Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 27th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview Main Theme Author(s) Almedina Vukic Secretariat-General of the Government Podgorica Montenegro Title Towards more Evidence-based Policy-making in Montenegro in the Context of the Advanced Stage of EU Accession Negotiations File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Almedina Vukic Abstract Public policy planning, as one of the core activities of a government, relies on a well-functioning strategic planning system. Policy priorities are translated into strategic documents which set the course for development of the country in the years to come. Therefore, a well-functioning strategic planning system is the foundation of an efficient and sustainable public policy. For Montenegro being in the advanced phase of EU negotiations demanded more focus on policy planning as one of the main obligations stemming from the EU negotiations regarding PAR and good governance, with policy co-ordination as major task. Well–planned policies that are aligned with EU priorities It is are also one of the prerequisites of successful use the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). This paper will be focused on the approach that the Government of Montenegro has taken in order to achieve higher efficiency and impact of public policies which required the revision of the existing strategic framework. This approach was mostly based on establishing a coherent strategic planning system based on a strong legal and methodological grounds. What started within former gradually turned itself into oversight of policy planning cycle regarding all the strategic documents of the Government and not only those related to the EU accession negotiations. A new role has been given to the Department for Government Strategies (DGS), first within the Ministry of European Affairs of Montenegro with purpose to give guidance and issue opinions on drafts and proposals of strategic documents and reports on their implementation in order to achieve their mutual coherence. During 2017 and 2018 both legal and methodological framework have been established and are being implemented through various activities: on one side a quality check of Government strategies performed by DGS and on the other a proactive approach towards all the ministries. Main findings in this paper will be focused on the effects of the new system of policy planning and the current impact of the mentioned legal and methodological framework. The paper will check whether the gradual steps that the SGG has taken by now have contributed to changing environment in strategic planning in Montenegro. Period before and after the adoption of the Decree on procedure of drafting, alignment and monitoring implementation of strategic documents and the following Methodology will be briefly described and compared. The statistics will be mostly based on the results of he analysis conducted by the DGS, that were covering the number of existing strategic documents, identified gaps in drafting strategic documents and preparing reports on their implementation. Subjects of the analysis were strategic documents already in force, as well as the opinions of the DGS on drafts and proposals of strategic documents and the reports. Qualitative analysis will be focused on the findings of the issued opinions and revision of the current strategic system. The expected result of the whole analysis is to give clear and specific answers to the questions what has changed in the strategic system in Montenegro and are we moving towards comprehensive and efficient policies. Key words: strategic planning, evidence-based public policies, Montenegro, EU integration
