August 2018 Volume 2, Issue 2 Executive Director (ED) of CARICAD, Mr. Devon Rowe attended the opening ceremony of the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held in Jamaica recently. Mr. Rowe interacted with several CARICOM leaders and other dignitaries as seen in these photos. See also Page 2 ED Rowe with Premier of the Turks & Caicos Islands the Honourable Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson. ED Rowe with Premier of Bermuda, the Honourable David Burt (centre) and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves. ED Rowe with (from left) Director of CDEMA Ronald Jackson, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Professor Sir Hilary Beckles and Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM, Dr. Douglas Slater. ED Rowe with Prime Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Mottley. CARICAD’s 35th Board Meeting……………………………....………..…. Pages 3-5 Caribbean Leadership Project Symposium…………………………….. Pages 6-7 Direct Assistance to CARICAD Member States…………...……….… Pages 8-10 Succession Strategy & Framework in St. Lucia………....…………… Page 11 In Defence of Strategic Planning..….……………………..…………….. Pages 12-13 1
The Thirty-Ninth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Montego Bay, Jamaica, 4-6 July, 2018. The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, chaired the proceedings. Other members of the conference in attendance were: Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Gaston Browne; Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Honourable Dr. Hubert Minnis; Prime Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Mottley; Prime Minister of Belize, the Honourable Dean Barrow; Prime Minister of Dominica, the Honourable Roosevelt Skerritt; Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. the Rt. Honourable Keith Mitchell; President of Guyana, His Excellency David Granger (Brigadier Ret); President of Haiti, His Excellency Jovenel Moïse; Premier of Montserrat, Honourable Donaldson Romeo; Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris; Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Honourable Allen Chastanet; Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves; President of Suriname, His Excellency Desire Bouterse; and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley. Associate Members in attendance were: Premier of Bermuda, the Honourable David Burt; Premier of the British Virgin Islands, the Honourable Dr. Orlando Smith; Premier of the Cayman Islands, the Honourable Aiden McLaughlin; Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Honourable Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson. OPENING CEREMONY The Opening Ceremony was addressed by the SecretaryGeneral of the Caribbean Community, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Honourable Gaston Browne; Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. the Rt. Honourable Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Barbados, Honourable Mia Mottley, President of Haiti, His Excellency Jovenel Moise and Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Chairman of the Community. From left are Premier of the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) the Honourable Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson with Director of CDEMA Ronald Jackson and Minister of Home Affairs, Transformation and Communication (TCI) Vaden Williams. The statements addressed issues of critical importance to the Community including the advancing of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, the engagement of youth, crime and violence and security, disaster preparedness and resilience, evaluation of institutions and a renewed focus on partnering for development. The full text of the statements are available at http://www.caricom.org Source: Caricom.org site reference: https:/ / caricom.org/media-center/communications/ communiques/communiqu-issued-at-the-conclusion-of-the-thirty-ninth-regular-meeting-of-theconference-of-heads-of-government-of-the-caribbean-community 2
Alyson Forte, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Civil Service in Barbados and Outgoing Chairman of CARICAD handing over the chairmanship of the Board of Directors to Mr. Merwyn Rogers of Anguilla. BOARD MEETING SYNOPSIS The 35th meeting of the Board of directors of CARICAD took place at the Courtleigh Hotel in Jamaica on Thursday, July 26. The attendance at the meeting was as shown below: Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Belize Barbados British Virgin Islands (BVI) Grenada Guyana Jamaica Montserrat Suriname Mr. Merwyn Rogers Mr. Konata Lee Dr. Peter Allen Mr. Alyson Forte Mr. David Archer Ms. Anna Brizan Mr. Reginald Brotherson Dr. Ruby Brown Ms. Lyndell Simpson Mr. Mohamad Eskak The following countries were not represented at the meeting: The Bahamas, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Wendy Grenade, Lecturer of Political Science, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and Ms. Cheverlyn Williams-Kirnon, Director, Office of Deputy Governor, Montserrat attended the meeting as Observers. 3
