SPMR initiative/ 24-28 October, 2022

With the support of the office of the Auditor General of the Republic of Costa Rica, including the opening by Auditor General, Mrs. Marta Acosta Zúñiga, IDI implemented an OLACEFS´ Knowledge Sharing Workshop in San José from October 24 to 28. This workshop is part of the SPMR (Strategy, Performance Measurement and Report) initiative, which we have been developing since 2019 with seven Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) from OLACEFS: Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Peru.

From this initiative and with the support of their leaders, all the SAIs have made great progress in their strategic management, accumulating very rich experience. This workshop enabled the strategic planning teams of the different participating SAIs to share this experience with each other and with IDI. It is also hoped that these reflections can nourish the work of the OLACEFS Performance Evaluation and Indicators Commission (CEDEIR).

More specifically, outstanding experiences of SAIs were presented, both in relation to strategic management in general, as well as the use of the SAI PMF methodology, the development of Institutional Strategic Plans, Operational Plans (including monitoring actions) and Performance reports. A great result was the multiple synergies generated between the SAIs, which will surely contribute to a more robust strategic management. As this was the last face-to-face activity, there was also a holistic reflection on the SPMR initiative. We have learned many lessons!

Finally, taking advantage of this audience specialized in SAI governance issues, the initiatives TOGETHER (on human resources, gender and ethics), CRISP (on risk management), and pICTure (on governance of ICTs) were presented, as well as the e-SAI-PMF (e-MMD-EFS) application and the Story platform (for digital management of the SPMR process).

Thanks to all the participating SAIs, to the Auditor General of Costa Rica – and especially to colleagues Enrique González Roldán and Mónica Murillo Aguilar – for all the effort and support!

Thanks are also due to our donor, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

Siete EFS de OLACEFS participando del Taller sobre intercambio de conocimientos en Costa Rica

(Octubre de 2022, San José de Costa Rica)

Con el apoyo de la Contraloría General de la República de Costa Rica, incluida la apertura por parte de su titular Doña Marta Acosta Zúñiga, desde el 24 al 28 de octubre implementamos el Taller sobre intercambio de conocimientos en San José. Este taller forma parte de la iniciativa SPMR (Estrategia, Medición de Desempeño e Informe), que desde el año 2019 venimos desarrollando con siete Entidades de Fiscalización Superior (EFS) de OLACEFS; de Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay y Perú.

A partir de esta iniciativa y con el apoyo de sus líderes, todas estas EFS han alcanzado un gran progreso en su gestión estratégica, acumulando una muy rica experiencia. Este taller ha servido para compartirla entre los equipos de planificación estratégica de las distintas EFS participantes y con la IDI. También se espera que estas reflexiones puedan nutrir el trabajo de la Comisión de Evaluación de Desempeño e Indicadores de Rendimiento de OLACEFS (CEDEIR).

Más específicamente, se presentaron experiencias destacadas de las EFS, tanto con relación a la gestión estratégica en general, como al uso de la metodología MMD-EFS, el desarrollo de los Planes Estratégicos Institucionales, los Planes Operativos (incluyendo acciones de monitoreo) e Informes de Desempeño. Un gran resultado fueron las múltiples sinergias generadas entre las EFS, lo que seguramente contribuirá a una gestión estratégica más robusta. Por tratarse de la última actividad presencial también se reflexionó de un modo holístico acerca de la iniciativa SPMR. ¡Nos llevamos muchas lecciones aprendidas!

Por último, aprovechando este público especializado en temas de gobernanza de las EFS, se presentaron las iniciativas TOGETHER (acerca de recursos humanos, género y ética), CRISP (relativa al manejo de riesgos), y pICTure (sobre gobernanza de TICs), como la aplicación e-SAI-PMF (e-MMD-EFS) y la plataforma Story (para la administración digital del proceso de SPMR). 

¡Gracias a todas las EFS participantes, a la Contraloría General de Costa Rica – y en especial a los colegas Enrique González Roldán y Mónica Murillo Aguilar – por todo el esfuerzo y apoyo!

