Dear Reader

Introduction

Welcome to the pages of the Vision 2030 Jamaica Diary. You are in for a journey! Development belongs to everyone, and I have our Jamaican story to share!

This blog post focuses on the successive 3-year Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF). In case you have never heard of the MTF – the MTF serves as both a directive and a guide for the implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica. It presents the planned Goals and National Outcomes that we are working to achieve by 2030. It presents the National and Sector Strategies that define the development priority areas and the approach to the development of these areas. It also states the national strategic programmes/actions that should be implemented towards the achievement of planned medium-term outcomes and to advance the achievement of the long-term goals and outcomes.

If you are implementing Vision 2030 Jamaica, you are required to pursue the goals, outcomes, and strategies. However, there is recognition that policy determines programme priorities, and these may change for various reasons. The MTF is a medium-term policy framework and is therefore responsive to this reality. It is also recognized that implementation partners are guided by different mandates, target groups, and are equipped with varying types and levels of resources and capacity. Realistically, there can be no standard focus and approach to programme implementation. However, there needs to be common goals and outcomes and strategic focus for development if a country is to pursue a coherent development pathway. The MTF allows implementation partners to align their programming to the national goals and outcomes, national and sector strategies, and public policy, while advancing organizational mandates and objectives.

The MTF also supports the efficient and effective use of resources as it currently serves as the national results and strategy framework for Medium Term Results-Based Budgeting (MTRBB) in government. As we build out the performance management framework for budgeting as part of an integrated evidence- and results- based management framework for national development planning, the strengthening and strategic positioning of the MTF as a planning, monitoring, and evaluation tool will be a critical component.

A Bit About My History

Before we go any further, I think it necessary to share a bit of my history with you.

My pages started filling up in 2009 when Jamaica’s first long-term strategic plan for national development, “Vision 2030 Jamaica – National Development Plan (NDP)” was launched and its implementation commenced. The achievement of developed country status was the primary objective of Vision 2030 Jamaica. The national vision was to make “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.”

 The crafters of the Plan knew that the vision and objective were ambitious but achievable. The achievement of Vision 2030 Jamaica was contingent on Jamaica sticking to what was planned, even through “turbulences and trials”, with the recognition that challenges could lead to setbacks and force changes in timelines. At the start of the implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica, we still faced challenges in our social, economic, and natural environment that made us more vulnerable than we would have liked to major shocks, crises, and disasters. This was especially concerning as a global financial crisis had started in 2008. While there were uncertainties regarding what the effects would be, we knew there would be implications for the achievement of Vision 2030 Jamaica. I must admit, I was a bit anxious, as this Plan was important, and it was starting its life in the middle of a crisis. Ideally, we needed a little “breathing room”, but as we all know, we are hardly afforded the ideal.

There was also some anxiety because long-term national development plans were often known not to have a long life. Changes in government or crises had prematurely ended the life of many a plan. If Vision 2030 Jamaica came to a premature end, so would I! Generally, I was optimistic as both major political parties had signalled their ownership and commitment to the Plan. In fact, the decisions to prepare, launch and implement Vision 2030 Jamaica had been largely the result of the actions of both political parties when they respectively sat in the seat of government. There was also optimism among the people, including Jamaicans living abroad as well as our development partners.

I was honoured to serve as the memoir of a milestone in Jamaica’s development. I could be documenting a process that may profoundly change the lives of the Jamaican people. Vision 2030 Jamaica held promise – would my life be promise fulfilled?

12 Years into Implementation – We are Preparing MTF 2021-2024!

We are on track to completing 13 years of implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica, and I am relieved that we are still going and growing. My life has had its good days and challenging days, but I am proud to report that Vision 2030 Jamaica has been recognized as “good” and “best” practice in national development planning and implementation, measuring for development results, participatory development, and integration of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its Plan implementation framework.

Vision 2030 Jamaica is the framework for “implementing” the SDGs in Jamaica. This is stated in “A Road Map for SDG Implementation in Jamaica”, which was approved by Cabinet in 2017. Jamaica started implementing the SDGs through Vision 2030 Jamaica when in 2015, the alignment between both was presented in MTF 2015-2018. The “Road Map” has formalized the role of Vision 2030 Jamaica as the means through which the SDGs are being implemented and has provided us with useful tools in advancing the country’s development.

We are currently preparing the 5^th successive 3-year Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF), covering the period 2021-2024, and I am excited. I am also reflecting on the past, especially on 2020 to 2021 and the COVID-19 global pandemic while thinking about the future.

We will be documenting the journey to develop MTF 2021-2024, and I commence by sharing some of the background in this post.  I will fill you in on the major details in my next post. We want you to join us in the teething pains, the moments that we dance with satisfaction, the moments that we feel we did not get enough done, and the moments that are difficult to describe. Be a part of the story – read, be involved in developing the MTF if you can; share your knowledge and tools to improve what we are doing – let us know that you are there!