AGENDA (Substantive items) Report of the Executive Director Endorsement of Conclusions and Decisions of the CARICAD Board of Directors Forum Report of the Management Sub-Committee of the Board of Directors on Governance Matters Financial Report Budget for Years 2018/19 and 2019/20 Hosting of the 36th Board of Directors Meeting CONCLUSIONS AND DECISIONS The Board took a number of decisions and came to conclusions, some of which are described in the text which follows. The Board noted that the CARICAD Secretariat had implemented almost all follow-up actions decided upon at the 2016 meeting. It was agreed that the Secretariat should submit the reports from the auditors to the Management Subcommittee for review, prior to submission to the Board. Additionally, the Board directed that a Business Plan be prepared to optimise options for branding and promotion of CARICAD’s work. It was also decided that a sub-committee led by Director David Archer of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) should interact with the Secretariat on matters relating to the development of the Business Plan. With regard to the newly established relationship with the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) it was noted that under the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the institution that there was the distinct prospect of the UWI being able to assist CARICAD with the Business Plan and some aspects of research in which the Board had declared an interest. Also noteworthy was the decision taken to transition the Caribbean Leadership Project (CLP) into CARICAD as the Caribbean Leadership Development Programme. Concerning the budget, it was decided that the Budget presented would be approved on an interim. The Board also decided that the framework used to determine the composition of the Management Sub-Committee (MSC) on an on-going basis can be used for the election of a Chairperson for the Board, whereby members of a geographic grouping of member states, may propose a Chair from among the grouping for ratification by the Board. Additionally, Chairmanship of the Board of Directors does not automatically constitute or confer responsibilities for that country to host the next meeting of the Board. Anguilla was elected as Chair of the Board of Directors. Barbados was elected Deputy Chair. 4
Regional Disaster Management officials. CARICAD recently participated in a Disaster management syposium in preparation for the CARICOM Heads of government meeting. CARICAD presented a framework for Public Sector effectiveness. Jeremy Collymore, Consultant, University of the West Indies with Director at Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies, Turks and Caicos Island Dr. Virginia Clerveaux and Devon Rowe, Executive Director, CARICAD. 5
The Caribbean Leadership Project (CLP), funded by the Government of Canada and executed by the Canada School of Public Service, presented its fifth Leadership Symposium from June 28th -29th, 2018 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. The Symposium, which focused on Building Leadership Resilience, included a one-day workshop that is focused on practical techniques and approaches to increase mental toughness, respond to stressful events and thrive in the face of adversity, facilitated by the CLP’s special guest facilitator, Crisis Leadership & Change Management Expert, Dr. Wayne Corneil. Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service, The Hon. Dr. Nigel Clarke, officially declared the start of the symposium, following his feature address. He was joined by Her Excellency Laurie Peters, Canada's High Commissioner to Jamaica and Dr. Darran Newman, Division Chief (Ag.) at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), who also shared remarks at the Opening ceremony. CARICAD’s technical team, led by Executive Director Devon Rowe, participated in the symposium, which took place immediately following CARICAD’s Board meeting. Executive Director Devon Rowe as he addressed the Symposium. A representative from the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica engages CARICAD ED Devon Rowe and Professor Neville Ying (centre), Chairman of MIND in conversation. Reginald Graham, Consultant Coordinator, Technical Cooperation, David Archer, Deputy Governor, BVI, CARICAD Executive Director Devon Rowe, Alyson Forte, Permanent Secretary Ministry of the Civil Service in Barbados and Outgoing Chairman of CARICAD and Dr. Nigel Clarke, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Jamaica. SOURCE: Caribbeanleadership.org site reference: https:/ / www.caribbeanleadership.org/news_publisher/news/view/regional-leadership-symposium-to-be 6
Professor Neville Ying (right), Chairman of MIND, speaking to (from left) CARICAD’s Executive Director Devon Rowe, outgoing and incoming chairpersons of CARICAD Alyson Forte and Merwyn Rogers. FROM LEFT: Reginald Graham, Consultant Coordinator, Technical Cooperation, David Archer, Deputy Governor, BVI, Dr. Nigel Clarke, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Jamaica, Merwyn F.L. Rogers, Director CARICAD, BVI (Chair of CARICAD), CARICAD Executive Director Devon Rowe and Alyson Forte, Permanent Secretary Ministry of the Civil Service in Barbados and Outgoing Chairman of CARICAD. FROM LEFT: Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Her Excellency Laurie Peters chats with Colleen Rossiter, Project Director, Caribbean Leadership Project, Dr. Darran Newman, Division Chief (acting) Technical Cooperation at the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr. Nigel Clarke, The Minister of Finance and the Public Service in Jamaica and Dr. Ruby Brown, Executive Director of MIND. 7
