Inter-ministerial Coordination Research Articles

Stakeholder perspectives on the 2020 global health strategy of the German federal government

Abstract Background The second German Global Health Strategy was published in 2020 after a development process including a consultation with non-state stakeholders. To date, there has been no systematic investigation of these stakeholders’ perspectives regarding the consultation processes and strategy. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 German global health stakeholders involved in the consultation, with purposive sampling informed by a stakeholder mapping applying Clarke et al.'s (2018) situational analysis approach. Results The German government's initiative to consult stakeholders for the strategy development was positively perceived. Perspectives on the consultation process varied, especially regarding the framework conditions (e.g. time and resource constraints), structure and composition of the stakeholder groups (e.g. no adequate reflection of diverse positions) as well as the participatory nature and the representativeness of the stakeholders involved. A particular critique was the limited information provided about the strategy development process, especially once stakeholder position papers were submitted. The inclusion of climate change, human rights and health system strengthening were seen as strengths of the final strategy. Perceived exclusions or weaknesses were (forced) migration, health workforce and financing issues, which were attributed to disagreements in inter-ministerial coordination. The need for a concrete action plan and fostering coherence between ministries was seen as vital for the strategy's implementation. The strategy provides stakeholders with a way to strategically position and justify their own work, and their continued involvement in strategy implementation efforts is desired. Conclusions This study shows overall support for a participatory policy-making process and provides insights into stakeholder perspectives regarding the 2020 German Global Health Strategy, as well as ways future consultations can be strengthened. Key messages • Stakeholder perspectives on the 2020 German Global Health Strategy varied; identifying inclusion of social and planetary issues as strength, and exclusion of migration and an action plan as weakness. • Future global health strategy development processes should consider participatory approaches, transparent communication and stakeholder representativeness in stakeholder consultation.

Un caso de cooperación entre Defensa y Relaciones Exteriores. La resolución del conflicto internacional por la retención del buque escuela de la Armada Argentina en Ghana

Foreign policy and defense constitute two essential functions of the modern state. There are various fields of intervention where both converge and the political leaders of these areas of public intervention are compelled to interact and combine actions to resolve conflicts or work out operational issues. In the case analyzed in this article, inter-ministerial coordination is put into action to deal with the request for seizure of the Frigate Libertad, training ship of the Argentine Navy, made by a vulture fund (holdout) in litigation with the Argentine Republic before the Ghanaian justice, as soon as the ship moors in the port of Tema in Ghana on October 1, 2012. To reconstruct the case, we rely on different documentary and journalistic sources, as well as interviews with key informants.

Centralization or decentralization: Divergent paths of governing offshore wind between China and Japan

China and Japan have started to develop commercial offshore wind farms since the late 2000s and early 2010s. During the past decades, the gap in offshore wind capacity between the two countries widened. While China is poised to dominate the Asian offshore wind market, Japan remains at the initial stage of development. Combining the data from both semi-structured interviews and desk research, this paper conducts a comparative study of offshore wind policy mixes and analyzes underlying factors that affect the selection of national strategies and policy packages. It is argued that the selection of policy mixes for offshore wind energy reflects a careful balancing of facilitating and constraining factors including resource availability, technology maturity, and preexisting institutional structure and practices. These push and pull forces shape the policy landscape for offshore wind, which covers (1) resource surveys and national targets, (2) inter-ministerial coordination, (3) central-local relationship, and (4) feed-in-tariffs (FITs).It is found that the two countries had chosen different approaches for regulatory reform. China adopted a decentralized path, solving the problems of institutional inertia by turning local bureaucrats into entrepreneurial reformers, whereas Japan took a centralized approach, attempting to remove regulatory complexities by establishing an integrated administrative regime at the central level. A better understanding of the two approaches and their underlying factors might not only help policymakers capitalize on existing governing regimes but also devise new mechanisms to create a better policy environment for offshore wind energy.

Tracking Progress from Policy Development to Implementation: A Case Study on Adoption of Mandatory Regulation for Nutrition Labelling in Malaysia.

