Azerbaijan : Rapid Response Support for Strategic Reforms

Public sector management / Economic affairs management

The TA is aligned with the following impact: effective implementation of the Strategic Roadmap on the National Economy Perspective. The TA will have the following outcome: design and implementation of strategic reforms strengthened through mainstreaming of new ideas and international best practice.

Output 1: Fast-track inputs to strategic reforms. This output will provide _just-in-time_ good-practice based policy and analytical advice through inclusive preparation and delivery of action-oriented policy notes. The policy notes will contribute to the design and implementation of inform the following priority measures: (i) assessment of the role of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the economy in the medium- and long-term, (ii) raising efficiency of public utility SOEs, including through strategic mainstreaming of private participation in infrastructure; (iii) fostering the education-innovation-production chain; (iv) strengthening the country's competition promotion framework; and (v) improving financial inclusion.

Output 2: Government capacity strengthened through reviewing regional experiences and domestic know-how. In the areas highlighted in output 1, this output will (i) facilitate sharing of relevant knowledge and experiences from abroad, including through study tour(s) for government staff directly involved in the design and implementation of reforms; and (ii) promote public-private dialogue through knowledge transfer and awareness raising on good practices and know-how in the domestic private sector that may have replication potential in other sectors and warrant public sector's support.

Fast-track inputs to strategic reforms

Government capacity strengthened through regional experiences and domestic know-how

At the request of the Ministry of Economy, a discussion note on mainstreaming of regulatory impact assessment for development of SMEs was completed in November 2018. At the request of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMBDA), in February-March 2019 technical advice and knowledge sharing was provided for the roll-out of the agency's PPP Development Center. The provided assistance has contributed to the adoption the PPP Development Center''s charter in July 2019. At the request of SMBDA, in May-July 2019 the TA provided advice and capacity building to mainstream RIA in SMBDA to enable the agency to properly assess the impact of legislative proposals on Azerbaijan's SMEs.

The TA is currently providing support to the State Agency on Vocational Education to chart out the next phase of policy measures to strengthen the vocational education sector, and to the State Committee on Family, Women, and Children Affairs to introduce gender-responsive budgeting.