process for development planning that will facilitate holistic decentralised planning of both cross-cutting and sectoral issues and contain provisions for approaches to consensus building on development programme policies and priorities at all stages of the Economic Management cycle;

4)      An IDP Implementation Plan, showing detailed immediate actions/projects/programmes and broad medium to longer term activities, responsibility schedules and programme of financing as well as mechanisms for co-operation and joint action.

 

2.1.2    To achieve these results the project was divided into three (3) Phases (Figure 1):

o        Phase 1:     Sensitisation, Research, Analysis and Planning;

o        Phase 2:     Consolidation, Integration and Development of the Integrated

Development Plan;

o       Phase 3:     Programming and Project Identification

 

2.1.3    The Methodological issue was to design an approach to research, analysis and planning that also allowed for the forging of a consciousness and awareness of the IDP process among our people that will continuously provide inputs into the dialogue on national issues. To do this within the objectives of the Project the IDP Team:

a)        Conducted a series of sensitization exercises;

b)        Listened to the responses on issues and vision;

c)        Formulated Planning and Policy Concepts from these responses;

d)    Developed draft IDP Proposals and Projects for Stakeholders’ validation;

e)    Presented a Final Report on the IDP Process and Implementation Plan.

 

____________________________________

Terms of Reference for THE DEFINITION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS between the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Commonwealth of Dominica and THE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE, September 2001

 

2.2 SENSITISATION MEETINGS

 

2.2.1    To provide, in the broadest sense, an audience for the major stakeholders in the economy to LISTEN to each other as they presented their views and opinions on what should be done in the economy and society, the IDP Team conducted, in Phase 1, fifteen (15) sensitisation exercises. This involved about 600 persons from the Public Sector, Private Sector and Civil Society spending on average of 4 hours per meeting listening and expressing their own ideas on several topics of current concern. Gender response to the sensitisation meetings indicated that 39% of the attendees were women. (Refer to Annex D)

 

2.2.2    Community meetings of a broad range of leaders and key individuals in communities constituted a very important mechanism for data gathering and information sharing. Zonal meetings were held in La Plaine, Colihaut, Marigot, Grandbay, Portsmouth, and Roseau with persons from surrounding villages being bused in to attend these meetings. Lists of invitees to the meetings were compiled with the assistance of village council clerks, community development officers and district health workers. Attendance at these meetings was facilitated by the provision of transportation and the airing of public service announcements.

 

Table: List of Sensitisation Meetings Held

Sensitisation Meetings

Location

1

Community Meeting for residents from Delices to Castle Bruce Communities

La Plaine

2

Community Meeting for residents from Dublanc to St. Joseph Communities

Colihaut

3

Community Meeting for residents from Petite Savanne to Pichelin Communities

Grandbay

4

Community Meeting for residents from Penville to Portsmouth Communities

Portsmouth

5

Community Meeting for residents from Woodfordhill to Concord Communities

Marigot

6

Community Meeting for residents from Marigot

Marigot

7

Community Meeting for residents from Mahaut to Scotts Head Communities

Roseau

8

Civil Society (NGO, Sports, Community Organizations)

Roseau

9

Media Workers

Roseau

10

Religious Leaders

Roseau

11

Private Sector

Roseau

12

Bankers Association

Roseau

13

Political Leadership - DLP

Roseau

14

Political Leadership- DFP

Roseau

15

Political Leadership - UWP

Roseau

 

2.2.3    Sensitisation meetings were also held with persons and groups who were considered very important opinion leaders. These included, The President of the Commonwealth of Dominica, media workers, broad civil society group, the Executive membership of the three political parties, the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the Committee of Permanent Secretaries, religious leaders, private sector organizations, small business owners, farmers and the bankers association. The objectives of these meetings were to provide information on the concept of integrated development planning, to introduce the consultancy and its terms of reference, to receive feedback and to motivate persons to explore their role in the process, thus fostering commitment.

 

2.2.4    The sensitization strategy also involved the formation of special Reference Groups. The reference groups were small groups of persons who have been involved in making meaningful contributions of development concepts and ideas in the past. The ideas, proposals and reports were shared with these groups to gain the benefits of their experiences.

 

2.2.5        The culmination of the sensitization strategy was the Revalidation sessions. This consisted of community meetings, and discussions with reference groups, civil society organizations, private sector organizations and international organizations, Cabinet and other political leaders, and officials of the public and private sector to present our proposal to stakeholders’ for comment and further guidance.

 

2.2.6    The community meetings were held in Portsmouth, La Plaine, and Grandbay. These townhall type meetings were broadcast on a local radio station with opportunity for live audience participation.

 

2.3 WORKSHOPS