Transcript Presentation - Public Private Dialogue

Public-Private Dialogue Mechanisms
The Role of the Private Sector in Improving the Business
Environment
Mary Agboli & Maria Miller
Private Sector Day, July 11 2007
Overview
Provide Lessons of Experience and Examples in Public-Private
Dialogue from Africa and elsewhere
Characteristics and Benefits: What PPD can do, and why it’s worth the effort
to engage both sectors in dialogue
Considerations in Establishing a PPD Structure: Key issues to address and
examples of experience
Different PPD Structures and Experiences: Structures respond to different
institutional and strategic needs
Moving Forward in Liberia: How best to address stakeholder needs and
concerns
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Defining Public-Private Dialogue Mechanisms
A Forum/Meeting/Arrangement for structured dialogue between
government and the private sector on public policy issues
Objectives: Typically to define or accelerate reforms which address constraints
to investment and business operation, may also encompass growth strategy,
competitiveness
Scope and Focus: Usually national, but may also operate at state or local level
Relation to institutions: PPD not an institution, but key institutions participate
Outputs: Range from “hard” policy proposals for adoption to “soft”
accomplishments in building trust, setting priorities and shared vision
Formality: May be legally chartered, or informal meetings of individuals, or
anything in between
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Diverse Range of Experience in PPD Mechanisms
No one model works everywhere
Vietnam,
Cambodia, South
Africa, Mexico,
Bosnia, Ghana,
Nigeria, Uganda,
Malaysia,
Botswana, Japan,
Bolivia,
Indonesia,
Senegal,
Tanzania,
Bulgaria, Turkey,
Cameroon, Cook
Islands,
Germany,
Hungary, Ireland,
Kosovo, Malta,
Mozambique,
Thailand,
Mauritius, Etc.
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Economic Council,
Social Council,
Gender Coalition,
National
Competitiveness
Committee, Annual
Forum, Private
Sector Forum,
Regional Forum,
Deliberation Council,
Business Forum,
Competitiveness
Review Group, High
Level Consultative
Council, Better
Business Initiative,
Bulldozer
Committee,
Investors Advisory
Council, Etc.
Pre-Conditions for Effective Dialogue
Stagnation
New Government
Motivating Factors for
Change
Government
willingness to listen and
include private sector
Post-Conflict
Private Sector
willingness to stay
engaged
Ignition
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Crisis
Benefits from Effective Dialogue
Government
• Structured inputs into policy
processes
• Identification of priorities and
binding constraints
• Technical inputs to reform design
• Buy-in and acceptance of reforms
• Greater reform credibility
• Increased investment response
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Private Sector
• Access at political levels for
strategy and priorities
• Access at technical levels for
detailed inputs
• Mechanism for monitoring
implementation
• Greater impact beyond narrow
lobbying efforts
• Legitimacy with government in
policy process
Benefits from Effective Dialogue
•Facilitates investment climate through:
– Accelerating reform processes
– Promoting better diagnosis and design of policy reforms
– Easing implementation of new reforms
– Promoting transparency and good governance through broad
constituency building; and
– Building an atmosphere of trust and cooperation between
sectors
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Effective Dialogue in the Reform Process
Dialogue is important at all stages of the economic reform process
Assessment
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Solution
Design
Implementation
M&E
• Engagement
• Consensus building
• Ongoing support • Watchdog
• Definition
• Filtering
• Technical Inputs
• Prioritization
• Credibility
• Acceptance by
private sector
• Feedback loop
Key Considerations: Structure
National forums
Government-sponsored
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Series of working groups
Regional/local initiatives
Time-bound agreements
Investors councils
Key Considerations: Structure
Where is Focus?
Steering
Committee/Council
Who? Where?
How Big?
Secretariat
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Working Group 1:
Working Group 2:
Working Group 3:
Working Group 4:
Technical
Committee
Technical
Committee
Technical
Inputs
Technical
Inputs
Key Considerations: Participation
Participation at various levels needs to be defined and accepted in
advance
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Private Sector: Broad based will work best – include large domestic,
foreign, SMEs, even informal sector
Individuals or institutions: Individuals can bring strong contribution;
institutional interests should be represented
Champions: Both public and private sector Champions can drive the
process and mobilize effective participation
Civil Society: Consider key academics, others (labor, SOE’s, etc.) for
particular issues
Review: Review participation and replace members periodically
Key Considerations: Agenda Setting
Initial Agenda needs to fit mandate, and adapt in the future
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Use Diagnostic Analyses: Investment Climate Assessments, Doing
Business Rankings, Sources of Growth analyses will suggest initial focus
Set Initial Agenda: Build consensus on initial agenda, validate at first
meeting if needed
Issues and/or Sectors: Priorities typically include business environment
constraints, or key sectors, or both – sector focus leads to common issues
Mechanism for Additions: Allow new issues to be added by agreed
process, including outside sources; review current agenda periodically
Focus: Highlight on “easy” reforms or dynamic sectors at outset and
manage expectations
Key Considerations: Communications
Dialogue Fora can be credible communications platforms to broaden
impact, speed implementation and help ensure response
Bosnia Bulldozer initiative, “50
reforms in 150 days”
Transparency of Process
Branding Reform and
Dialogue Initiatives
Nigeria PPD
Building Public Awareness and Support
Philippines procurement reform
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Key Considerations: Secretariat
Secretariat with resources needed to ensure proper functioning
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Where to house? Can be either linked to public or private sector structure,
or standalone. Neutral intermediary key aspect.
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Private Sector: Umbrella Organization or Federation
Government: Investment Promotion Agency
Independent: Part of PPD structure
Resources: Core requirements minimal if other programs/sources/
institutions exist and are funded; if not Secretariat can fill gaps.