Mandatory nutrition labelling, introduced in Malaysia in 2003, received a “medium implementation” rating from public health experts when previously benchmarked against international best practices by our group. The rating prompted this qualitative case study to explore barriers and facilitators during the policy process. Methods incorporated semi-structured interviews supplemented with cited documents and historical mapping of local and international directions up to 2017. Case participants held senior positions in the Federal government (n = 6), food industry (n = 3) and civil society representations (n = 3). Historical mapping revealed that international directions stimulated policy processes in Malaysia but policy inertia caused implementation gaps. Barriers hindering policy processes included lack of resources, governance complexity, lack of monitoring, technical challenges, policy characteristics linked to costing, lack of sustained efforts in policy advocacy, implementer characteristics and/or industry resistance, including corporate political activities (e.g., lobbying, policy substitution). Facilitators to the policy processes were resource maximization, leadership, stakeholder partnerships or support, policy windows and industry engagement or support. Progressing policy implementation required stronger leadership, resources, inter-ministerial coordination, advocacy partnerships and an accountability monitoring system. This study provides insights for national and global policy entrepreneurs when formulating strategies towards fostering healthy food environments.

From South Asia to the world: embracing the challenge of global sustainable nitrogen management

From South Asia to the world: embracing the challenge of global sustainable nitrogen management

COVID-19 pandemic, socioeconomic crisis and human stress in resource-limited settings: A case from Bangladesh

Considering the population density, healthcare capacity, limited resources and existing poverty, environmental factors, social structure, cultural norms, and already more than 18,863 people infected, the community transmission of COVID-19 is happening fast. These exacerbated a complex fear among the public. The aim of this article is, therefore, to understand the public perception of socioeconomic crisis and human stress in resource-limited settings of Bangladesh during the COVID-19 outbreak.The sample comprised of 1066 Bangladeshi participants. Principal component analysis (PCA) was considered to design a standardized scale to measure the mental stress and socioeconomic crisis, one-way ANOVA and t-test were conducted to perceive different demographic risk groups; multiple linear regression was applied to estimate the statistically significant association between each component, and classical test theory (CTT) analysis was applied to examine the reliability of each item according to the components to develop a composite score.Without safeguarding the fundamental needs for the vulnerable ultra-poor group can undeniably cause the socioeconomic crisis and mental stress due to the COVID-19 lockdown. It has further created unemployment, deprivation, hunger, and social conflicts. The weak governance in the fragile healthcare system exacerbates the general public's anxiety as the COVID-19 testing facilities are centered around in the urban areas, a long serial to be tested, minimum or no treatment facilities in the dedicated hospital units for COVID-19 patients are the chief observations hampered along with the disruption of other critical healthcare services. One-way ANOVA and t-test confirmed food and nutritional deficiency among the vulnerable poorest section due to loss of livelihood. Also, different emergency service provider professions such as doctors, healthcare staff, police forces, volunteer organizations at the frontline, and bankers are at higher risk of infection and subsequently mentally stressed. Proper risk assessment of the pandemic and dependable risk communications to risk groups, multi-sectoral management taskforce development, transparency, and good governance with inter-ministerial coordination is required along with strengthening healthcare capacity was suggested to reduce mental and social stress causing a socioeconomic crisis of COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, relief for the low-income population, proper biomedical waste management through incineration, and preparation for the possible natural disasters such as flood, cyclones, and another infectious disease such as dengue was suggested. Finally, this assessment process could help the government and policymakers to judge the public perceptions to deal with COVID-19 pandemic in densely populated lower-middle-income and limited-resource countries like Bangladesh.

Are high-performing health systems resilient against the COVID-19 epidemic?

Are high-performing health systems resilient against the COVID-19 epidemic?

Coordination as showcasing: the establishment of Norway’s Afghanistan Forum

ABSTRACTIn complex operations such as the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, where multiple government ministries are involved in putting together a state’s contributions, the use of national-level coordination bodies has become more widespread. Research has taken for granted that the rationale behind these bodies reflects their declared aim – enhanced coordination as a means to improve mission effectiveness. However, they appear to have had modest effect on coordination. That notwithstanding, they seem to remain popular. This prompts us to ask why such bodies are actually established. This article – based on in-depth interviews and archival records – critically explores the establishment of Norway’s ad hoc, inter-ministerial, political-level Afghanistan Forum. Distinguishing between a structural-instrumental, a cultural-institutional and an environmental perspective from organizational theory to structure the analysis, this article shows that the declared purpose of the forum, inter-ministerial coordination, proved less important than showcasing coordination efforts and keeping the coalition together. In addition, national traditions in handling coordination challenges in the central government apparatus and powerful international reforms helped bring the forum about. This has implications for research on the rationale and effectiveness of these bodies, and also for understanding their policy relevance.