CARICAD is currently providing technical assistance to several member states. The specific assignments are: Developing a new Public Sector Transformation Strategy for Dominica A Succession Plan for the Public Sector of Saint Lucia A Strategic Plan for the Department of Finance, Saint Lucia A post-hurricane Recovery Strategy for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) In addition to the above, Assistant Executive Director Rosemund Warrington assisted Montserrat with the recruitment process for the Director of the Emergency Department in that territory. NEW PUBLIC SECTOR TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY FOR DOMINICA CARICAD’s Assistant Director has been coordinating work to produce a Medium-Term Public Sector Reform Strategy (MTPSRS) which guided the public sector transformation effort in Dominica between 2003 and 2008. It has not yet been replaced by a successor strategy. In that regard, CARICAD was formally engaged in 2015 by the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica (GoCD) to carry out an elaborate evaluation of previous efforts, as well as to design a comprehensive programme for public sector transformation, in effect, a successor strategy. Notwithstanding the delays resulting from natural disasters (Tropical Storm Erica in 2015, Hurricane Maria in 2017) as well as the leadership transitions at the Establishment, Personnel and Training Department (Four Chief Personnel Officers in three years), CARICAD has been able to deliver some critical components of the assignment. However, significant areas of work were yet to be addressed, but action has been taken to rectify the situation. There are two specific areas of focus for the work that is now being done: 1. DESIGN AND DEVELOP THE NEW PUBLIC SECTOR TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY i. Design an overall resilience-focused framework for public sector transformation in Dominica and detail key elements in the transformation strategy; support the PST Committee in presenting the framework to the Committee of Permanent Secretaries and to the Cabinet of Ministers. ii. Prepare a detailed Public Sector Transformation Strategy 2. DEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN i. Prepare an Implementation Plan for the PST Strategy using a Results-Based Management approach. An Accountability Framework for Permanent Secretaries should be incorporated in this component of the assignment. CARICAD has engaged the services of Mrs. Maria Mason-Roberts and Dr. Gwendolene Williams to ensure timely completion of the remaining components of the assignment. 8
Department of Finance, St. Lucia Working Group. A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE SAINT LUCIA CARICAD’s assistance has been sought by the Department of Finance in Saint Lucia to develop a Strategic Plan. The process is at an advanced stage and it is expected that a draft plan covering all units of the Department will be ready by November of this year. The Department of Finance in Saint Lucia comprises nine (9) administrative units: 1. Policy, Planning and Administration 2. Office of the Budget 3. Financial Administration 4. Research & Policy 5. National Competitiveness and Productivity Council 6. Inland Revenue 7. Accountant General’s Department 8. Customs and Excise 9. Post Office The Department of Finance as currently configured does not have an overarching Strategic Plan. The Permanent Secretary Ms. Cointhia Thomas decided that this was an opportune time to develop such as Strategic Plan. (Continues on page 10) 9
A POST-HURRICANE RECOVERY STRATEGY FOR THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS (TCI) CARICAD has been requested by the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to work with its Recovery Task Force to develop a post-hurricane Recovery Strategy for the Territory. The TCI was hit by both major hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. There was major damage and dislocation on several of the islands that comprise the territory. Some of the recovery efforts underway in TCI The St. Lucia Working Group has been led by Deputy Permanent Secretary Philomene Saint Clair. Minister at the time with Responsibility for Finance Dr. Ubaldus Raymond gave his full endorsement. He stated publicly that, “I assure you that you have my full support, not only to develop a strategic plan, but to work assiduously and systematically to deliver service that brings greater convenience and benefits to our people. Our people deserve no less than that.” Franklyn Michael, CARICAD’s Programme Specialist has been using the well-established CARICAD methodology for Strategic Planning to develop the Plan with significant input from a Working Group. The methodology relies on: Presentation and discussion of Strategic Planning concepts Sharing of information and experiences Small-group discussions to generate ideas quickly from a broad base of group-knowledge Discussion and collation of ideas and suggestions in plenary sessions Follow-up work to edit outputs and set them in context for an early draft of the Strategic Plan The Working Group has been enthusiastic, competent, cooperative and supportive. 10 The strategy will be a comprehensive guide for the work that will be done over the next five years to restore the territory and enhance resilience. There will be priorities for three phases of work, the short, medium and long-term. The strategy deals with matters such as: Summaries of the damage and effects by sectors Guiding Principles The Strategic Direction for Recovery, including a Vision, Goals and Objectives Management of Recovery including Leadership and inert-agency coordination Implementation, focusing on priorities, Monitoring, Information Dissemination CARICAD undertook a similar assignment for the TCI after the territory was struck by hurricanes Hanna and Ike in 2009. That assignment was under the aegis of the UNDP.
