Measuring progress on Qatar’s strategy

It is easy for policymakers to make bold statements on economic strategy. It is far more challenging to ensure progress, given that the most effective policies involve years of relatively unglamorous work building infrastructure, skills and the necessary legal and governance framework. Targets for the long term are comparatively easy to make, given that there is likely to be a different leadership cadre in charge by the time of the deadline.

The latest Industry Strategy produced by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is therefore commendable, both in its coherent and comprehensive content, and the inclusion of tangible targets against which progress can be measured.

There is a sound understanding of how sustainable economic development is achieved in practice. The policy document defines four pillars:

Organizational excellence – This covers issues such as organizational efficiency, and use of digital technology, within the public sector.

Improving the business and investment environment – This is a dimension that is critical, and easily overlooked. There has to be a business-friendly legislative environment, including protection of intellectual property, and encouragement of innovation and growing businesses.

Developing local industry and trade exchange – This involves supporting national businesses and help them access international markets.

Consumer protection and encouraging competition – Preventing actual or de facto monopolies helps ensure fairness for consumers and encourage new entrants into markets.

To support these strategic objectives, there are many projects and initiatives, while progress will be monitored through defined outcomes and policy objectives. For example, in the category ‘Organizational excellence’, there is the objective to achieve more than 85% customer satisfaction, and 100% switch to digital channels, by 2030. On Improving business environment, the policy aims for a top 10 global ranking on the ‘Business Readiness Index’, and for the time needed to set up a business to be reduced to one day. Ease of hiring is also an indicator, while foreign direct investment and public-private partnerships are priorities, along with environmental sustainability.

There is an ambitious, but achievable, target of 4% GDP growth annually, by the end of the decade, including for non-hydrocarbon sectors.

It is commendable that the policy document addresses the issue of talent: skills and people development and retention. It is important to have the right teams in place if the outcomes are to be delivered.

Overall, the policy document defines laudable objectives, covering the essential elements for economic development. The outcome measures are tangible – they are difficult to fudge. This reassures that the exercise is more about real progress than spin and presentation.

There are some debatable issues. It could be argued that some of the aspirations could be higher, or for the shorter term. The target date for the outcomes is 2030. To take the objective of at least 85% satisfaction with government services, this could be more ambitious, and with milestones – for example, 85% by 2026, 88% by 2027, and so on. Also, if the experience of the proportion who are not satisfied with services is very negative, and this is not being picked up, this could indicate barriers to further improvement. The target of 100% on digital transformation could be supplemented by measures on customer service, given that a digital channel is not automatically better or more convenient for the customer.

There is also a question of scaling up the projects, and their monitoring. The depth and range of the policy aims, the high number of projects, and the task of monitoring their outcomes, constitute an ambitious agenda. Each outcome defined under the four strategic options has several projects designed to help achieve it. In total, around half the report details the various projects designed to meet the objectives.

The major challenges are around how the program can be managed, and how impact can be measured. The impact that matters is how the private sector, and individuals within society, benefit, going beyond operational improvements for the government sector. So it is promising that there are outcomes covering this wider agenda.

For all that there are questions raised by the report, the debatable points are comparatively minor, assuming that the projects will be properly resourced and monitored. In mid-January the Ministry of Commerce and Industry hosted a meeting with business leaders for a wide-ranging discussion on business and economic development.

The Ministry has called the big issues correctly, displayed a good level of transparency, and shown a commitment to meet with business leaders, all making it possible to be held to account.