Опыт локализации и внедрения Целей устойчивого развития в странах-лидерах в данной сфере

This article describes the experience of localization and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national level in the 10 countries which top the global SDG Index compiled by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The authors apply methods of comparative and content analysis of national and international documents and conclude that leading countries began to work actively on the transition toward sustainable development more than a decade ago, established effective inter-ministerial coordination in this area and have achieved significant success. Nevertheless, even they are still far from the full implementation of the SDGs. Moreover, not all of them have localized Agenda 2030 within their national sustainable development strategies.The authors identify three key SDG localization and implementation schemes: full localization (e.g. Germany), implementation of the SDGs without their formal localization (e.g. Sweden) and the complete absence of localization (e.g. Finland). The most preferable and effective scheme, according to the authors, is the first one.In the late 1990s, Russia could have become one of the pioneers of sustainable development. However, due to insufficient political will, Russia is still at the initial stages of its transition toward sustainable development. In order to catalyze progress in this area, Russia needs to urgently develop and adopt a national sustainable development strategy in which all of the SDGs are localized, take into account SDGs in other key strategic documents and set specific quantitative goals and designate ministries that will be responsible for achieving these goals.

Mapping of Policies Related to Fruits and Vegetables Accessibility in India

ABSTRACT Background: Multiple forms of malnutrition (MOM) are a public health concern that requires strong and collaborative policy action. One common thread across MOM is inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV). An underlying reason is inadequate supply that manifests as problems in accessibility. Objective: Using India as a case study, our aim was to understand how the FV supply-chain functions, to identify related policies that affect it and to explore opportunities for strengthening existing policies and creating new ones to improve FV accessibility. Methods: We conducted an online search in publicly-available databases to identify key FV supply-chain policy documents and prepared a sector-wise list. Stakeholder interviews in nutrition, agriculture, public health and economic sectors were conducted to verify/populate the same. Results: We identified 29 policies and conducted 55 interviews. The FV supply policy needs to focus on collaboration and coherence of various stakeholders. State governments’ clout and their discretionary powers played a major role in deciding the focus of each policy. An increment in government’s att`ention to this sector was noted but challenges like inter-ministerial coordination, prioritization, and duplication were also identified. Scaling-up existing policy environment with the inclusion of nutrition as a priority may increase accessibility of FV.

The Devil Is in the Detail-Understanding Divergence between Intention and Implementation of Health Policy for Undocumented Migrants in Thailand.

Migrants’ access to healthcare has attracted attention from policy makers in Thailand for many years. The most relevant policies have been (i) the Health Insurance Card Scheme (HICS) and (ii) the One Stop Service (OSS) registration measure, targeting undocumented migrants from neighbouring countries. This study sought to examine gaps and dissonance between de jure policy intention and de facto implementation through qualitative methods. In-depth interviews with policy makers and local implementers and document reviews of migrant-related laws and regulations were undertaken. Framework analysis with inductive and deductive coding was undertaken. Ranong province was chosen as the study area as it had the largest proportion of migrants. Though the government required undocumented migrants to buy the insurance card and undertake nationality verification (NV) through the OSS, in reality a large number of migrants were left uninsured and the NV made limited progress. Unclear policy messages, bureaucratic hurdles, and inadequate inter-ministerial coordination were key challenges. Some frontline implementers adapted the policies to cope with their routine problems resulting in divergence from the initial policy objectives. The study highlighted that though Thailand has been recognized for its success in expanding insurance coverage to undocumented migrants, there were still unsolved operational challenges. To tackle these, in the short term the government should resolve policy ambiguities and promote inter-ministerial coordination. In the long-term the government should explore the feasibility of facilitating lawful cross-border travel and streamlining health system functions between Thailand and its neighbours.

신북방시대 한국의 대러 외교전략과 과제

This article examines the new foreign policies of Korean government in order to search for ways to promote cooperation between Korea and Russia. The Korea-Russian relations are laden with the least conflicts compared to other countries in Northeast Asia, and for this reason, they have good conditions to establish cooperative relations. However, their bilateral partnership remains at a lower level than its potential. In order to promote the cooperation between Korea and Russia, the Korean government has to review and strengthen the strategic partnership with Russia. Especially, by concluding an FTA with Russia, Korea will be able to upgrade the economic cooperation. For this purpose, the Korean government intends to launch its New Northern Policy. Compared to similar policies existed in the previous governments, the current government plans to expand the scope of its policy geographically by simultaneously pursuing the New Southern Policy so that the Korean peninsula becomes an economic hub of East Asia. In addition, the Northern Economic Cooperation Committee, which will promote the New Northern Policy, was established for inter-ministerial coordination.

