By Lamin B. Darboe
The Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery (DSPD) under the Ministry of Public Service (MoPS), in collaboration with stakeholders recently organised a two-day internal validation workshop of The Gambia Government Policy Framework Study Report at Banjul City Council in Banjul. The policy framework study carried out a comprehensive assessment of the policy-making landscape, and processes in The Gambia and established an evidence baseline to support the development of the National Policy Framework.
When finalised, it is expected to guide government-wide policy processes, including the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies, and mainstream the use of evidence and data. It also aims to ensure government’s actions are coherent, comprehensive, and coordinated. The National Policy Framework is a strategic priority under Outcome 2.8 of the Governance Reforms Pillar in the RF-NDP (2023-2027), which calls for a framework to harmonise policy formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation (RF-NDP, 2023).
Mr. Njaga Gaye, Director of Policy Analysis Unit at the Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery, noted the need to standardise policy, and emphasised that every policy needs to be aligned with the country’s policy framework once it is developed. “We are here with our ministry’s key stakeholders because after this internal validation, we will expose the report for external validation whereby more stakeholders will be invited to take part,” Mr. Gaye told participants.