HEUNI kicks off 2017 with a new strategy
HEUNI has a very broad mandate, and a large geographical area to serve. This requires the adoption of a strategic approach to ensure that HEUNI’s resources can best be leveraged to achieve its objective. The strategy was jointly drafted with the HEUNI Advisory Board. The new strategy draws from HEUNI’s accomplishments and current expertise as well as responds to latest developments and trends in the field of crime prevention and control in Europe. In HEUNI we believe that a strategy is a tool to work towards our goals, but also that a strategy should be a living document that changes as we go about to reach our goals.
The starting point for the discussion was that HEUNI’s strategy should reflect the strategy of the United Nations and of HEUNI’s host organization, the Ministry of Justice (“Vision 2025"). The United Nations strategic framework is provided by the Sustainable Development Goals approved in 2015 by the General Assembly, and the priorities established by the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Furthermore, HEUNI’s strategy should be based on four factors: Europe as a source for evidence-based information on “what works" in crime prevention and criminal justice, HEUNI’s expertise in the collection and analysis of such information, HEUNI’s potential for bringing information to the attention of the relevant policy-makers and other stakeholders, and the availability of resources.
Each of these factors requires strategic choices. The first factor requires a substantive strategy: what areas and issues should be HEUNI’s current focus. The second factor requires a personnel strategy: the strengthening of HEUNI’s own personnel resources, as well as HEUNI’s network of partners in the collection and analysis of information. The third factor requires a communications strategy: HEUNI should develop its capacity to “package" information in the appropriate form, and bring it to the attention of key policy-makers at the appropriate time. The fourth factor requires a partner and networking strategy: HEUNI should seek additional resources and use the available resources as effectively as possible.