Socioeconomic and International Geo-Politics in Private Sustainability Standards (PSS): Relevance for India

Globally the private/voluntary standards have found significance with the increasing role of global value chain coupled with globalisation and liberalisation initiative by emerging markets. It is also linked to the more prominent role of the private sector in such activities of commerce from the 1970s onwards. The global commercial history after the second world war can be broadly divided into two phases, the first phase of 1946 to 1970 a period dominated by the state-led initiative of regional groupings. The second phase begins with post-1970s wherein the private sector had a direct or indirect role is steering the various trade grouping and negotiations. The United Nation has played differential roles since the inspection under the two broad phases. The pronounced role of the UN is that of a neutral player within the divided world this has witnessed an erosion since the beginning from the 1970s. The increased role of the private sector has led to various initiatives driven by their interests. One such initiative has been the private/voluntary sustainability standards (P/VSS). The example is of a pressure cooker wherein the ‘value’ is private sustainability standards. There would be little interest in the more significant globally on sustainability issues which is more of a public good when the private sectors are actively driving the global processes. Therefore, the likely impacts need to be analysed in detail. The section is the part two of the three-part draft report titled “Emergence of Private Sustainability Standards: Concerns and Challenges for India’s Exports and Domestic Industries”. Chapter two of part one of the Report addresses the trend and usage of the VS/ PSS in India. It further highlights the challenges in doing so owing to lack of clear distinction - given the lack of consensus-based definition of VS/ PSS. Some private standards have evolved to become the private sustainability standards. Globally the voluntary/ private standards numbered are 624, with minimal number graduated to become truly PSS. Secondly, it traces the origin of the understanding of all existing VS/ PSS to United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972). In this context, inter-ministerial coordination between finance, labour, health, environment and commerce could help Indian industries – by way of active participation in standards-setting processes and adoption of more regional standards. There are no agencies assigned formally by the Department of Commerce (DoC) for record of VS/ PSS present and operating in India. Given its importance for international trade for India, there is an urgent need to keep a record of all VS and PSS. These would help in the impact analysis of the domestic adoption in the context of exports and coordination of value chains.

PENGEMBANGAN LAHAN SAWAH (Sawah Bukaan Baru) DAN KENDALA PENGELOLAANNYA DALAM PENCAPAIAN TARGET SURPLUS 10 JUTA TON BERAS TAHUN 2014

Food is a strategic commodity, and food availability absolute priority because it can create food security and national stability. The purpose of the Director General of Food Crops is to maintain the availability of food. For 2014 the target is 10 million tons of Ministry of Agriculture surplus. In order to achieve this program certainly accompanied by inter-ministerial coordination, one with the ministry of Public Works, in order to improve the irrigation network. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of new wetland openings, and is limited to aspects of the development potential of land for opening new fields, as well as various technical constraints management opening new fields of socio-economic aspects. Period (1992-2002) wetland conversion to nonagricultural reached 110,000 ha per year. And in the time span 2007-2010, in Java, the average conversion rate of 200,000 ha per year in the form of land irrigated technical, nontechnical and dry land. New paddy fields is one form of change of use of land resources is not agricultural land into agricultural land. And targets are achieved during the period 2010 - 2014 is 2 million hectares. While the Ministry of Agriculture to plan targets new paddy fields in 2012 covering an area of 100,000 hectares (ha) outside Java. To realize the program tersbut still many obstacles that must be resolved, one of the obstacles which spatial and spatial policy in Indonesia has not had a consistent policy, and tend to overlap (vertically or horizontally). To overcome this problem one solution is the collaboration of all stakeholders, including government, private sector, researchers, farmers, and food industry players in strengthening national food security.

Inter-ministerial Coordination at Dhaka City Corporation: Tale of Separation between Policy and Practices

The paper delineates a comprehensive idea about the current state of coordination among several ministries of Bangladesh government at the Dhaka City Corporation especially in policymaking, planning and project implementation. Approximately, 56 departments under 18 ministries as well as many non-governmental organisations and private agencies are directly engaged in service delivery without proper coordination such incoherence consequentially escalates more cost and ticking public hassle instead of enhancing civic amenities. Indeed it needs an encyclopaedic relation through coordination, collaboration and communication. The first aim of the study is to identify and analyse key features of relationship among or between Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Local Government Engineering Department, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited, Dhaka Power Distribution Company and TITAS-Gas. Second, it scrutinises different factors that deter to dense coordination among ministries and finally, it will figure out what are the impacts of poor coordination that bitterly exceeding poor governance.

