Background

Planned development has been found to explain the successful agricultural and industrial transformation of all industrial countries, as well as some of the early leaps immediately after independence of several African countries.  Institutions are critical for the successful implementation of development plans. Institutional capacity in planning is lagging a step behind in understanding and incorporating the goals and aspirations in Agenda-2063 of the AUC and the global SDGs of the UN.  The Macroeconomic Planning Division of ECA has made considerable progress in appraising capacity of development planning institutions and in creating ICT-based planning and M&E tools to support alignment of national development plans with regional and global development agendas.  An African Development Planners Community of Practice has also been established, to be guided by an advisory group of senior planners, to share knowledge and best practice over an online platform hosted by ECA and moderated by the Macroeconomic Planning Division’s Renewal of Planning Section (MPD/RPS). 

Objective

The proposed side-event will be a timely occasion to demonstrate the ICT-based planning tools developed by MPD/RPS before the Advisory Group of Senior Planners and high level planning officials and professionals for validation and acceptance to pilot the toolkits in their national planning institutions.   The consultations will also advise on ways to grow the African Development Planners’ Community Platform for continuous knowledge sharing. 

Expected outcomes

• Appraisal and validation of web based applications and tools developed by MPD/RPS to enable countries to understand, integrate and incorporate Agenda 2030 and 2063 in national development plans with built-in M&E and reporting mechanisms. 
• Confirmation of the permanent advisory group established to guide the African Development Planners’ Community – a virtual professional community of practice – that has been mobilized into a moderated knowledge sharing platform hosted by MPD/RPS.

Target Audience

• Officials of the ministries and commissions of planning
• Senior planning professionals and academics
• AUC and UN-wide officials responsible for realization of SDGs and Agenda-2063

Venue and date

Annual Conference of Ministers, Dakar, Senegal, King Fahd Palace, March 25, 2017 9:30 am – 11:30 pm, Conference Room A-01

For further information please contact:

Bartholomew Armah, Chief, Renewal of Planning Section, MPD, barmah@uneca.org, Tel: +251-11-544-5561

Mizanekristos Yohannes, Consultant/Moderator, African Development Planners’ Community, myohannes@uneca.org   Tel +251-11-544-3960