Public Sector InnovationResearching Mechanisms for the Operationalization of the National Development Strategy
Overview
The project supported the operationalisation of North Macedonia's National Development Strategy (NDS) 2024–2044, which sets out the country's development goals and priorities and emphasises accelerated, inclusive and sustainable growth aligned with EU integration and Agenda 2030.
Two operationalisation mechanisms were tested:
- a co-creation process for developing policy pilots on migrant and refugee integration, and
- research into the potential for establishing a foresight unit to strengthen future policy and strategic planning.
The challenge
How can the NDS be operationalised through meaningful stakeholder engagement and a range of innovation approaches?
How can we use the multi-stakeholder groups engaged in the NDS process (the working committees) to co-create policy pilots and develop proposals for measures? The focus of this project is the effective integration of migrants and refugees, while also testing the approach as a way to co-create policy pilots more broadly.
Activities and methods
We designed a participatory process to develop policy pilots that address the challenges faced by displaced people and migrants in North Macedonia, with particular emphasis on social and economic inclusion.
The process consisted of three workshops:
- Workshop 1: defining challenges, mapping stakeholders and creating personas of the people affected by the policies.
- Workshop 2: brainstorming and prototyping policy ideas and developing action plans.
- Workshop 3: refining the final policy pilots and presenting them to all participants.
To make sure all participants entered the co-creative process with a solid understanding of the national context, we prepared a detailed information package before the workshops. It covered current policies on displaced people, challenges to integration, demographic data, and best practice both locally and globally. We also provided mentoring between the workshops.
Impact and learning
A total of 93 public servants and representatives of the civic and private sectors were trained in strategic foresight methods. They represented all four strands of the quadruple helix (government institutions, public institutions, the business sector and the civic sector), which together make up the NDS Working Committee. The committee will continue operationalising the NDS, and participants can use and share the skills and knowledge gained in the project.
We also researched the potential for establishing a foresight unit within the governance structures of North Macedonia, with scenario proposals for the unit's location and format.
Fifteen measures were developed, at least three of which include a policy pilot. The three measures for 2025 have been presented to the National Council.
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