Problem of China's Nuclear Security Supervision System

In the perspective of public administration study, intends to explore and analyze the problems rooted in China's current nuclear safety regulatory system, which are associated with such respects as inter-ministerial coordination mechanism, legal construction and personnel allotment. The absence of authoritative department overseeing nuclear safety, the omission of The Atomic Energy Act, and the inefficiency of nuclear safety regulatory personnel are important factors restraining China’s progress on the reform of nuclear safety regulatory system.

국가 영양사업과 비만예방관리에서의 부문간 연계협력 방안 탐색

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore coordination strategy through reviewing policies, action plans and acts related to diet, nutrition and obesity from many sectors in Korea, and to develop a possible multi-sectoral approach. Methods: Literature reviews and empirical findings for ongoing international and domestic policies/programs on diet, nutrition and obesity in Korea. Results: Central and local governments have various policies/programs and related acts to improve nutrition and to reduce obesity. Meanwhile, those governments’ activities are frequently criticized to be more coordinated in order to achieve their aims. Activities on nutrition and obesity prevention have interdepartmental characteristics but are scattered through six Ministries (including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Culture and Sports, and Ministry of Food/Drug Safety) and 27 Acts such as ‘Nutrition Management Act’, ‘Health Promotion Act’, ‘Diet Education Support Act’. As a result, a number of areas, especially dietary guidance, nationwide surveys, education programs seem to overlap. Conclusions: Inter-ministerial coordination mechanism should be established to enforce multi-sectoral engagement and cooperation in implementing policies/programs on nutrition and obesity prevention. Furthermore, functions of the Ministries should be reorganized and coordinated in reference to other countries’ experiences.

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation in least developed countries in South and Southeast Asia

This paper undertakes an in-depth analysis of six least developed countries (LDCs) in South and Southeast Asia to assess the extent of mainstreaming climate change adaptation into national development plans by reviewing their National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), national development plans, and Strategic Programs for Climate Resilience (SPCRs) (where available). The paper proposes two perspectives to analyze the level of mainstreaming and five factors that may affect such a level. The results show that there is a significant difference in the success of their mainstreaming efforts: mainstreaming is relatively advanced in Bangladesh, limited in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Maldives, and Nepal, and still minimal in Bhutan and Cambodia. Among the factors, the study finds that the inter-ministerial coordination supported by the highest levels of government is most relevant to the success of mainstreaming, which is measured by the integration of climate adaptation consideration into development priorities and a country’s own initiatives, particularly those involving budget allocation. Recognition of the need for mainstreaming and monitoring and evaluation also affect the success of mainstreaming efforts in LDCs. Another important factor is to make adaptation plans compatible with national development plans in terms of their time horizon, and SPCRs effectively facilitate this process. As all countries still require external support for advancing mainstreaming, the role of development partners is instrumental. The paper points to issues that need to be incorporated in the relevant NAPAs including updating to facilitate mainstreaming.

Avoiding the Middle-Income Trap: Renovating Industrial Policy Formulation in Vietnam

Vietnam's growth in the last one-and-half decades has been driven by the liberalization effect and large inflows of external purchasing power. Now that the processes of systemic transition and global integration have deepened, Vietnam needs to create internal value to continue to grow and avoid the middle-income trap. The country has reached the point where growth towards higher income cannot be secured unless policy making is renovated significantly to activate the country's full potential. The vision of Industrialization and Modernization to be achieved by 2020 must be backed by realistic industrial strategies and concrete action plans, which are currently lacking. Stakeholder involvement in policy design, inter-ministerial coordination, clear directives from the top, and incentive structure for government officials must be improved. This in turn calls for radical changes in policy administration. A new style of leadership, a technocrat team directly serving the top leader, and strategic alliance with international partners are proposed as key entry points for the renovation of Vietnam's industrial policy formulation.

United Nations Environment Programme's approach to integrated assessment of trade-related policies: evolution and recent progress

Over the last decade the Economics and Trade Branch (ETB) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has worked to enhance national capacities to undertake integrated assessment of trade-related policies. This article describes the evolution of the approach adopted by UNEP towards achieving greater integration on three key levels: ‘substantively’ by using quantitative and qualitative tools that generate insight into the interrelationships among environmental, social and economic impacts of public policies; ‘policy-wise’ by establishing more direct linkages between the planning and decision-making processes; and ‘process-wise’ by promoting interministerial co-ordination and multi-stakeholder participation and involvement. There is also a shift towards taking a more proactive approach to designing trade policies that will help reduce poverty in an environmentally sound way.