geopolicity

Publications

• Iraq WATSAN Scoping Study

  
  01-06-2010
  

  Geopolicity Inc

  This Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) sector scoping study provides a broad assessment of the water and sanitation sector, with a view to outlining the various reform and modernization options essential to improving service delivery over the medium term. Under the current system, WATSAN services are performed entirely by the public sector; a sector that is usually viewed as demanding ethical – quality and quantity – standards.. This not only reflects the distinctive nature of its contribution as a basic and essential public good, but also its contribution to national health and environmental sustainability and, therefore, to growth and prosperity. The study identifies three primary drivers of concern as follows: (i) an imminent risk of severe water resource depletion, (ii) constraints in meeting quality, quantity and equitable access and, (iii) large-scale environmental pollution due to untreated wastewater discharged into both natural and built environments. 

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• Iraq Education Sector Scoping Study

  
  25-10-2010
  

  Geopolicity Inc

  This Education Sector Scoping report provides a broad and generic overview of the core reform and modernisation challenges facing the Government of Iraq, including the Regional Government of Kurdistan, in meeting constitutional and national development strategy objectives. It does not seek to duplicate existing and ongoing efforts- such as the work of the Education Reform Technical Assistance Project- to support the strengthening of education service delivery; rather, it seeks to build on such work and to broad-brush - within one report- all key education system issues as an input to the Government of Iraq (GOI) Public Sector Modernisation (I-PSM) Program. As a result, this report focuses on policy, institutional, administrative and fiscal management concerns with regards to the existing service delivery model for primary, secondary and tertiary education; the entire education system. 

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• Towards a Service Delivery Based Budget Strategy for Iraq

  
  25-10-2010
  

  Geopolicity Inc

  The national budget (or annual financial statement) is the central tool of government policy and the principle vehicle of government to convey its fiscal policy intentions. Yet, with the price of oil dropping 70% since July 2008 and the costs of public sector staffing doubling in the past two years, there is a serious risk that in 2010 public spending will be dominated by wages and operational spending with insufficient resources left for essential capital investment. With the drawdown of resources from the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) to be largely completed by the end of 2009, and the long term price of oil likely to remain low due to the failing world demand and de-leveraging of hedge funds, the preparation of the Five Year Plan risks being substantially under-funded. 

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• Guidelines for Conducting Pilot Functional Reviews in Iraq

  
  25-10-2010
  

  Geopolicity Inc

  This guideline outlines the process for conducting pilot functional reviews in core sectors, before possible expansion across the entire structure of government activity. Pilot reviews need to be undertaken because insufficient information is available within and across sectors, presented in a consistent format, to allow a unified approach to be adopted to affect the entire machinery of government. Moreover, in the context of Iraq where repeated historical attempts at fiscal and administrative decentralisation have failed, it is vital to conduct pilot functional assessments to assess policy development needs, reform and restructuring options and their linkage with public expenditure management. In essence therefore, it is only by conducting such reviews, including an assessment of the delivery of services at different tiers of government, that effective and efficient decentralisation can take place where it is justified and fiscally sustainable. The absence of such an approach in the context of Iraq contributes substantially to the failure of the Provincial Powers Act and various other initiatives aimed at decentralization. 

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