Policy & Delivery
The Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery of the Office of The President was initially created to offer policy advisory support to the President, through the office of the Secretary General. However, the mandate of the department has now been expanded to encompass the provision of technical advice, support and analysis for the President and Cabinet for evidence-based decision making and policy coordination, in the areas such as the implementation of the National Development Plan and other policy documents, etc. The DSPD is central to the work of the government, through the OP, serving as an analytical and logical component, tasked with the responsibility of looking beyond what is and providing actionable advice based on evidence. It helps facilitate the vision of the government.
The Department seeks to become the technical office within the President’s Office, functioning to assist and enable the President to develop, implement and monitor the vision of the government and to provide strategic leadership for cross-sectoral policies or programmes. The primary mandates of the Department come through the powers of the Presidency as conferred by the Constitution (Chapter VI) which details the leadership role of the President. The ultimate objectives of the Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery (DSPD) are to provide technical advice, support and analysis for the President and Cabinet in order to improve evidence-based decision-making and policy coordination at the level of the executive. Through more informed decisions, and improved coordination, the government will be more able to deliver on its development aspirations as detailed in the National Development Plan and other policy documents.
Provide strategic policy advisory services to the Presidency on key issues that ensure coherence between the President's political vision and its implementation.
Provide high-level oversight for the management of the policy development continuum and the functioning of an effective policy development and implementation system.
Facilitate collaboration on cross-sectoral or sector-wide issues – e.g. through task forces, calling upon national and international specialized technical advice.
Promote a culture of information sharing, knowledge development and management through collaboration in policy development to avoid silos and overlaps, and to ensure that policy and strategy documents are easily accessible;
Ensure strengthened policy development and monitoring capabilities (not just planning and implementation) in the Ministries and decentralized planning entities
Provide Analysis and Scrutiny of Key Policy Documents
Firstly, the Department will provide analysis and scrutiny of key policy documents for the information and use of the President and Cabinet. This will ensure that discussions and policy decisions taken by the President and the Cabinet are informed, and that information reaching the executive level is of an appropriate standard and has been consulted with relevant stakeholders in advance. Furthermore, the unit will ensure that briefs and important information are prepared and presented to the President on a regular basis reflecting developments in the state of the macroeconomy and the performance of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (including SOEs) against their long-term objectives
Provide Delivery Function
Secondly, the Department will provide a ‘delivery’ function to ensure that the President’s agenda is properly articulated, and implemented, by relevant MDAs. The Delivery Unit will 6work closely with MDAs to agree on timelines and key milestones for delivering on Presidential Priority projects and/or reforms while working closely to ensure that these are implemented. This will be through coordinating across government and partner agencies if necessary and unblocking any obstacles through using the authority of the Office of the President. Progress will be regularly reported back to the President.
Serve Interlocutor Between Government and Development Partners
Finally, the Department will serve as a key interlocutor between government and development partners by defining long-term strategic objectives for these partnerships and cultivating a relationship between the executive and heads of partner agencies. This will aim to ensure that the government can communicate with a unified voice to partners regarding its high-level priorities, while retaining the existing functions of MoFEA and MDAs in the implementation of projects.
