MONITORING AND EVALUATING THE STRATEGIC PLAN OF NUEVO LEAN 2015-2030 : using evidence to achieve... sustainable development.

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Foreword Acknowledgements Acronyms and abbreviations Executive summary Building a sound planning system Improving the strategic plan’s methodology Monitoring the strategic plan to promote its delivery Creating a sound evaluation system of the strategic plan Promoting evidence-informed policy making in Nuevo León Assessment and Recommendations Toward a sound institutional system for planning, monitoring and evaluation Identifying clear policy priorities and setting pathways for implementation Monitoring the Strategic Plan as a tool for results Creating capacities for the evaluation of the Plan Promoting evidence-informed policy-making in Nuevo León 1 Toward a Sound Institutional System for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in Nuevo León Introduction A robust M&E system is key to ensuring effective planning Nuevo León’s M&E system ranks just above average in comparison with other Mexican states. Building a sound long-term planning system in Nuevo León The Nuevo León Council reflects a whole-of-society effort towards the long term development of the state The council offers an inclusive platform to reflect on key policy initiatives The overall planning system in Nuevo León A complex interaction between the council and the state public administration Responsibilities for strategic planning are blurred between the Executive Office of the Governor and council The centre of government has limited capacities for strategic planning, coordination and monitoring in Nuevo Leon. Recommendations References 2 The Strategic Plan’s Methodology and Structure: Identifying Clear and Sound Policy Priorities for Nuevo León Introduction The Strategic Plan reflects a high-level commitment to long-term policies in Nuevo León Developing a robust planning methodology in Nuevo León The problem analysis phase did not build on lessons learned from previous reforms The prioritisation process omitted factors such as sequencing and trade-off between opportunity areas Objective setting did not rely on a clear logic model and some objectives are difficult to measure or to understand Simplifying the Plan’s structure The Plan has been broken down into too many layers Opportunity areas have been insufficiently prioritised The coherence between thematic areas can be improved Planning coherence: aligning policy priorities and identifying pathways for their implementation There are some inconsistencies in aligning the methodological framework of the Strategic Plan with the SDGs There is no clear methodological framework for articulating the elements of the Strategic Plan with the elements of the State Development Plan (SDP) The Strategic Plan and the State Development Plan can be articulated with an action plan A clear need to link strategic planning with budgeting Performance budgeting is in its very early stages in Nuevo León The implementation of the Strategic Plan is also constrained by historic fiscal limitations of subnational governments Recommendations Notes References Annex 2.A. Alignment between the Sustainable Development Goals and the Strategic Plan Annex 2.B. Linkages between the State Development Plan and the Strategic Plan’s opportunity areas 3 Monitoring the Results of the Strategic Plan of Nuevo León Introduction Clarifying the monitoring set-up to better support the delivery of the Plan The definition of monitoring contained in the Strategic Planning Law is not comprehensive and may lead to confusion about its purpose Clarifying responsibilities for the monitoring of the Plan may allow for greater synergy and improved coordination between the council and the executive A whole-of-government legal framework exists for monitoring the Strategic Plan 2015-2030 and the State Development Plan There are numerous actors involved in the monitoring of the Plans and their mandates are not always explicit The monitoring methodology and tools for the SP are not well-defined A clarification of the monitoring set-up, methodology and tools may allow for greater cooperation and coordination between the council and the state public administration, and the use of monitoring results. Promoting the quality of monitoring Collecting quality data is paramount in producing robust monitoring evidence The lack of a systematic framework which would link indicators and opportunity areas in the SP hinders its monitoring Both the Strategic plan and the action plans would benefit from identifying sound and policy actionable indicators The council could consider identifying a mix of indicators in order to best monitor the strategic plan The analysis of the data has to be fit for purpose The current annual report is not well targeted to its audience Clearly differentiating between the three different types of monitoring exercises will provide for more fit-for-purpose information Quality monitoring: quality assurance and quality control The state public administration needs to upgrade its capacity to monitor the