También se agradece a nuestro donante, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

Over the past four years, many SAIs participating in the Strategy, Performance Measurement, and Reporting (SPMR) initiative have achieved significant progress in terms of strategic management. Therefore, the need for an in-depth exchange of learning and experiences across the participating SAIs has been rather certain. Consequently, IDI organized a hybrid, 5-day workshop for a diverse group of SAIs from AFROSAI-E and EUROSAI regions.

The focus of the workshop was to hear and reflect on how SAIs have used and adapted the SPMR methodology to their needs and circumstances, and on what have been some unforeseen and additional needs and factors affecting strategic management.

The workshop included refresher sessions on performance assessment, strategic and operational planning, performance monitoring, and risk management. All participating SAIs had an opportunity to share their experiences on all the covered topics and engage in lively discussions and feedback sessions.

On the final day of the workshop, the IDI team introduced the new initiatives and innovative tools that are currently being developed, such as E-SAI PMF and the online strategic planning tool – StORy.

In total 10 SAIs and more than 30 participants joined the workshop, including SAIs of Azerbaijan, Botswana, Bulgaria, eSwatini, Georgia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia. The workshop adopted a hybrid approach, whereby most of the teams participated onsite, while others joined remotely.

Going forward, IDI is planning to organize more knowledge-sharing workshops for various INTOSAI regions within the framework of the SPMR initiative.

The SPMR initiative is funded by the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The CREFIAF group of the Strategy, Performance Measurement and Reporting (SPMR) initiative met for their first in-person activity since the COVID-19 pandemic breakout and the subsequent travel restrictions.

Hosted in Yaounde by SAI Cameroon, the CREFIAF group of the Strategy, Performance Measurement and Reporting (SPMR) initiative met for their first in-person activity since the COVID-19 pandemic breakout and the subsequent travel restrictions.  The workshop, which followed the operational planning workshop held with the same group of SAIs in 2021, was opened by the head of SAI Cameroon and Chief of CREFIAF Secretariat, Mrs Rose Mbah Acha Fomundam, accompanied by Ola Hoem, IDI Deputy Director General.

The CREFIAF SPMR group consists of six SAIs: Chad, Comoros, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Cape Verde. The objective was to learn and share experiences and good practices related to the SAI strategic management components of implementation, monitoring and performance reporting. 

The sharing dynamics were further leveraged with the participation of four other CREFIAF SAIs that are bilaterally supported by IDI and some peer SAIs under the Accelerated Peer Support Partnership (PAP-APP): Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Niger, and Togo. These SAIs are at a more advanced stage with their strategic management cycle, and therefore found a strong interest in aligning their onward strategic management process with the SPMR approach. They were also able to share their lessons learned from their processes on strategic planning, operational planning (including budgeting and reporting), and performance reporting.  

Beside the training and experience sharing, the workshop’s second part provided an opportunity for the two groups of SAIs (SPMR and PAP-APP) to make progress with the development of their respective deliverables, based on the stage they are currently at in the strategic management process. Next stages will consist in finalizsng and adopting the different SAIs products (strategic plans, operational plans, and performance reports).

The SPMR initiative supports the whole strategic management cycle of the participating SAIs over the course of four years and is supported by the Swiss Secretariat for the Economy (SECO).

Participants working on their deliverables and sharing their experiences

Ola Hoem, Director Deputy Director General of the IDI, interviewed by the Cameroon National Radio Television WATCH VIDEO HERE	Alain Memvuh, IDI CREFIAF Regional Manager, interviewed by the Cameroon National Radio Television WATCH VIDEO HERE

The SAIs of Albania, Aruba, Kosovo, Mauritius, Montenegro, Namibia, St. Lucia and Zambia have begun a new all-digital round of SPMR

IDI is pleased to announce that another 8 SAIs have commenced their journey towards stronger strategic management and SAI performance under the SPMR initiative. The SAIs of Albania, Aruba, Kosovo, Mauritius, Montenegro, Namibia, St. Lucia and Zambia have begun a new all-digital round of SPMR, starting with assessment of their current performance using the SAI PMF methodology as well as analysing their stakeholders’ views and expectations. 

