Capacity Building Workshop on Scenario-Based Planning Held for ECOWAS Member States

Dakar, Senegal February 18, 2011 - Millennium Institute (MI) and the ECOWAS Commission organized a workshop on integrated planning using scenario analyis for ECOWAS member states from February 7 – 18, 2011, in Dakar, Senegal.

The workshop was held under the auspices of the partnership agreement between ECOWAS and MI, which aims to strengthen ECOWAS’ capacity to conduct research and analysis of development policy options and to develop coherent regional integration and national sustainable economic growth and development programs.

The workshop was declared open by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy, Prof. Lambert Bamba, who in his opening address, highlighted the history and justification for the Community Development Program – the umbrella initiative for this workshop – and stressed the importance of adopting an integrated approach to national planning. Other dignitaries at the opening ceremony included Mr. Iba Mar Oulare, who represented the Minister for Economy and Finance of Senegal, Ms. Debo Sow, Director for Strategies and Development at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Dr. Hans Herren, MI’s President.

The workshop participants were drawn from ECOWAS specialized agencies and regional affiliates, national agencies responsible for planning and budgeting, and academic institutions. During the course of the workshop, they were introduced to the Threshold 21 model, how to structure effective strategic planning, applying T21 model as a tool for planning, building support for policy, and monitoring the roadmap for national development. They also had an opportunity to present their national experiences with strategic planning, focusing on the history and goals, the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned to date.

A number of recurring and crosscutting themes emerged from these presentations, indicating that the countries face similar challenges with poverty, low human development, rapid urbanization, climate change and environmental degradation. The major implication of the exercise was that regional cooperation and integration was essential and unavoidable for the member states to fully realize the ECOWAS vision.

The next steps in the process include building a Threshold 21 (T21) national model for each of the fifteen member states, two T21 regional models, and further capacity development for the participants who attended this workshop.

For more information, contact or visit ECOWAS website at www.ecowas.int.