Fiscal Reform for a Strong Tunisia: Short Term Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report

The primary objective of this consultancy was to support strategic planning activities at the MoF, focusing on teaching decision-makers how to think strategically and develop their planning skills. The Communication Specialist conducted three participatory trainings with decision-makers at the MoF, including Cabinet Members and General Directors, Chiefs of Units, Directors, and Regional Directors of the General Directorate for Tax Collection (DGCPR) and the General Directorate for Taxation (DGI). These trainings aimed to impart knowledge on strategic planning, primarily through learning by doing, without creating structured outputs in the form of completed strategic plans. The trainings were well-received, with high levels of engagement and interest among participants. However, the Consultant observed a lack of knowledge about strategy and strategic planning among the participants, despite their excellent technical skills and high educational attainment. Many participants felt that they were not doing the right activities to meet their fundamental objectives but had not reflected on why this was the case. The Consultant also met with the Advisor to the Minister in charge of budget management by objectives, who expressed the need for strategic planning at the MoF. The Advisor explained that the MoF works from a "Performance Framework" (Cadre de performance), which is essentially a monitoring tool, not a planning tool. The Consultant understood that the MoF plans to create a strategic plan and may require assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in writing the plan. The FIRST communications team maintains excellent relationships with its counterparts at the MoF, and the trainings were requested by the Director of Communications. The DGCPR requested follow-up trainings, indicating a clear need for this kind of work and a high level of interest among participants. The consultancy was initially conceived as a follow-up to a previous assignment on behalf of FIRST, which provided a roadmap for the creation of a communications unit within the MOF. However, the goal of this consultancy was revised to focus on training on strategic planning in general, rather than writing a strategic plan for the prospective communications unit. The major challenge with this revised mission was the format of the sessions, which was different from the Consultant's preferred format. The Consultant's preferred format would have been to have smaller groups and undertake workshops with 10-12 people. However, prior to the Consultant's arrival, it was planned that there would be 10-15 people maximum per session. At the final event, there were 25 participants, which affected the dynamics of the sessions. Despite this challenge, the trainings were successful in imparting knowledge on strategic planning and engaging participants.