Pillar 4 – Vision & Development Priorities

1.0 The Fundamental Pillars: Strategic Development Planning Pathway

What is a fundamental pillar?

A fundamental pillar is a foundational tenet that serves as the basis for reasonable discourse about what development planning is, what it could be, and what it should consider. The pathway is built on five fundamental pillars.

Table 3. Fundamental Pillars: Strategic Development Planning Pathway.

🌍	Pillar 1 - The Development Philosophy: The philosophy is grounded in the insatiable desire of Tobagonians for “self-determination,” an egalitarian ethos, and a commitment to developing a just society.
🤝	Pillar 2 - The Compact between the People’s Representatives and the People: The compact establishes a mutual agreement for collaborative development between the people’s representatives and the people.
📅	Pillar 3 - The Strategic Policy Agenda. The agenda outlines the strategic policy focus for various issues identified by Tobagonians as essential for Tobago’s development.
👥	Pillar 4 - The Grand Development Vision and Development Agenda Priorities: The vision encompasses a progressive and innovative approach for transforming Tobago’s society and economy, positioning Tobago as the greatest little island on the planet. The development agenda priorities identify twenty-one (21) priority areas for Tobago’s development.
📝	Pillar 5 - The Implementation Logic for Integrated Development Planning. The logic guides the processes and practices related to planning and development in Tobago.

2.0 PILLAR 1. The Development Philosophy

The development philosophy represents a statement of purpose that addresses three broad questions that Tobagonians must collectively confront:

What is or should be an ideal Tobago society?
How can certain fundamental ideals that help to shape this society be preserved for posterity?
What is the model economy to support the realization of these fundamental ideals?

Statement of purpose

As Tobagonians, we are collectively involved in a program to develop Tobago’s society and economy.
We are joined together by a shared belief in one almighty GOD who has imbued, in each of us, an insatiable desire for self-determination.
We are one people with a shared history and culture and a common ambition to live in a society where all citizens, residents, and visitors enjoy certain fundamental rights and freedoms.
Although we are always mindful that building the nation of Tobago requires independent ideas, we are also cognizant of the need to establish a set of common ideals and ideas around which we can govern collectively.
Our individual pursuits will always be guided by a higher egalitarian ethos, which must give rise to strong communities and strong families that serve as the vanguard to protect the well-being and prosperity of existing and future generations of Tobagonians.
Our commitment to social, cultural, and economic self-determination must be supported by the resources in the natural environment that remain within the ownership of all Tobagonians who are dedicated to building a great society and economy.
This is our common calling. This is our common purpose.

3.0. PILLAR 2. The Social Compact Between the People’s Representatives and the People

The compact or contract is premised on the fundamental belief that all legitimate political government exists for the people and by their consent to protect their rights and promote the common good.
1. The common good should not be confused with the good of the greatest number.
2. Rather, the common good refers to that which includes all people. (Mark Carney).
As part of their consent, the people agree to vest some authority in government to ensure the stability of their lives, the protection of their liberty and property, and the promotion of their prosperity.
Based on these fundamental premises, the Tobago House of Assembly has committed to establishing a strategic development planning pathway to guide collective decision-making between the assembly's elected representatives, the agents of the THA, and all rights holders and interest holders regarding issues pertinent to the development of a great Tobago society and economy.

The People’s Mandate

The people's mandate derives from the wishes and aspirations of everyday Tobagonians. The mandate identifies the issues that Tobagonians believe are important for developing their society and economy. Hence, the mandate informs the strategic policy agenda and focus of the elected representatives of the Tobago House of Assembly.

4.0. PILLAR 3. The Strategic Policy Agenda, SPA

The Strategic Policy Agenda, SPA encompasses five broad, overlapping, and interconnected Strategic Policy Focus Areas, SPFA.

