The role the National Productivity Centre plays in the development and growth of the productive sector of the nation’s economy can never be overemphasized.
The National Productivity Centre (NPC), established by ACT CAP 70 of 2014 as a multi-disciplinary, tripartite, research oriented parastatal under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, is mandated to articulate sustainable and result oriented policies that will stimulate and promote the productivity of the whole sectors of the Nigerian economy, so as to generate visible improvements in the quantity and quality of goods and services with the aim of improving the standard of living of the citizenry.
Bearing this in mind and spurred by its desire to fulfill the mandate given to it by the enabling laws that created the NPC, and the mandate given to it by the President, the Director-General, Dr Kashim Akor, recently rolled out its strategic plan for the year 2021-2025.
This is indeed a major step in the right direction whose importance is incontestable. Over the years many agencies of governments rolls out strategic plans which many see as a ritual which intent are never realized due to factors that are indescribeable.
The basic need for a strategic plans for an agency like the NPC, is to track the centre’s strategic progress over a certain period of time and for the purpose of outlining where the head of the centre who is the director-general wants the centre to be in the near future and his plan for the agency to get there. This the director-general has done pragmatically and systematically but this time around the plans are short on rhetoric and full of achievable goals and this is a rapid departure from the past where strategic plans are seen as only a five year rituals by agencies and departments in Nigeria.
The director-general of the NPC must be commended as the chief visioner of the centre for rolling out this powerful but achievable strategic plans. The NPC is publishing this new strategic plans that lays out their goals, prioritize and positions the centre in good stead to accomplishing its goals and priorities. The plans identifies how those goals and priorities will be achieved and specify how progress will be measured along the way.
This strategic plans of the NPC, a requirement which grew over out of the government performance and results directives enacted by the federal government to boost the effectiveness of its agencies. The director-general must also be applauded for conducting a robust reviews of the progress of the past NPC strategic planning documents and devising new plans that are in tune with the current trends in strategic planning in the 21st century to help it achieve its mandate. To him, strategic planning has come to be as an established best practice in the NPC, of today.
It is believed that when the NPC implemented fully the new strategic plans for the centre it will help the centre to be in a better stead to then develop an ambitious vision for the future-a roadmap to get there-that inspires and guides the centre’s employees and deliver results for the Nigerian people.
This country with so many challenges facing it right now, it is a valuable opportunity for the national productivity centre to map out its major goals and objectives that will help it deliver on their missions and plans for how tomorrows work will be done.
The era which the NPC, do not take full advantages of its strategic planning processes and end up dedicating resources to creating plans that go unused is gone forever according to the director-general and this is commendable because it is really what the system needs right now to ensure the level of productivity is raised in our nation.
There is an old joke that the dustiest book on any managers book shelf is the strategic plan because it is only touched twice in Nigeria. Once when it is put on the shelf and when it is taken down and replace with another.
The DG has said this would never be the case.
To help the NPC develop bold and useful strategic plans for the fiscal year 2021-2025, the director-general deliberately hosted a workshop and interview with the strategic planners of the centre from among his staffs and experts from the Ministry of labour and productivity.
The sessions offered the staffs an opportunity to share best practices for creating plans which the centre would find useful, learn how to incorporate into the plans evidence of what works and device roadmaps for the plans successful implementations once completed.
The final strategic plans of the NPC which was rolled out recently therefore represents the findings from these workshop and the visions of the centre’s leadership. The final plans highlights practical steps that can make the documents overreaching goals achievable.
The new NPC strategic plan is achievable because for the first time, the centre’s strategic plans focused on:
。Providing clear directions for the centre’s leadership and staffs.
。Generate buy-in by reflecting the inputs of a wide range of diverse stakeholders.
。Remains up to date, changing when necessary to reflect the changing environment.
。Are informed by evidence about what works and what does not.
。Provides tips for turning this plans into results. By
。Proactively communicating the strategic plans to the workforce.
。Integrating the strategic plans into key national productivity centre processes.
。Regularly tracking and reporting progress and changing course if necessary and demanding accountability.
We commend the director-general for the timely release of this strategic plans for the NPC and it is advisable that it is implemented sancrosantly in order for this plans to achieve the objectives for which it is articulated in the first place.
With this plan as a roadmap to more productivity, we are assured that it is a new dawn for the country.
– Musa Wada writes from Abuja.