Functions: Organize meetings, support working groups, access technical
resources, manage communications and information
Funding: Contributions from both public and private sectors; role for donor
funding also key directly or indirectly
Experience from the Continent:
Presidential Investor Advisory Councils in Africa:
Initiated with World Bank/IMF Support to invigorate dialogue
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Countries: Ghana, Senegal, and Tanzania in original group, supplemented
by Mali and Uganda
Presidential Advisory Council Structure: Presidential role key in setting
and keeping high level orientation
Participation: 2/3 foreign, including non-invested firms. 1/3 CEO’s of large
domestic firms. Little representation of SMEs
Orientation: Prioritizing among pending reforms, focusing on
implementation. Investment promotion function.
Focus: Initial importance of actual council meetings and participation
African Investor Councils Experience
Performance key function of structure and commitment
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Secretariat key: Ghana floundered initially due to lack of secretariat,
Senegal highly effective due to strong APIX role.
Working Groups oversight role: Effective where based on existing
structures or mapped into government structures, mostly monitoring role
Communications: Use of public action plans key for effective monitoring
and communication with government, private participants
Reform Implementation: Main successes in “low hanging fruit” of removing
logjams to implementation of reforms already well advanced
Foreign company experience mixed: Non-invested companies lost
interest; lack of buy-in from domestic private sector in some cases
African Investor Councils Results
Results are generally positive, Councils continue and evolve
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Senegal: Over 70% of economic legislation passed since council
established directly attributed to Council generating political backing
Tanzania: IRT helped push through land Act amendments, Labor Act,
Companies Act, forced rethinking of Tax reforms.
Ghana: Customs clearance time reduced, financing initiatives launched or
accelerated, some role in major legislation
Corruption and Capacity: Recurring theme from all 3 countries from
private sector is impact of corruption and lack of capacity to effectively
implement reforms
Investment response? Actual investment response to date disappointing
Other African Examples
Issues-driven focus works also with decentralized private sector
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Nigeria Better Business Initiative: Loose structure arose out of national
competitiveness forum
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Focus on research to define issues, solutions, and generate consensus
Donor support individually to different groups
Limited results without cohesive structure
Sierra Leone Business Forum: Forum convened to generate private sector
input into reform process initiated with government.
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Issues “adopted” by key private sector groups, accommodating fragmented
private sector groups
Working groups focused on specific reform issues: land, tax, business
registration, investment promotion
Forum now being created to formalize and provide structure to working groups
Private participation critical to drive reform implementation
Non-African Examples:
The Vietnam Experience
From Origins as unstructured response to Asian Crisis
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Origins: Response to Asian Crisis in 1997, and lack of investment following
initial liberalizations in 1990’s
Evolution: From loosely structure high level dialogue, to focus on issues
working groups and semi-annual Forum.
Foreign Role: Foreign firms dominated initially, with difficulties bringing in
national private sector and tensions between Western and Asian firms.
Donors: Donors involved at the outset, supporting emerging reforms and
secretariat; reinforces CG meetings.
Openness. Open meetings with donors, observers present.
Vietnam Private Sector Forum Structure
Semi Annual
Quarterly
Continuous (Every
2-4 weeks)
• Prime Minister
• Donors/Private
Sector
• Government, Private
Sector, Donors
• Issues from
Working Groups
• Specific Issues
• Government
• Private Sector
• Donors
• Agenda
Linked to CG
Meetings
Secretariat
Coordination/Support
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• Vetting of legislation,
regulations
Linked to
Ministries
Advancing Public-Private Dialogue in Liberia
Where we are: consultations to establish common ground
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Mandate: Established scope of dialogue by engaging both the government
and the private sector
Agenda: From these discussions, clear definition of priority sectors and
selected issues.
Structure: Technical support yet to be defined
Participation: Currently focussed on private sector organizations and key
voices (women, informal sector, diaspora); broader engagement to come.
Secretariat: IFC proposed to host the secretariat.
Advancing Public-Private Dialogue in Liberia
Identification of Five Thematic Priority Areas
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Legal and Regulatory Constraints: limitations arising from laws and/or
regulations (e.g., tax code, investment code, etc.)
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Infrastructure Constraints: limitations arising from physical and social
infrastructure (e.g., road networks, ICT, development of informal sector, etc.)
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Administrative Barriers: limitations arising from the administration and/or
implementation of laws, regulation or procedures (e.g., business registration,
inspections, etc.)
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Institutional Constraints: limitations arising from systemic capacity concerns
(e.g., access to finance, media training, public and private sector capacity building,
etc.)
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Trade & Export Promotion: enhancement of trade and export opportunities (e.g.,
development of non-traditional exports, harmonization of regulatory processes and
regulations, etc.
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IFC’s Investment Climate Team’s Overall Program
Approach and Design of Phase 2
 Policy, regulatory and legal reform: including legal reform, regulatory
simplification of business registration, taxation and demonstration
projects
 Institutional reform and capacity building: for the NIC, the govt with the
mandate for design and implementation of a national investment
strategy
 Foundation elements to support:
comprehensive communications
strategy, public-private dialogue, engagement with the Liberian
Diaspora, and leadership training and a gender dimension
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Conclusion
Dialogue will improve policy-making and implementation processes
 Engagement of broad constituency in policy and reform initiatives,
including women, Diaspora, youth and informal sector
 Collective prioritization of private sector constraints
 Development of sound reform recommendations and agreed
implementation plans
 Shared ownership and commitment to reform agenda
 Ultimately leading to growth of domestic businesses and increased
foreign investment
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Thank you
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