The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) is pleased to launch the Vision 2030 Jamaica Blog, “Vision 2030 Jamaica and Beyond”. This marks another step in our efforts to strengthen knowledge and information sharing, and support capacity building and stakeholder participation in the national development planning process. It will also serve to advance the Vision 2030 Jamaica central guiding principle of people-centredness, as well as principles of transparency and accountability, sustainability, and inclusion. As the focal point for Vision 2030 Jamaica and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Vision 2030 Jamaica, the PIOJ has the responsibility to ensure that stakeholders are sufficiently engaged, and their capacities built to participate in and benefit from national development planning. 

Since the implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica commenced in 2009, Jamaica has experienced shocks, crises, and other challenges. In response, Jamaicans at home and abroad have demonstrated commitment to our national development process and goals, as well as capacity for adaptation, resilience, and growth. As we navigate the COVID-19 global pandemic, the PIOJ is confident that Jamaica has relevant development planning tools, notable among which is Vision 2030 Jamaica, as Jamaica pursues a resilient, inclusive and green recovery. 

First established in 1955 as the Central Planning Agency, the PIOJ’s purpose has been to strengthen and deliver on the evidence- and results-based policy and planning capabilities of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ). Towards this end, the PIOJ has been a leader in coordinating and integrating social, economic, and environmental development planning, as well as external cooperation management aligned with national development priorities.

Currently, the PIOJ is strategically positioned as an agency of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS) and falls under the programme area “Integrated development planning”. Its mandate reflects the GOJ’s emphasis on the delivery of government services through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. This approach integrates and crosscuts the dimensions of development and connects national, sectoral, and local level development within a participatory governance model. The PIOJ is a major player in delivering on the GOJ’s commitment to improving efficiency and effectiveness in planning and the use of resources across sectors and at various levels of development. This includes coordinating and strengthening the alignment of strategic development planning with results-based budgeting geared towards accelerating national development and maximizing the benefits from public and private investment, and the delivery of public and private goods and services. 

The PIOJ collaborates with partners in the public and private sectors, civil society and non-governmental organizations, academia, faith-based organizations and IDPs to advance national development policy and planning that complements public policy, sectoral and local level planning. The local and global networks and partnerships that have been established over decades to contribute to building Jamaica’s development planning ecosystem have placed the PIOJ as a critical actor in regional and international development planning. Vision 2030 Jamaica is recognized as a regional and global best practice in evidence- and results-based long-term strategic national development planning and plan implementation. In recognition of the inherent interlinkage between national and local level policy and planning, the PIOJ has been actively supporting the strengthening of systems for governance, coordination, coherence, and a fusion of top-down/bottom-up translation of national and local level development considerations. The Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat within the PIOJ has been expanding and deepening its focus on the localization of Vision 2030 Jamaica. This included the implementation of initiatives geared towards strengthening the alignment of local sustainable development planning with Vision 2030 Jamaica and the SDGs. Also, the PIOJ through divisional initiatives and its main programmes has been supporting the strengthening of local level development planning and implementation, and alignment with national development processes.  

A key ingredient of the PIOJ’s success has been our internal team—a cadre of capable professionals dedicated to development that is centred on the people of Jamaica. The depth and breadth of knowledge, collective experience and capacity for adaptation and innovation have been demonstrated to be world-class. As Director General, I am proud to lead this team.  

As we advance “Vision 2030 Jamaica and Beyond” let us continue to work together to make “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”. 

Wayne Henry, CD, JP, PhD

Director General

Planning Institute of Jamaica

Up Next: Blog Launch – Welcome to “Vision 2030 Jamaica and Beyond”