Table 4. Strategic Policy Focus Areas

🗳️	SPFA 1: Self Determination: Designing and implementing a Tobago government in line with the social, cultural and economic prosperity of current and future generations of Tobagonians.
🏛️	SPFA 2: Institutional Reform, Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, and Innovation: Building the institutional arrangements for a more efficient, transparent, and resilient public and private sector, and fostering a thriving digital society and economy.
💰	SPFA 3: Economic Reform and Growth: Consolidating and transitioning existing economic structures towards a knowledge-driven, innovative market economy for growth and sustainability.
🌍	SPFA 4: Environmental Stewardship: Managing natural resources responsibly to protect the environment and ensure its sustainable use for current and future generations.
🤝	SPFA 5: Societal Wellbeing & Prosperity: Addressing various aspects of human life, including economic prosperity, healthcare, education, social justice, environmental justice, and overall quality of life.

Together, the strategic policy focus areas help guide the policy decisions of the Executive Council of the Tobago House of Assembly.

5.0 PILLAR 4. The Grand Development Vision and Development Agenda Priorities

The grand vision and the Development Agenda Priorities (DAPs) represent the development ideal and policy focus areas arising from the people’s mandate.

Grand Vision

The grand development vision is to make Tobago the GREATEST LITTLE ISLAND ON THE PLANET.
This is a transformational vision for establishing an innovation economy and a society geared towards providing opportunity and prosperity for all Tobagonians in line with the most socially progressive nations globally.
The vision represents a long-term ambition designed to guide development planning at all levels of government and civil society in Tobago.

Development agenda priorities

The grand vision is linked to twenty-one (21) development agenda priorities

Three of the main development agenda priorities include:

Governance reform to institutionalize and improve collective decision-making related to development planning (Development Agenda Priority F).
Targeted GDP growth in key economies (Development Agenda Priority A).
Efficient and timely public service delivery (Development Agenda Priority D).

See the full list of the 21 Development Agenda Priorities.

What is a Development Agenda Priority?

A development Agenda Priority is not a development goal. Rather, a DAP identifies one or more strategic policy focus areas, SPFAs (PILLAR 3), that help inform the plans or strategies, programs, and projects a division or one of its agencies will pursue.
For example, DAP A Targeted GDP Growth through Capital Investment in Key Economies is informed by SPFA 2, which focuses on Economic Reform and Growth.
The alignment of plans or strategies, programs, and projects with a DAP assumes that there are societal problems (public problems) for which there is consensus among the population on their solution.
For example, there is a general agreement in Tobago that the rate of economic growth is too slow to drive GDP growth.

Development Planning Cycles

The development agenda priorities will be implemented over four five-year development planning cycles.
During each development cycle, the Executive Council will utilize the Strategic Policy Focus Areas (SPFAs) to identify DAP targets for implementation, using the DAP targets implementation schedule, DTIS (see DAP targets and indicators of progress/success).
The DAP target implementation schedule identifies key targets that will guide divisions in determining the strategic policy focus areas to pursue in each development cycle.

Figure 1. Development Planning Cycles

Note that the Executive Council of the THA may change the SPFAs at any point during the development planning cycle.

6.0. PILLAR 5. The Integrated Development Planning Implementation Logic

The implementation logic integrates development planning processes and practices based on four broad stages:
1. pre-planning,
2. core planning,
3. development program planning and implementation, and
4. monitoring, evaluation, innovation and revision.
Collectively, the four stages comprise ten (10) decision steps.

Table 5. Four (4) planning stages and ten (10) related decision steps:

Planning Stages	Decision Steps
A-Pre-planning	1-Identify governance principles

B-Core planning	2-Define development planning regions and jurisdictions
	3-Choose development agenda priorities
	4-Choose regional development goals

C-Development program planning and implementation	5-Align development plans and programs
	6-Classify development program budgets
	7-Choose program implementation modality

D-Monitoring, evaluation, innovation & revision	8-Track and monitor program targets
	9-Evaluate and report program achievements
	10-Reengage for feedback, innovation and revision

1. Decision steps represent the critical junctures, including key decision points and major considerations that help to establish a general planning logic.
2. Managers will use the considerations outlined in each decision step and key decision points to prepare policy documents, plans, strategies, programs and projects.

Decision Steps