SUCCESSION PLANNING TEAM, SAINT LUCIA FROM LEFT: (front row) Ms. Julita Peter, Communications Officer; CARICAD’s Assistant Director, Mrs. Rosemund Warrington; Ms. Betty Blanchard, Director of Training, Department of Public Service; Mrs. Sharon Guard, Human Resource Officer, Department of the Public Service; (back row) Ms. Janine Philogene, Human Resource Officer, Department of the Public Service; Mrs. Thecla Fontenelle, Organisational Development Office, Department of Public Service; Mrs. Shelia Imbert, Deputy Permanent Secrtary (ag.), Department of Public Service; Mrs. Tessa Inglis, Human Resource Officer, Department of Health and Wellnes and Mrs. Sygna Mathew Makarovic, Legal Officer, Department of the Public Service. Missing from the photograph are Mr. Claude Paul, General Secretary of the St. Lucia Civil Service Association and Ms. Chantal Florent, Human Resource Officer, Ministry of Agriculture. By Rosemund Warrington CARICAD is currently providing technical assistance to the Department of Public Service, Government of Saint Lucia in the design and development of a succession strategy and framework. The purpose of this succession planning framework is to facilitate the introduction and implementation of new methods of identifying and developing high potential employees for senior management positions in the Public Service. The assignment, which commenced in May 2018, includes the design and development of a Succession Planning Toolkit, a Competency Framework and Training Plan. It is expected to conclude at the end of August 2018 to be followed by the implementation phase using a Change Management approach. CARICAD’s approach to technical assistance in Member States involves enhancing the capacity on the ground. As such, a Succession Planning Team (SPT) has been established including a multi-skilled group of persons across ministries/departments. CARICAD’s HR and Organisation Development & Effectiveness Specialist, Rosemund Warrington, is the lead consultant facilitating the process. Rosemund Warrington is the Assistant Director and Human Resource and Organisation Development and Effectiveness Specialist at CARICAD. 11
By Franklyn Michael WHAT IS STRATEGIC PLANNING? Several definitions of Strategic Planning (SP) are used but CARICAD embraces a definition provided by the University of Michigan: ‘A coordinated and systematic process for developing a plan for the overall course and direction of the enterprise for the purpose of optimizing future potential.’ That definition is enduring and applicable to all sectors including the public sector. BENEFITS OF SP There are many benefits that can be derived from the use of Strategic Planning: Provides leaders, managers and employees with a mechanism to assess alternatives and make critical decisions about the future of the organisation; based on shared values, goals and objectives Enables leaders and managers to direct energy and utilise all resources to achieve specific targets during the life of a strategic plan Establishes milestones to monitor and evaluate the performance of employees and the organisation as a whole Enables the organisation to better understand its operating environment and to develop the capacity to adapt positively to changes in the environment Builds commitment by involving key stakeholders from the start of the process Creates an environment for ongoing assessment and renewal CARICAD has found that strategic planning is not as widely used in the public sectors of member states as might be suggested from the benefits just described. Additionally. In many cases when Strategic Planning is used, it has been sporadic or episodic, often driven by the requirement to fulfill an obligation as part of the national budget preparation process or to meet requirements for grant funding. Some CARICAD member states have experienced challenges using strategic planning. We accept that to be true. The strategic planning process is very demanding. Specifically, the Strategic Planning process itself: Requires in-depth knowledge and use of an SP methodology suited to the organisation and its full context Takes time often up to six months to have a comprehensive plan developed, approved and published Requires coordinated group work as a team effort for best results Believes that external facilitation by an expert works better than internal facilitation Believes that external facilitation using consultants can be expensive Can feel like an untidy, “messy” process because it returns several times to areas already worked on. It does not operate on a simple, linear start to finish progression. There is start, pause, go back, come back, move ahead Focusses attention strongly on the WHAT is to be done far more strongly and less precisely on the HOW will things be done WHY WE SHOULD CONTINUE WITH SP CARICAD remains a strong advocate for Strategic Planning in the public sector because we have observed the following: 12
