Improving the Links between National (and Sector) Plans and Budget for Sustainable Development in Pacific Island Countries. A Practical Guidance Note
For several decades, Pacific Island Countries have prepared national and sectoral plans which are inadequately linked to the annual budget process. Achieving the development objectives set out in these plans could be best described as variable. Plans have become aspirational documents, accurately reflecting the development outcomes that various communities seek, and connecting with global and regional priorities that are of national interest, for example the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. But they are much less effective in guiding decisions on which projects to implement, or which services to prioritize, and securing the necessary resources.
The availability of resources (or lack of them) is a perennial challenge to the credibility of national plans. Such difficulties can be compounded by poorly designed plans that neither accurately reflect government priorities, nor are feasible to implement. Sustainable development requires improving the linkages between national and sectoral plans that clearly identify development objectives and the budget.
A guidance note on improving these links was recently published by the Pacific Office of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia (ESCAP) and the International Monetary Fund’s Regional Technical Assistance Center for the Pacific (PFTAC). The note focuses on three important aspects of the planning/budgeting relationship:
- identifying gaps in the planning and budgeting cycle;
- strengthening links between national planning and the budget; and
- aligning decision-making with strengthened monitoring and reporting.
The note concludes that several benefits would emerge if planning and budget systems were well linked. These benefits include:
- a more coordinated approach to the implementation of government priorities that helps achieve better development outcomes, including achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;
- improved accountability for performance by implementing departments and ministries; and
- a better use of performance information to align resource allocations with policy priorities.
A copy of the report is now available for download.