Plan Quality assurance mechanisms could be developed alongside current quality control Promoting the use of monitoring results Communicating results to citizens Keeping the annual monitoring report public and making data available on the Avanza NL platforms is important to maintain public accountability and engage with citizens The state public administration and the council could consider developing communication strategies in order to increase public awareness and engagement in the Plan Ensuring the uptake of monitoring results in decision-making Increasing the impact of monitoring results will require the development of a performance narrative focused on addressing inconsistencies in implementation Increasing stakeholder engagement in the development of the Plan’s indicators matters for monitoring and implementation Monitoring for results implies creating feedback loops to institutionalise the use of monitoring results Recommendations To clarify the monitoring set-up to better support the delivery of the plans: To promote the quality of monitoring To strengthen communication and the use of the monitoring results: Notes References 4 Creating a Sound Evaluation System for the Strategic Plan of Nuevo León Introduction Building a sound institutional framework for the evaluation of the Strategic Plan Nuevo León pursues several complementary objectives through evaluation The definitions of evaluation adopted across government in Nuevo León could be more precise Similarly to a majority of OECD countries, Nuevo León has embedded the evaluation of its Strategic Plan in a legal framework In Nuevo León, macro-level guidance on who carries out the evaluation of the Strategic Plan 2015-2030 and when is currently lacking The council could consider making the mandates and timing of evaluations explicit in a policy framework Promoting the quality evaluations The council may wish to develop both quality assurance and quality control mechanisms The council could develop competencies to commission or conduct in-house evaluations Controlling the quality of the evaluation product Promoting the use of evaluations Although the council has promoted utilisation-focused evaluations and makes evaluations available to the public, the use of evaluations is still a challenge in Nuevo León The council could consider developing a communication strategy to promote the uptake of evaluation evidence Nuevo León may benefit from systematically embedding evaluation into the policy-making cycle Recommendations Building a sound institutional framework for the evaluation of the Strategic Plan Promoting the quality of evaluations Promoting the use of evaluations References 5 Promoting Evidence-Informed Policy-Making in Nuevo León Introduction Setting up an advisory system that meets the needs of government Nuevo León has created an advisory system mostly centred around the council Currently, the functions of the council are blurred across a range of functions Nuevo León council should focus on providing evidence and evaluation, as well as shaping the policy agenda upstream Timeliness of advice Representativeness in decision-making Distribution of competencies and skills among members Developing innovative knowledge brokering methods to promote the use of evidence The council could consider innovative knowledge brokerage approaches, to generate knowledge, translate it, and facilitate evidence adoption. Assessing the effectiveness of the existing evidence and identifying knowledge gaps can be an effective way to support policy-making The council could translate evidence into clear language to promote its use Strengthening the networks of knowledge producers and the skills of knowledge users and producers is key to facilitating evidence adoption Developing capacities in the state public administration to support evidence-informed policy-making in Nuevo León The council can contribute to developing skills for evidence use in the state public administration Evidence-informed policy-making will require the establishment of institutions and systems in the state public administration Recommendations References 6 Nuevo León’s Action Plan to Implement the Recommendations of the OECD Review Chapter 1 Building a sound long-term planning system in Nuevo León Chapter 2 Revise the Strategic Plan 2015-2030 according to a robust methodology Simplify the Strategic Plan in order to recentre it around impact and outcome level objectives and indicators. Clarify and communicate the coherence between the Strategic Plan and the SDGs Chapter 3 Clarifying the monitoring set-up to better support the delivery of the Plan Promoting the quality of monitoring Promoting the use of monitoring results Chapter 4 Building a sound institutional framework for the evaluation of the Strategic Plan Promoting the quality of evaluations Promoting the use of evaluations Chapter 5 Setting up an advisory system that meets the needs of government Developing innovative knowledge brokering methods to promote the use of evidence Developing capacities in the state public administration to support evidence-informed policy-making in Nuevo León