Single Window Systems
In the OIC Member States
96
indicators.
Why does this matter?
Vision and strategy documents are important to build commitment and adherence across
organizational boundaries that can sustain government rotation.
2. Resistance to the Project
Often there is an insufficient mobilisation for the project due to resistance from stakeholders
from the public and private sector.
Why does this matter?
Political overseers need to support the project as they have the ability to make regulatory
changes and allocate resources. Stakeholders from the trading community need to be brought
into the process early to ensure a design that caters to their needs as much as the needs of the
government agencies. Ideally, the project has support from end-users and service providers, i.e.
government agencies.
3. Limited Scope of Support
SW initiatives may be pushed by one particular part of government; i.e. Customs, Ministry of
Trade, or Port Authority.
Why does this matter?
A limited reach of support may negatively impact the design choice as it does prevent a
comprehensive planning and strategy. Agencies may not adhere to a project that is perceived as
being driven by one agency instead of the whole of government.
4. Financial Constraints
Some governments depend on financial assistance to conduct the preparatory work and to
provide the funding for the investment.
Why does this matter?
Scarcity of funding and visibility of available funding can impact design choices in this phase.
This increases the risk to focus on low cost changes taking precedence or replying high costs
changes.
Policy Options
1. Idea Champion or Broad Coalition
Projects with high costs, long timeframe and broad efforts require broad support but also find it
more difficult to get this support. Two strategic choices can be made when faced with the
difficulty of mobilising support:
 using an idea champion; or
 building a broad guiding coalition.
These two options have their advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered.
An “idea champion” approach rest on one person who is highly respected and can coordinate
and overcome obstacles through leveraging close personal ties and pursuing informal avenues
of influence. The problem of linking progress to personal ties is that this person may disappear.
A broad coalition rests on formal channels of decision-making but is more stable as it is based
on institutional rather than personal ties. It is more likely to sustain a change in government and
political appointees, but takes more time and persuasion to build, and requires more