What is the Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF)? A Closer Look!

The MTF is a document that reminds us of what type of development we are working towards and the Jamaica we want by 2030. Each MTF covers a 3-year period and builds on previous MTFs. The use of 3-year MTFs allows us to use evidence to determine what we must do in the medium-term to stay on course towards achieving the 2030 goals. This evidence covers what we have achieved to date, gaps, lessons learned, and the context and capacity for development, including emerging trends and probable shocks. The evidence used to inform the MTF also includes forecasts and projections on what we anticipate will be future development challenges, the outcomes associated with different scenario-based plans for development, and critical drivers of development. The MTF keeps Vision 2030 Jamaica current and relevant while helping us stick to the Plan!

The MTF tells us how we will approach development, our focus, and what we intend to achieve – in other words, it is strategic, goal-oriented, and results-based. It presents the priorities for implementation as we work towards social, economic, and environmental development that is sustainable and equitably includes and benefits everyone. It aims to give all Jamaicans “justice” in their ability to participate in development and reap the rewards. This “justice” is “multi-dimensional” and speaks to more than justice in the courts. It encompasses justice in access to essential goods and services, such as education, health, food, water and sanitation; and jobs needed to survive, grow and be socially mobile. It also speaks to justice that allows all Jamaicans to live dignified lives and feel that we are all equal. The achievement of this justice will allow any Jamaican to tell the donkey who “say the ‘worl[1]’ no level”[2] as he laments inequality, that while we face different circumstances, there is equity in our access to opportunities and the benefits of development. The MTF guides us towards what we should do to make Vision 2030 Jamaica a reality.

The MTF equips us to work together towards a collective goal with the same “playbook”. Everyone has a role to play – the “man on the street”, government, private sector, academia, civil society, the Jamaican diaspora, international development partners, among others. Even if you are not a major decision-maker or have responsibility for implementing programmes and projects, once you act in ways that support the success of what is presented in the MTF, you are playing your part in making Vision 2030 Jamaica a reality.

The MTF also tells everyone around the world about the nature of the alignment or relationship between the National Goals and Outcomes of Vision 2030 Jamaica and the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also tells us what Jamaica is doing to achieve the SDG targets.

The MTF is free of cost and available to all.

The MTF as A Decision Guide (Illustration)

The MTF helps us keep our focus on implementing Vision 2030 Jamaica towards achieving the Jamaica we want! It is intended to guide us into using our resources efficiently and in the areas that will reap the highest rewards for Jamaica’s development. It acts like a Decision Guide for meeting a clearly defined objective or need. This Guide is not only geared towards serving immediate needs, it is also focused on addressing needs for long-term survival and growth. There are many things that we would like to do and buy with the money, time, human and other resource we have, but the Decision Guide reminds us of our goals, what we plan to do to achieve the goals, how much time we have to implement our plans, and what we can afford/purchase based on our budget. There are no perfect Decision Guides and none that is fully implemented according to plan or stays completely relevant over time without revision/update. Hence, a new MTF is produced every three years that builds on previous MTFs and lays the foundation for the MTFs that will follow.

Factors that Impact the Relevance of a Decision Guide

Let us delve deeper into understanding how the MTF works and what is required to support optimal efficiency and effectiveness. We will continue to use the concept of a Decision Guide to illustrate arguments.

Quality of Evidence

Sometimes, we are not adequately informed when we prepare our Decision Guide, so our Guide is not sufficiently evidence-based. For example, in the case of a Decision Guide for grocery or clothes shopping, it may not have included adequate strategies for identifying what is needed to meet our food or clothing consumption needs. Hence, we may not have been guided to check the cupboard or closet to match existing “inventory” against what is needed to meet our objectives. Therefore, we develop an Action / Shopping List or “Plan” that leads us to purchase items that we have in abundance and/or forget items that are in short supply and needed. We may not have been guided to check our wallet, savings account, or credit card to match the balances with the spending needs and go shopping with inadequate funds to purchase all that we placed on the Action or Shopping List.  The MTF is not a magical document that will help us achieve our objectives. We are required to invest time and our competencies into ensuring that as a Decision Guide, it is prepared based on correct information or evidence about our needs and available capacity and resources in working towards achieving goals.

Implementation

The MTF also cannot ensure that it is implemented according to plan. We may choose to ignore, forget or use it inconsistently. We may lack the capacity to interpret and apply it effectively. We may not have wanted to use a Decision Guide in preparing our Action or Shopping List as it felt like a constraint or imposition. We may not have even prepared an Action or Shopping List. Hence the Guide is being used without the specificities needed for its application in a particular context. We may decide to rely on memory, which could cause us to forget or unintentionally replace important items on our Action List. In such cases, the Guide is utilized more for “show”, and so we publicly display it and keep it safe but do not utilize it as intended and therefore reduce its potential effectiveness.

