Advisory services for the step-by-step implementation of the Nigerien development strategy

Project description

Project title: Support to the implementation of the Nigerien Development Strategy
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Niger
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Planning
Overall term: 2018 to 2022

Context

President Issoufou, who was democratically elected in 2012, set up a dedicated planning ministry again after national planning processes had been neglected for years. He defined a long-term development vision with a timescale that runs until 2035 and an initial medium-term development strategy for the period from 2012 to 2015. Despite the government’s willingness to implement reforms, the results of this first development strategy have failed to meet the expectations of the people and of international funding bodies. At the end of 2017, a second medium-term strategy for the period from 2017 to 2021 was prepared. This new strategy updates and builds on a review of the previous strategy and formulates new action areas. It represents the national implementation framework for the 2030 Agenda. In this context, the Ministry of Planning is facing the major challenge of taking on the tasks of coordinating and monitoring implementation and of supporting the line ministries in the structuring of specific measures. However, the Ministry lacks the capacities required.

Objective

The Ministry of Planning, Spatial Planning and Community Development is able to coordinate the Nigerien development strategy and to monitor its progress.

Approach

The project organises various training and coaching activities for employees of the Ministry of Planning. This develops the capacities required for implementing the Nigerien development strategy in the different sectors (such as water, health, education, good governance). In addition, the project advises important departments such as the Directorate-General for Planning on the development of support services for ministries. These services include instructions as well as advice and training measures for programme and investment planning. Another promising approach is the provision of organisational support to a number of coordination mechanisms in the Ministry that facilitate the smooth implementation of measures from the development plan.

The project also aims to strengthen the potential and skills of key actors in a pilot sector. With this in mind, the project supports training activities for employees from selected ministries, and plans to set up an innovation facility, for which key actors (including the Ministry of Planning) can submit project ideas. These project ideas could be suggestions for improving the processes, services or instruments used to implement the development strategy.