ABSTRACT
Strategies for sustainable development need to build on and provide a framework for other forms of strategy processes operating at national level. Once the concept of the strategy as an adaptive and cyclical process has been embraced, then, whether a biodiversity action plan, national Agenda 21, World Bank NEAP, or other multi-sectoral process, it is likely to have similar management needs.
The strategy process should include information assembly and analysis, policy formulation, action planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Each of these components is driven and facilitated by participation and communication. A multi-track process, in which most of the strategy components occur simultaneously, is likely to be more effective than a single-track process in which most occur sequentially. The strategy experience to date has usually followed a sequential approach without fully appreciating the central functions of communication and participation. Inevitably, a multi-track process including working links between the various components and continual reflection and révision will be a more complex management process demanding a broader range of skills than the more conventional approach.
The basic management structure or engine for most strategies has been a steering committee and secretariat and, although they have come in many shapes and sizes, experience suggests some general rules for their functions, location, status and composition. The start-up phase of a strategy can be a time of some frustration while relationships with existing activities are thought through, key participants (including donors) brought on board, decisions are made and the basic directions set from a range of options. Well-targeted, decisive but diplomatic management at this early stage can determine the level of success of the strategy in later phases.