SPMR underscores the importance of leadership, strategic decision-making, risk and change management as essential determinants of SAI performance and impact. A gender assessment will complete the analysis of the SAIs’ current performance needed to inform an ambitious and realistic strategic plan. The 35 participants will complete the assessment work by early February, in time for the strategic planning workshop.  Later in 2022, the SAIs will focus on developing holistic operational plans linked to the new strategies, supported by integrated monitoring and reporting systems. 

In addition to the digital delivery of the planned workshops, a key characteristic of this cross-regional round of SPMR is that it is delivered with the invaluable support of seven resource persons from SAIs that successfully participated in the first round of SPMR (pictured).

Ms. Milena Vasilkovic and Mr. Milos Mandusic  from the SAI of Serbia will support the SAIs of St. Lucia and Montenegro respectively. Ms. Eirij Rubbani from the SAI of Pakistan will accompany the SAI Kosovo team. The team of SAI Mauritius will enjoy the support of Ms. Dechen Pelden from the SAI of Bhutan, while Mr. Jerrich Hernandez from SAI Guam will assist its Caribbean colleagues of the SAI of Aruba. The SAI of Zambia will count not one, but two resource persons, namely Ms. Esther Mills from the SAI of Ghana, and Ms. Sonia Puteri from the SAI of Indonesia.

In addition, two of the participating SAIs, SAI Albania and SAI Namibia, will be accompanied by experts from the Office of the Auditor General of Norway (OAGN). This collaboration is also a continuation of a successful experience from the first round of SPMR, where OAGN supported the SAI of Myanmar.

The new round of SPMR is once again financially supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

For further information about the SPMR initiative, please see the webpage here.

40 participants from six SAIs in the OLACEFS region join latest e-Learning course on operational planing.

Vea versión en español debajo 

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed great pressure on the working processes in SAIs. In these circumstances, operational planning has become even more important as a tool to help SAIs navigate the various tasks at hand and allocate scare resources, without losing sight of strategic priorities. In the framework of the SPMR initiative, six SAI teams with over 40 participants from the OLACEFS region (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Paraguay and Honduras) continued their strategic management journey by diving into the technical, yet exciting world of operational planning. The course focused on various aspects of operational planning, such as quality characteristics, formats, human and financial resourcing, risk and performance monitoring, prioritization and decision-making. The teams will meet again virtually in September-October 2021 for the next stage in SPMR, namely Implementation and Reporting. The SPMR team for the OLACEFS region consists of Dafina Dimitrova and Sebastian Gil from the IDI, as well as Enrique Gonzalez Roldán from the SAI of Costa Rica. SPMR is implemented globally with the financial assistance of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and regionally in cooperation with OLACEFS and CEDEIR. 

SPMR: Finalización del curso de eLearning sobre la Planificación Operativa para la Región de OLACEFS

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha ejercido una gran presión sobre los procesos de trabajo de las EFS. En estas circunstancias, la planificación operativa se ha vuelto aún más importante como herramienta para ayudar a las EFS a navegar por las diversas tareas a su cargo y asignar recursos escasos, sin perder de vista las prioridades estratégicas. En el marco de la iniciativa SPMR, seis equipos de EFS de la región de OLACEFS (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Perú, Guatemala, Paraguay y Honduras) continuaron su viaje de gestión estratégica sumergiéndose en el mundo técnico, pero apasionante, de la planificación operativa. El curso se centró en varios aspectos de la planificación operativa, tales como características de calidad, formatos, recursos humanos y financieros, monitoreo de riesgos y desempeño, priorización y toma de decisiones. Los equipos se reunirán nuevamente virtualmente en septiembre-octubre de 2021 para la siguiente etapa en SPMR, a saber, Implementación e Informes. El equipo de SPMR para la región de OLACEFS está integrado por Dafina Dimitrova y Sebastian Gil de la IDI, así como Enrique González Roldán de la EFS de Costa Rica. El SPMR se implementa a nivel mundial con la asistencia financiera de la Secretaría de Estado de Asuntos Económicos de Suiza (SECO), y a nivel regional en cooperación con OLACEFS y CEDEIR.

