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A cross-section of leaders from Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands gathered in Pohnpei on earlier this month to discuss and develop strategies for strengthening public policy processes in their countries. Participants included representatives from legislatures, the media, NGOs, and other sectors.
Marshall Islands Journal
The meeting was held as part of a pilot study that examined public policy processes in the north Pacific, facilitated by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP), which is based in Vanuatu. A number of strategies were identified for strengthening core policy processes, including policy design, monitoring and evaluation, and accountability functions. Specific strategies proposed called for strengthening in-country policy research and analysis, performance reviews, and legislative oversight capacities. Several participants also proposed the idea of establishing local “think tanks” as a potential way of encouraging more homegrown policy analysis and public engagement capacities. Ujae Senator Frederick Muller (pictured), who chairs the Nitijela’s Public Accounts Committee, attended the meeting. “In thinking about the public policy processes, the workshop could not have come at a better time,” he said.
“This pilot exercise has reaffirmed and suggested further strategies towards improving oversight, evaluation, and review functions both for the Public Accounts Committee and the Auditor General’s Office. This strategy session on public policy processes was very useful and I support this inter-disciplinary approach. I think that similar establishment like that of the Pacific Institute of Public Policy can really make a difference in shaping and influencing public policy in Micronesia.”
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