The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) continues to forge ahead with the formulation of the National Competitive Agenda jointly funded by the Government of St. Lucia and Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility. Once Completed, the Competitiveness Agenda will provide the NCPC with the framework to measure how well St. Lucia is performing as it relates to various actions, policies and initiatives undertaken to improve the island’s competitiveness.
Smart Specialization is an innovative approach which aims to bolster economic growth and overall competitiveness by enabling a region or country to identify and develop its own competitive advantages. The Smart Specialization approach is being employed in the formulation of the National Competitiveness Agenda for St. Lucia. Contracted to define St. Lucia’s competitiveness Agenda is Infyde a consulting firm based in Spain with over 30 years of experience in providing advanced services in innovation and competitiveness.
Consultant with Infyde Jaime del Castillo noted that the approach to formulating the agenda is at two levels first of which is the analyzing of all data and trends within the economy of St. Lucia and that of similar competing destinations. The second level involves interfacing with various stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to identify the socio-economic situation of various activities on island.
“St. Lucia has an important tourism industry. A lot of the wealth of the island comes from that but we have to promote not only tourism to maintain and increase the competitiveness but to use tourism to promote other activities such as manufacturing, agriculture, etc. to sell to the tourists and later to the foreign markets where the tourists live.”
Castillo was admittedly pleased with level and quality of participation and suggestions put forward by stakeholders during the diagnostic exercises. Meanwhile Project Development Consultant, Dr. Kieron Swift, of Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility, the funders for this consultancy, said he was quite satisfied with the participatory nature of the engagements and the solid research which went into the analysis which lead to the appropriate policy recommendations.
“Right throughout there has been a lot of positive engagement. A lot of good feedback that coincides with the analysis that the consulting firm has done and a lot of useful input to go into further sharpen and refine the agenda which is on target for completion by December of this year.”
He added that a third and final mission is slated for October 2019 where a more refined draft of the Agenda will be presented alongside the implementation plan and financing strategy.
“What needs to be done? How it’s going to be done? And how it’s going to be paid for? That’s what we’re coming to next when we return in October.”
Director of National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Fiona Hinkson said the Competitiveness Agenda will be vital to the work of the NCPC. The Agenda is expected to have a 10-year life cycle involving short term, medium term and long terms activities.
“We’re hoping that the agencies which will be involved in the implementation of the Agenda would see it as a blue print that they can use towards improving St. Lucia’s competitiveness. It is an agenda that would incorporate the work of different agencies. It will also incorporate our work as the NCPC as well. So we are hoping that it can be used and we are really hoping that in the next few years we can see improvement in our competitiveness.”
Compete Caribbean continues to work collaboratively with the consulting firm Infyde and the NCPC towards the targeted completion of the competitiveness agenda for St. Lucia.