2009年-世界发展银行全球_National_Planning_Commission_Arrangements_7页_719kb

National Planning Commission Arrangements Summary

Core Content

This document explores the effectiveness of planning commissions and their appropriate role in quasi-federal systems. It draws on World Bank materials and external sources to provide insights into how planning commissions can be structured and function to improve government coordination and performance.

Question 1: What planning commission arrangements seem to be effective?

Key Points

• Facilitation over control: Planning commissions should focus on facilitating planning processes and building institutional capacity, rather than central planning or top-down control.
• Integration with budgeting: Planning must be closely linked to the budget and resource allocation process, operating within a sustainable macrofiscal spending envelope.
• Support for performance frameworks: Commissions should support results-based performance frameworks that are aligned with existing monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Role in coordination: Effective commissions coordinate between the President/Cabinet, line ministries, and Treasury, ensuring coherence and implementation of policies.
• Avoiding parallel processes: Weak commissions often lead to parallel, stand-alone planning processes that are not integrated with policy development or budgeting.

Functions of Planning Commissions

1. Supporting the chief executive: Assisting in defining and achieving government objectives.
2. Supporting the Cabinet: Ensuring policy coherence, quality, and implementation across departments.
3. Addressing systemic barriers: Including strengthening the civil service, integrating policy with budgets, and monitoring implementation.

Regional Examples

• Central and Eastern Europe: Planning functions were historically centralized but have since been integrated with ministries of economy and finance. However, long-term planning is often not taken seriously.
• Latin America: Central planning remains in some countries, such as Brazil, but is often disconnected from policy and budget processes. Investment planning is more common and managed by presidential or vice-presidential offices.

Case Studies

• India: The Planning Commission provides long-term strategic vision and sectoral targets, facilitating coordination between states and ministries.
• Bangladesh: The Commission formulates medium and short-term plans within a long-term framework, including poverty reduction strategies and investment programs.
• Turkey: The State Planning Organization (SPO) formulates national policies, allocates public investment, and monitors implementation.

Question 2: What should the role of a planning commission be in a quasi-federal system?

Key Points

• Addressing disparities: Planning commissions can help reduce imbalances between lower levels of government by administering general grants and equalization mechanisms.
• Institutionalizing linkages: They can serve as a bridge between the central government and local authorities, ensuring alignment and coordination.
• Balancing autonomy and uniformity: In quasi-federal systems, planning commissions must balance the central government's need to provide direction with the autonomy of local governments.

Equalization Mechanisms

• Sweden, Iceland, Norway: These countries have developed equalization systems that provide block and special grants, often accompanied by minimum performance standards.
• Germany: The Financial Planning Council recommends budget coordination but does not have binding authority.

Challenges in Quasi-Federal Systems

• Autonomy vs. direction: The central government must encourage autonomy while maintaining overall direction.
• Differentiation vs. uniformity: Flexibility is important, but there must be a minimum standard of service delivery across all levels.

Key Takeaways

• Planning commissions are not a one-size-fits-all solution; their effectiveness depends on the institutional context and integration with other government processes.
• A successful planning commission should focus on facilitation, capacity building, and coordination rather than direct control.
• In quasi-federal systems, planning commissions can play a vital role in addressing disparities and ensuring consistent service delivery across levels of government.

Relevant Resources

• Australia: Integrated Management Cycle, 2005
• Canada: Getting Government Right, 1996
• Gord Evans, Nick Manning: Helping Governments Keep Their Promises, 2003
• OECD: Modernising Government, 2007; Coordination at the Centre of Government, 2004
• United Nations: Strengthening Government Capacity for Policy Development, 1995
• World Bank: National Visions Matter, 2005; Parliamentary Accountability and Good Governance, etc.

Case Studies and Websites

• Alice Gorlin: The Power of Soviet Industrial Ministries in the 1980s, 1985
• Bangladesh Planning Commission: http://www.plancomm.gov.bd/about.asp#functions
• India Planning Commission: http://planningcommission.nic.in/
• Turkey State Planning Organization: [http://www2.dpt.gov.tr/konj/DPT Tanitim/index.html](http://www2.dpt.gov.tr/konj/DPT Tanitim/index.html) (official website: http://www.plancomm.gov.bd/about.asp#functions)

Conclusion

Planning commissions can be effective if they are designed to support, coordinate, and facilitate rather than control. In quasi-federal systems, they play a crucial role in ensuring equitable resource distribution and maintaining service standards across different levels of government. The success of such commissions depends on clear functional boundaries, integration with budgeting and policy processes, and the capacity of line ministries and civil service.