For further information about the SPMR initiative, please see the webpage here.

IDI featured in two articles from the latest issue of the European Court of Auditors Journal.

IDI made two contributions to the latest Journal of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), dedicated to the theme of strategy development in a rapidly changing world:

‘It’s our people who make the difference!’: Interview with Eduardo Ruiz García, former Secretary-General of the ECA
Eduardo Ruiz-Garcia, who leads IDI’s bilateral work in Madagascar, reflects on his time as a Secretary-General of ECA and the strategic challenges and dilemmas for SAIs.

Supporting public auditors in strengthening their strategic management
Dafina Dimitrova and Nils Vösgen present the much-in-demand SAI Strategic Management Handbook and discuss implementing the Strategy, Performance Measurement and Reporting (SPMR) initiative, which supports over 40 SAIs in developing and implementing strategic plans. They elaborate on how the pandemic tested both SAIs and the SPMR initiative itself but ultimately facilitated a more relevant and future-proof approach for strategy development.

The current issue of the ECA Journal includes over 50 exciting articles and contributions on strategic planning and SAIs, including from ECA staff and the SAIs of Sweden, Estonia, Poland, Portugal and the USA, from Oxford University, OECD, as well as EU institutional leaders like Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michele.

The IDI SPMR Implementation and Reporting eLearning course is taking place from 1 March to 22 April. Over 60 participants from 10 ASOSAI members will be taking part in this course.

The advisors team consists of three IDI staff from the SAI Governance Department, one staff member from SAI Bhutan and a staff member from SAI Guam as in-kind support to the initiative.

At the beginning of 2019 IDI started the roll-out of the IDI-ASOSAI Strategy, Performance Measurement and Reporting (SPMR) initiative. This initiative is aimed at supporting SAIs to better plan, monitor and manage their performance throughout an entire strategic management cycle, by implementing a sound strategic and operational planning process and establishing an effective monitoring and reporting framework.

The programme’s rationale is that SAIs should develop and maintain a strategic planning and management process that enables them to achieve strategic outcomes and deliver value and benefits to the citizens. The overall purpose of this course is to support the participating SAIs in setting up a monitoring and reporting system to monitor the implementation of their strategic plans and reporting on performance.

It is with great pleasure that we present to you the final Version 1 of the SAI Strategic Management Handbook.

The SAI strategic management handbook aims to provide step by step, user-friendly guidance for strategic management, from performance assessment and strategic planning through operational planning, performance measurement and reporting that reflects recent developments and latest thinking. It is particularly relevant in the context of COVID-19, which has highlighted the importance of strong SAI strategic management practices that contribute to transforming SAIs to organisations that thrive in uncertainty and seize new opportunities.

The document was prepared in the framework of IDI’s Strategy, Performance Measurement and Reporting (SPMR) initiative that has been supporting over 40 SAIs in the area of strategic management since 2017.

As an IDI Global Public Good (GPG), this handbook follows the requirements of Protocol for Quality Assurance of IDI’s GPGs from 2019. The document has been put out for public exposure for 90 days in each official INTOSAI language, as required by the protocol. The team reviewed and addressed all comments received during the exposure period. Please find the disposition table of comments here.

The IDI would like to thank the experts from the SAI community that provided invaluable contributions towards developing and testing the SPMR approach on strategic management that lies at the heart of this handbook. The process and methodology suggested in the handbook were piloted by SAIs in the Pacific and Caribbean regions of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

The global roll-out of the SPMR initiative, including the development of this handbook, is co-funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).