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The Strategy and Leadership domain seeks to assess the setting of the strategic direction for a government’s programme of work, the stewardship of public institutions, and the overarching values that guide the behaviours of and approach taken by public officials. It is made up of five themes: strategic capacity; cross-government collaboration; openness and communications; integrity; and innovation. Four of these five themes can be measured in our Index, however at this time we have not identified suitable data with a global coverage to measure cross-government collaboration.
Overall, this domain is led by Denmark (1st), Finland and Norway (joint 2nd), Canada (4th) followed by Singapore and the United States (joint 5th). Denmark and Finland both rank in the top 10 for all four themes that make up the Strategy and Leadership domain, Canada ranks in the top 10 for three of the four themes, while Singapore and the United States both rank in the top 10 for two of the four themes. Costa Rica (30th), Brazil and Moldova (both 33rd) are the highest ranking upper middle income economies; Ukraine (also 33rd), India (41st) and Mongolia (45th) are the highest ranking lower middle income economies; and, Rwanda (64th), Uganda (86th) and Togo (91st) are the highest ranking low income economies.
After Canada and the United States, Chile (21st), Uruguay (22nd) and Costa Rica (30th) are the highest ranking countries in the Americas. After Singapore, Australia (7th), New Zealand (11th) and South Korea (20th) are the highest ranking countries in Asia and Pacific. Lithuania (10th), Estonia (11th) and Latvia (14th) are the highest ranking countries in Eastern Europe. Israel (24th), Georgia (46th) and Saudi Arabia (48th) are the highest ranking countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Mauritius (36th), South Africa (59th), Kenya and Rwanda (joint 64th) are the highest ranking countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Strategic capacity
The strategic capacity theme seeks to measure the ability of the centre of government to set strategic direction and to ensure that the institutional structure of government remains fit for purpose. It is measured using four metrics focussed on setting priorities, though in practice most countries only have two metrics.
Finland comes first for strategic capacity, followed by Canada and the United States in joint second. Other countries of note: Latvia (9th) as the highest ranking Eastern European country, Costa Rica (19th) the highest ranking upper middle income economy, and Botswana (32nd) the highest ranking country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Openness and communications
The openness and communications theme seeks to measure the extent to which governments consult and engage with citizens and stakeholders in policy development and the extent to which laws, regulations and government information is publicly available. This theme is measured using seven metrics covering both consultation and freedom of information.
Norway comes first, followed by Denmark in second and Israel in third. Other countries of note: Columbia (26th) is the highest ranking upper middle income economy, and India (29th) is the highest ranking lower middle income economy.
Integrity
The integrity theme seeks to measure the extent to which public officials make decisions and exercise their duties impartially and do not engage in corruption. It is measured using 10 metrics covering behaviours, anti-corruption, sanctions and public integrity data.
Norway and Singapore rank joint first followed by New Zealand in third. Other countries of note: Estonia (4th) is the highest ranking country in Eastern Europe, Mauritius (29th) is the highest ranking upper middle income country and in Sub-Sharan Africa, Namibia (46th) is the second highest ranking country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Innovation
The innovation theme seeks to measure the degree to which new ideas, policies, and ways of operating can be freely developed. The theme is measured using three metrics: one covering an overall rating of whether governments have an innovative outlook, one on the existence of strategies and practices in support of digital innovations, and one on the use of innovative practices in tax agencies.
Denmark ranks first, Singapore ranks second and Lithuania ranks third. Other countries of note: the United States (6th) is the highest ranking country in the Americas, Brazil (23rd) is the highest ranking upper middle income economy, and Kenya (26th) is the highest ranking country in Sub-Saharan Africa.