Wednesday, Sep 28, 2016

Dubai: A long-term strategy that will steer the nation’s transformational growth by identifying the needs and challenges of the future was launched yesterday (Wednesday).

The UAE strategy for the Future was launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The strategy is a comprehensive road map that will take the nation to the next era of development.

Launched under the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the strategy identifies needs and challenges, addresses them through impactful long-term plans, and successfully leveraging new opportunities for all-round development.

“The UAE Strategy for the Future is our new approach to planning for the future by predicting, analysing and implementing highly effective action plans that accelerate development,” said Shaikh Mohammad.

“As a nation, we have always been forward-looking and planning for the future, which has been a key driver of our success,” he added.

The Vice-President said that in a rapidly evolving world, government departments must abandon typical thought processes that are now obsolete or irrelevant. “We need a new mindset that is focused on the future,” he noted.

Shaikh Mohammad said that he would personally monitor government departments to evaluate their commitment to the new strategy. “We will shape the future of the UAE through this forward-looking strategy,” he said.

Shaikh Mohammad said that the strategy serves as the referral point for governmental departments to adopt proactive future planning to usher in an even more prosperous tomorrow for our current and future generations.

“With our future planning model, we will serve as a model for the world. The citizens of the UAE are our most important resource in building our future. To nurture their skills, we will strengthen education and training initiatives,” said Shaikh Mohammad.

Also present on the occasion were Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince; Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; and Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs and the Future.

Al Gergawi asserted that the new strategy reflects the vision of Shaikh Mohammad to form a unique model for the Government of the Future in the UAE, with clear and strategic short-, medium-, and long-term goals.

“The short-term is the future we’re living today as part of the UAE Vision 2021 and the course of the next five years,” Al Gergawi continued.

“The medium-term strategy will focus on planning for the period between 2020 and 2026; by then, led by the success of the short-term future planning, the government would be even more responsive and adaptable to future changes.

The long-term strategy goes beyond 2026, and we will commence work now to both foresee and build the future of the nation,” said Al Gergawi.

Ratified by the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, the UAE Strategy for the Future will be implemented in three phases — short-, medium- and long-term — each with clear benchmarks and performance indicators.

Main points of the future strategy:

Under the new strategy, planning for the future will become a mandatory part of the operations of government departments.

Future scenario reports on key sectors will be published, which will serve as a benchmark for developing governmental plans and policies. A number of innovative initiatives will be rolled out as part of the new strategy.

Every government department will have a director of the UAE Strategy for the Future, who is mandated with driving forward future planning. This makes the UAE the first government in the world to have such a position within all its departments.

A dedicated educational institution will be established for driving predictive analysis and future development models, with UAE delegations to visit leading international universities to learn about best practices in future planning.

The UAE Cabinet will issue regular reports on the future developmental needs, trends and models, which will serve as a referral point in governmental planning.

Three themes:

The strategy is centred on three main themes — new operational model for the government, building national capacity, and setting strategic priorities for the future.

In driving forward the first theme, a future-focused thought process will be adopted across all government agencies.

The ministers in charge of the different departments will lead the charge in implementing future-focused plans. They will encourage strategic thinking, provide guidance, and support the strategic planning by conducting studies and laying out scenarios for their respective sectors. The ministers will share insights on the future of the respective sector at the Cabinet meetings.

The Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and The Future will play a supporting and coordinating role, strengthening efforts, initiatives, projects, and policies for individual government departments, and monitoring their progress.

To drive forward the second theme of building national capacity, the government will work to establish a robust organisational infrastructure to invest in national cadres. The basics of foreseeing the future will be included — in a simplified manner — in school curricula.

Specialised delegations will be dispatched to train qualified nationals for future planning, and related material — designed exclusively for the UAE Government — will be published, and the subjects will be taught in national universities.

Third Theme:

As part of the third theme of setting strategic priorities for the future, ministers will work to turn their ministries into a prototype of the ministries of the future, and represent the country as Ambassadors of the Future, reflecting the UAE’s pioneering position in future-building.

Through this theme, the government will also work to establish the UAE as a global destination for sustainability and the future.

Future prototypes

As part of the strategy, future prototypes for sectors including health care, education, social development and the environment will be developed. These will form the basis for governmental policy-making. The strategy also focuses on building national human competencies in all the key sectors, strengthening international partnerships, and developing specialised research and development labs that will evaluate future challenges and opportunities.

Staff Report

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