Perspective/“Lens”

There is also the case of the “lens” that we use to read the Decision Guide. In development, there are many lenses. Under Vision 2030 Jamaica, we are using the “sustainable and inclusive development lens”. This requires us to balance social, economic, and environmental development, current with future development needs, and promote continuity in development processes.  We are required to achieve this balance while empowering and enabling everyone to share in development towards “leaving no one behind”. Using this lens requires tremendous work – but it is worth it! We need to know where to direct the “lens” – what do we want to achieve and what do we need to understand and address to achieve it. We can only use the lens properly if we are informed about the situations and “lives” that we are trying to influence. How can we work towards sustainability if we do not know what unsustainable practices we are trying to fix, who is conducting the unsustainable practices, what empowers and enables them to do so, and who is affected and how? Hence, evidence gathering, analysis, and utilizing the lessons learned are necessities.

There may be the temptation to substitute the approved lens with a different type of lens or use “blurry lens”. In such cases, the actual approach to development does not match the approach to development that is communicated in our principles, strategies, and policies.  For example, we may say that we are utilizing an “inclusive approach” to development.  However, we view inclusion as providing a service to all members of a target group rather than some members, without care for individual needs. This view does not sufficiently represent inclusion, which means meeting the individual needs of all members of the target group.

Let us use an illustration to explore the use of the development lens. The MTF/ Decision Guide may include a strategy to promote inclusive food security for all children. An implementing partner in developing its Action or Shopping List for a child food security programme targeting 120 children has the option to purchase 40 apples for 40 children; 40 oranges for another 40 children; and 40 packs of peanuts for the remaining 40 children based on evidence on the nutritional needs, preferences, and food tolerance of the children. However, instead, the entity plans to purchase 120 packs of peanuts for 120 children because the team did not consult the evidence, and the chief planner’s children love peanuts and do not like apples and oranges. Only 40 children in the target group can consume the peanuts as the remaining 80 have peanut allergies. Hence, only a third of the target group can benefit from the intervention. The remaining two thirds (2/3) are excluded because the purchase was not informed by evidence on the requirements, preferences and absorptive capacity of the target group. The purchase was informed by the personal knowledge and biases of the chief planner. While the situation arose owing to inadequate use of evidence, at its core, it represents insufficient focus on inclusion – ensuring that the development needs of all groups and sub-groups are understood and then addressed. Here the Action or Shopping List is not aligned to the Decision Guide. Also, there is ineffective allocation of resources as the objectives were not met; and all the resources that were invested in purchasing any uneaten peanuts – time, money, human resource etc. – go to waste.

The Unexpected

Many eventualities may arise between the development of a Decision Guide and the preparation and/or utilization of the Action or Shopping Lists to implement the Guide. These eventualities may cause us to change items on an Action or Shopping List or even our plans for purchasing and utilising some items on the list. We may also be required to review our Decision Guide and make amendments based on evidence that signal significant changes in the environment, context and/or availability of resources. This may impact our ability to implement the strategies and policies and/or the effectiveness of the strategies and policies to advance the achievement of planned results. However, if we need to replace in full the Decision Guide, then it means that it was not a strategic policy-driven document geared towards addressing long-term change – priority development needs linked to survival and growth. If we need to fully replace an Action or Shopping List, it was most likely not sufficiently aligned to the Decision Guide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of our way of life. It has changed how we meet our needs regarding eating, travelling, working, going to school, and even seeking medical care, among other areas. While we may change how we conduct our daily affairs, our daily needs must still be addressed. Hence, food remains on the consumers’ shopping list; and farming products remain on the farmers’ and vendors’ shopping/action lists; and the regulation and assurance of quality for farming products and produce remain on the action list of the relevant authority. The authority’s action list is tied to its shopping/input lists, which include the workers’ skills and competencies and resources needed to support its function.

Accountability – Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Reporting

A good planner is prepared to make changes to an Action or Shopping List or “Plan” as part of evidence-based decision making.  He/She documents when changes are made, what those changes are, why the changes are being made, what differences from the original planned outcomes are expected, and the implications of these. Accordingly, the implementation of the MTF is strengthened when implementers monitor and evaluate implementation –  its processes and outcomes. This includes documenting changes to planned outcomes and activities. Vision 2030 Jamaica represents people-centred development that is sustainable and inclusive, and underpinned by good governance. Hence, it also represents accountable and transparent development. We are required to not only share our development outcomes but information on our processes and provide justification for our decisions and action – or as we Jamaicans say, “wi affi taak di tings”[3].

Walk Good and Take Care                              “Wear Mask, Social Distance and Wash Hands”

Signed: Vision 2030 Jamaica Diary

(Write me anytime at vision2030jamaica@pioj.gov.jm)

[1] Jamaican creole for “world”

[2] This is a Jamaican saying that speaks to the inequalities and inequities that impact our daily lives.

[3] English translation – “we have to tell the story” or “we have to share what is happening”

Author: Vision 2030 Jamaica Diary

UP NEXT: OF VISIONS AND LOVE – written by Desmond E. Dennis