An example from the tourism sector
By Sandra Naranjo Bautista
Policy implementation often requires multiple agencies and sectors. The tourism sector, for its nature, is an excellent example of these linkages across various stakeholders. The problem is, the agencies leading the tourism policy can’t address all the issues that are required. These agencies need to work closely with other public and private sector entities. This article explains how Ecuador successfully implemented the Tourism Roundtables fostering cross-sector collaboration to push policy forward.
The tourism sector is the best example of cross-sector collaboration
Like no other sector, the tourism sector requires multiple sectors to function. Think of it from a tourist perspective. All the sectors that are involved in your experience. Security for a safe circulation, public works for the quality of the roads and transportation policy, environment for conservation policies, just to mention a few. The private sector plays a central role as the service provider of most, if not all, the services you’ll use during your visit. Even academia is involved, if you think about the training and education of all the people that will intervene in your experience.
Tourism Roundtables, how it worked?
The ‘Tourism Roundtables’ (not the best name, I know) were a space of collaboration (actually, a lot more than that as I explain below) between multiple government agencies, representatives of key stakeholders in the tourism value chain (hotels, service providers, airlines, tourist guides, etc) and the academia. The goal was to inform policy, take action and solve the sector’s pressing issues.
The three elements of success in cross-sector collaboration
These were the three elements that made our Roundtables successful. I’ll share why they worked in our case, but I think the principles apply to any situation where cross-collaboration is required. That’s why I think it’s valuable to you, no matter which sector you’re working on.
People
Our roundtables had a representation of key actors in the tourism value chain. We made an effort to be comprehensive. At first, we missed a few, but we found the right mix.
There was one requirement to participate, commitment to a shared goal. Ours was to strengthen the tourism sector for the benefit of the country and its people. The roundtables were a space of respect and trust. Political differences and preferences had to stay out of the room.
Consistency
The roundtable meetings happened quarterly. It was an adequate gap. Long enough to get things done, but short enough for it to be up to date with what was going on in the sector.
The contact, though, was permanent. The amazing team I had in the Ministry was essential for success. They knew both the industry and the public sector well. While we met with all the actors every quarter, we opened a channel of permanent communication and coordination between the Ministry (the government) and the industry (private sector).
As you can see now, it was more than just roundtables, it was a different way of working. It wasn’t always perfect, we had our disagreements (which would probably need another blog), but we made it work. For all of us. There was the willingness to do that.
Results
Our Roundtables were not just about ‘dialogue and collaboration’. The main principle behind it was to take action, to move things forward. I didn’t want it to be a photo opportunity to show how we ‘worked together’ and then, NOTHING happens. That would’ve been a waste of time for everyone.
At first, there was skepticism from the private sector. Open communication led to trust, and trust led to action and progress.
Every meeting ended in concrete tasks for all of us, of which we monitored progress. I’ve talked about the importance of monitoring to get things done before. That’s what we did: we followed things up.
The following meeting, we would start with the same table we ended the meeting before, color-coded. In red what we didn’t do, why, and next actions. In yellow, tasks that were in progress but passed the deadline. In green things that were going according to plan. And, in blue those that were solved (Grab the templates we used here).
We were super transparent about the progress. We intended to move things forward, not to fool anyone, particularly not ourselves. Believe me, showing things in red, from the Ministry side, wasn’t my favorite part of the meeting. But I knew my team and I were doing everything we could to solve it, and that was enough. I remember one issue in particular that took us months to solve (it required a change in regulation), but we did it.
What we could’ve done better
One thing I wish we would’ve done was to institutionalize that process. I think it would’ve been beneficial for the sector, and the country, to formalize that mechanism of collaboration so that it would continue regardless of the minister and the team in charge.
What I learned about cross-sector collaboration
Cross-sector collaboration can be done well and it’s highly effective. You need to involve the right people, agree on certain ground rules, be consistent and make sure to take action. Remember, monitoring is the key to getting things done. I’m not particularly proud of the name we gave it, but I’m very proud of the results, my team, and everyone in that meeting that put everything aside and found a way to make it work. To this day I have a high appreciation for everyone I worked with at the time.
Download your templates here
Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash
