His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, attended the launch ceremony for the fourth UAE Public Policy Forum (UAE PPF 2020), taking place on February 17-18 at the InterContinental Dubai - Festival City, under the theme ‘Agile Government: Becoming Future-Proof’.

Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, the event is organised by the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) in collaboration with the Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation (MBRCGI).

This year’s Forum presents an ideal platform for exploring flexible policymaking practices that are compatible with current economic, social, and environmental developments, as well as to lay the foundations for agile, future-ready governments, in accordance with a clear-cut vision for the future.

The launch ceremony was attended by His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of MBRSG; H.E. Dr Ali Sebaa Al Marri, MBRSG’s Executive President; Her Excellency Huda Al Hashimi, Assistant Director General for Strategy & Innovation, Prime Minister’s Office; MBRSG Dean Prof. Raed Awamleh; and a host of leaders, researchers, and educators from the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government.

In his opening speech at the event, H.E. Al Qatami thanked H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for sponsoring the fourth UAE Public Policy Forum, saying: “The decision to choose the theme ‘Agile Government: Becoming Future-Proof’ for this edition of the forum was inspired by the experiences of the UAE Government – one of the best administrations in the world, guided by the directives of UAE President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai; and H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; and Their Highnesses the Rulers of the emirates, Members of the UAE Supreme Council.”

“Over the course of the past three years, the UAE Public Policy Forum has cemented its status as an interactive, international knowledge platform,” H.E. added. “This year, the event underlines the importance of agile government, outlining the requirements for success, soft power, happiness and wellbeing, flexibility, forecasting the future, and keeping pace with the international business environment.”

“These topics reflect the monumental and rapid political, economic, and social developments our world is undergoing,” H.E. Al Qatami explained. “This, in turn, makes it imperative that individuals and communities multiply and expedite their efforts to keep up with these changes, and follow a forward-thinking vision for the future.”

“The UAE Public Policy Forum provides an environment that facilitates interaction and the exchange of experiences and knowledge among all participants. It aims to explore the requirements and conditions for establishing agile governments, and to find solutions for adapting to the rapid changes and requirements of the times and the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” H.E. Al Qatami concluded.

The event brings together local and international experts and policy and decision makers to exchange visions and strategies, establish partnerships, enhance cooperation, and come up with solutions to address the challenges likely to face the governments of the future.

Day one of the UAE Public Policy Forum 2020 included a press conference showcasing several publications from the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government. The conference was attended by H.E. Dr Ali Sebaa Al Marri and Prof. Raed Awamleh, along with Fadi Salem, MBRSG’s Director of Research and Advisory; Melodena Stephens, Professor of Innovation Management at MBRSG; Dr Yousif Al Ghalayini, Assistant Professor in Public Administration and Executive MPA Programme Coordinator at MBRSG and Dr Immanuel Azaad Moonesar MPP programme coordinator.

The conference included the launch of the ‘Dubai Policy Review (DPR)’ in its 2nd edition, which is the thought-leadership policy journal published by MBRSG to advance the future of public policy and the quality of government.

The first of its kind in the region, the magazine enlists a team of experts and academics from major international universities. Fadi Salem, who supervises the magazine, noted that the second edition is outcome of extensive efforts and research into smart cities; it explores topics related to the future of cities around the world and features articles, solutions, and insights to guide governments towards making innovative policies that keep pace with the development of smart cities around the world.

Another publication highlighted at the conference was ‘Business with Purpose: Advancing Social Enterprise’ by Melodena Stephens. The book focuses on organisations, initiatives, or start-ups with strong social innovation characteristic that work towards sustainable living at the individual or community level. It also sheds light on the growing need to build a business with purpose, as the private sector plays an increasingly large role in the development arena.

The second publication highlighted was the ‘Public Administration Theory’ book by Dr Yousif Al Ghalayini. The book introduces and assesses the principles and theories of public administration, discussing the underlying changes in the scope and management of the public sector over the last century.

The conference also presented the book ‘Future Governments’, edited by MBRSG’s Melodena Stephens, Mona Mostafa Elsholkamy, Immanuel Azaad Moonesar, and Raed Awamleh. It is the 7th volume of the Actions and Insights series on MENA, and the 2nd full Arabic translation of the book by MBRSG. This volume presents case studies of various countries and their experiments with policy under five broad themes: government foresight, future orientation, regulatory reforms and strategy, the happiness agenda, and the sharing economy.

MBRSG went on to announce eight reports during the press conference, namely,     A ‘3P’ Soft Power Model: An Agile Approach to Diplomatic Strategy; Regulatory Sandbox: Health RegLab Design Elements; The Heart of an Agile Government -  Future Public Value; The Effect of Perceptions of Government Service and Reputation on Nation Happiness; Flourishing in Unpredictable Times: Building Agile Healthcare Sector in the UAE; Towards Increasing Emirati Women’s Participation in the Workforce; Advanced National Skills for the User-Centric Agile Public Sector; and Agile Government - Becoming Future-Proof - Proceedings.

The press conference also shed light on two upcoming events: AIBMENA 2020, an annual conference by the Academy of International Business (AIB) set to be hosted by the Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, under the theme ‘Exploring Resilience and Agility within International Business in the MENA Region’. The 2nd event is HSG 6th Symposium on Health Resilience Systems 2020, taking place on November 8-12, 2020, bringing together 2,000 policymakers, practitioners and researchers from more than 100 countries. The theme of the conference is ‘Re-Imagining Health Systems for Better Health and Social Justice.