Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 document, released on Monday April 25th, provides an ambitious roadmap for significant changes to the Kingdom’s economy and society over the next 15 years.
The document highlights three general themes: a “vibrant society“, a “thriving economy“, and an “ambitious nation,” under which the document makes commitments to achieve progress on both general and specific areas. In order to achieve that progress, the Vision 2030 highlighted 13 ‘programs’ for the Kingdom, some of which have already been launched while others are forthcoming.
The infographic below highlights those 13 programs.
TEXT:
The Government Restructuring program: Around the world, governments are organizing themselves with agility, continuously restructuring and aligning their systems to national priorities. We have already started moving along this path by eliminating supreme councils and establishing the Council of Political and Security Affairs and the Council of Economic and Development Affairs. These reforms have helped to speed strategy development and decision-making, as well as enhance performance. We will continue this careful restructuring, comprehensively and gradually, based on our clear priorities.
The Strategic Directions program: We have approved the strategic directions determined by our government agencies. Existing roles have been reviewed to align with our future economic and social needs. Decisions are based on detailed studies and benchmarks, as well as comprehensive analysis of each agency’s programs, plans and relevant performance indicators.
The Fiscal Balance program: After the Council of Economic and Development Affairs was established, we began examining our existing capital expenditures, their approval mechanism and their measureable economic impact. We have formed committees and introduced new departments tasked with reviewing relevant regulations and taking the necessary action on the expenditures. As a consequence, last year, we increased our non-oil revenues by 30 percent, and we plan to continue diversifying our non-oil revenues in the coming years, by introducing new measures.
The Project Management program: The Kingdom’s agencies are currently undergoing a wave of reforms and transformation. To manage this momentum and ensure all efforts are coordinated, we adopted an effective approach to project management and established expert project management offices (PMOs) in the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and many other government agencies. We also set up a central Delivery Unit.
The Regulations Review program: Over the past year, we reviewed many current laws and enacted new laws that have been years overdue. These include the company law, the non-governmental organizations’ law, the law concerning fees on non-used lands, the General Authority for Endowments (Awqaf) law, among others. We will continue to review all laws to ensure they are in line with the Kingdom’s priorities.
The Performance Measurement program: We adopted the principle of performance measurement, and made sure it is properly used in our evaluation of all government agencies, their programs, initiatives and executives. We established the Center for Performance Management of Government Agencies to institutionalize these efforts for the long-term and built performance dashboards to promote accountability and transparency.
To ensure the realization of Saudi Arabia’s Vision for 2030, we are preparing to launch a group of executive programs that will have a significant impact on implementation. These include, but are not limited to the following:
The Saudi Aramco Strategic Transformation program: We believe that Saudi Aramco has the ability to lead the world in other sectors besides oil, and it has worked on a sweeping transformative program that will position it as a leader in more than one sector.
The Public Investment Fund Restructuring program: Having worked on restructuring the fund, we are now refining its investment capabilities and enabling the fund to manage a broader portfolio of current and new assets. We aim to transform it into the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world and will announce a comprehensive plan to achieve this goal.
The Human Capital program: Because human capital is a crucial factor in the success of any substantial project, we aim to launch a thorough program for nurturing our human talent. This program will measure, assess and analyze the efficiency of our civil service. It will also support our government agencies with staff, studies, consultations, and strategic partnerships related to human capital.
The National Transformation program: In a new approach, our government agencies have been working through numerous workshops to examine their role in implementing the initiatives necessary for delivering on national priorities. We are identifying opportunities for partnering with the private sector, as well as innovative administrative and funding approaches. We are detailing specific initiatives that have clear performance indicators.
The Strategic Partnerships program: We are working with our economic partners around the world to build new strategic partnerships for the twenty-first century, in harmony with our national Vision, so that we can be a trade hub connecting three continents and enhance our exports
The Privatization program: We are in the process of determining additional sectors suitable for privatization. Our goal is to create a comprehensive privatization program. We will make use of international best practices, transfer knowledge and achieve our goals in a balanced and scientific manner.
The program for Strengthening Public Sector Governance: We will work on restructuring our government agencies continuously and with flexibility. We will eliminate redundant roles, unify efforts, streamline procedures and define responsibilities. We shall also enable our agencies to deliver on their mandate, to be accountable, to ensure business continuity and to show adaptability in the face of new challenges. Under the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, we will establish a strategic management office to focus on coordinating all government programs and ensuring their careful alignment with the national Vision. The office will also prevent gaps, duplication or contradiction between agencies’ policies and programs, and ensure that all components of the Vision are detailed in proper sectoral strategies. We will also establish a Decision Support Center at the Royal Court to support decision-making through analytical and evidence-based information and reports.
