In September 2025, the Armenian government amended its Rules of Procedure to introduce a new section on Strategic Management Procedure. The procedure is intended to create a more coherent framework for developing national strategies and shift from strategic planning to a full management cycle covering planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The framework defines 6 core national strategies that will serve as the foundation for all future programmes, developed through a structured process with multi-stakeholder discussions at different stages. While the reform strengthens the formal basis for long-term, inclusive policymaking, its success will depend on clear methodological guidance and meaningful engagement of civil society in practice.
More structured and streamlined process for government strategies
The procedure establishes transparency, accountability, evidence-based policymaking, and inclusivity as guiding principles, and requires relevant working groups set up for strategy development to initiate multi-stakeholder discussions at different stages of strategy cycle. Under the new framework, the government has identified 6 core strategies covering 1) security and foreign policy, 2) human capital and well-being, 3) economic transformation and sustainable development, 4) territorial and infrastructure development, 5) justice reforms, and 6) public administration. Each strategy must be designed for at least 7 years, aligned with Armenia’s international commitments, and mainstreaming cross-cutting issues such as gender, social and climate considerations, and open government principles.
The procedure prescribes specific stages for strategic management, including situation analysis, priority setting, definition of goals and results, choice of indicators, design of measures, monitoring and evaluation, risk analysis and mitigation, and costing. To support and streamline the monitoring process, the procedure introduces a provision on establishing a unified electronic platform for monitoring strategies, effective from 2027. Detailed methodologies for each stage will be further elaborated in guidelines to be approved by the Prime Minister.
How will the new procedure contribute to participatory decision making?
The new framework builds on commitments under the Public Administration Reform Strategy and Acton Plan for 2023–2025, which recognised the need to overcome barriers to civic participation and strengthen institutionalised mechanisms for policy development. The draft procedure was published on the e-draft platform for consultation and discussed with stakeholders in August 2025 before adoption, reflecting some of the civil society recommendations in the final version. The requirement of multi-stakeholder discussions at different stages of strategy development offers a formal opportunity for CSOs and other actors to contribute to the process. Besides, based on CSOs’ proposals, the procedure includes a provision that strategies may be subject to independent alternative monitoring, with the resulting reports reviewed by the relevant working group. Although CSOs’ alternative reports have usually been considered by government bodies, this provision could strengthen their formal acknowledgement and ensure more systematic consideration of CSO input.
However, unlike the earlier 2024 draft, the adopted version does not define specific participation mechanisms or inclusivity criteria, leaving open how these principles will be applied in practice. According to government feedback to CSO proposals, these details will be addressed in additional guiding documents.
The new procedure marks an important step toward institutionalising strategic governance in Armenia, but its impact will depend on the clarity of forthcoming methodological guidance and consistent implementation. The CSO Meter reports stress the need for ensuring meaningful CSO engagement at all stages of policymaking. A consistent and comprehensive evidence-based and participatory approach to strategic management will ensure that strategies are not only technically sound but also inclusive and widely supported.