Vision Offices now active in 56 Omani government entities

MUSCAT, NOV 20

Representative offices of the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit are being established across a number of government ministries and public sector entities to help ensure a sustained focus on the priorities and objectives of the country’s flagship long-term development strategy.

To date, as many as 56 government ministries and agencies now host dedicated Vision Offices, serving as the technical arm of the Implementation Follow-up Unit to ensure the integration of planning, implementation, follow-up and successful delivery of all developmental targets set out in the national strategy.

“Vision Offices have actively participated in developing and improving the annual plans of government entities. In the past period, Vision Offices have acted as the focal point between units concerned with planning, follow-up, evaluation, and internal divisions within government entities and national programmes. The number of active Vision Offices reached 56 in 2023 and 2024,” the Implementation Follow-up Unit has stated.

To help staff these offices with suitably trained personnel, the Implementation Follow-up Unit is collaborating with the Royal Academy of Management (RAM) in the delivery of a strategic planning training programme. Candidates include not only those assigned to the operation of the Vision Offices, but also officials concerned with planning and follow-up activities across all ministries. An initial batch of around 50 employees has already completed this programme.

Underscoring the importance accorded by the Omani government to the scrupulous adherence to Vision 2040 goals and targets, a high-level ministerial committee, chaired by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, has been set up to oversee the approval of the annual plans of government entities prior to the start of each year. An annual guidance manual is issued to all government entities to ensure that planning performance is optimal.

“The planning, follow-up, and evaluation system is expected to ensure the continuous improvement of the administrative bodies’ efficiency,” the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit said. “The system has made significant strides in building an institutional culture concerned with planning, follow-up, and evaluation, and in developing human capacities and enabling tools.”

The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, in cooperation with the relevant entities, is working to develop a technological platform to facilitate planning, follow-up, and evaluation processes, it further added.

The rollout of Vision Offices across the government machinery promises to enhance Oman’s ranking in the Global Governance Index. In the most recent 2022 edition, Oman boosted its Government Efficiency ranking to 98th, up from 108th in 2021 – reversing a roughly two-year decline. Oman has also improved in sub-indicators related to the quality of bureaucracy and institutional effectiveness.