The ministries, departments and other entities with Strategic Plans also tend to be better led and also better managed They are more accountable for their performance and results; it is difficult to obfuscate the truth of performance. Stakeholders can discern whether or not stated goals were achieved The organisations with strategic plans usually work towards establishing Performance Management Systems and in that way promote high levels of individual and unit accountability for performance Staff are usually more highly motivated in organisations that have strategic plans When strategic plans are in place, organisations have a clear directional focus. There is usually a greater emphasis on achieving results and not simply on overseeing work processes Organisations committed to strategic planning often have effective strategic partnerships. That happens because they know who the partners are and their expectations and how best to engage with them Organisations that use strategic planning also tend to have Succession Planning Frameworks in place The use of strategic planning also encourages capacity building within the organisation USING STRATEGIC PLANNING MORE EFFECTIVELY CARICAD remains convinced that public sector organisations should maintain and in some cases introduce the strategic planning process. Our experience suggests the following as recommendations: Ensure that there is not only high-level support for the process but high-level commitment to and engagement in the process Establish a Working Group of people from different units that remains intact for the duration of the process including the Operational Planning phase Create an awareness and expose staff at all levels to the SP process and what the process means for individuals and the organisation Create awareness at all levels of the links between the SP and work implementation Ensure that stakeholder opinions are sought during the plan-development process CARICAD is available to continue assisting member states with strategic plans and similar strategic documents. CARICAD’s methodology has withstood the test of time. There is a high level of expertise and experience with strategic planning among CARICAD staff. Be realistic with schedules and scheduling. It usually takes longer than was first thought to complete a strategic plan Make sure that you complete an Operational/Action Plan as a complement to the strategic plan Be realistic in goal-setting. It is probably not realistic to develop a plan that will require a 50% increase in budgetary allocations even over 3 years Franklyn Michael is Programme Specialist at CARICAD. 13
"Developing a good work ethic is key. Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you're a janitor or taking your first summer job, because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life. – Tyler Perry If for Christmas 2017 someone had gifted me with a hardback copy of “Danielle’s Life Experiences: 2018”, and showed me a chapter called “Summer”, I would have never believed it because I am a first-year student at the Barbados Community College, studying Media and Journalism. Internship at CARICAD? No way! I mean I knew of CARICAD, but an internship there was not an immediate prospect. Not because I do not think I am capable but because I was not so sure if I was at the level of professionalism that CARICAD embodies. Little did I know, I possess the potential and would become better because of the internship experience. CARICAD is embodied in dedication to hard work and community, enveloped in expertise. With such characteristics, the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration is a perfect place to establish and/or propel one’s professional career. CARICAD Intern, Danielle Taylor My internship commenced on July 23rd, 2018 and it was one of the greatest journeys of learning; from filing, editing and formatting documents to performing as relief secretary, the experience has been “the bomb”. I left CARICAD with the skills of being effective in communication, and in providing administrative support such as operating office machines (computer, printer, scanner etc.) and the ability to competently use the software called Microsoft Visio. These skills will enable me to become more proficient in editing and communication, for my future career as a Communications Specialist. Working at CARICAD has instilled a strong work ethic within me and for that I am grateful. My work period there has indeed been nothing but a blessing. From the Technical Support Officer, straight to Mr. Rowe - the Executive Director, there has been friendliness and hospitality. I would definitely encourage other young adults to intern at CARICAD because it’s not only professionalism at its finest, CARICAD is a family. The CARICAD Horizon is a regular publication of the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD). The Horizon has superseded the “Chronicle”. The Editor-in-Chief is CARICAD’s Executive Director, Devon Rowe. The Production Team comprises: Franklyn Michael, Elaine Oxamendi Vicet, Alaine Murray, Clive Murray, Vern Leslie and Petra Emmanuel The Caribbean Centre for Development Administration, 1st Floor Weymouth Corporate Centre, Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, Barbados Tel: 246-427-8535 Fax: 246-436-1709 14
1 Publizr