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28 March 2024

Mohammed launches Dubai Strategy 2021

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Published
By Wam

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Dubai Plan 2021 on Wednesday.

The launching ceremony was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

Launching Dubai Plan 2021 is the beginning of a new phase of sustainable and systematic developments in all vital sectors in the emirate of Dubai.

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In his remarks, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid affirmed the importance of cooperation between all stakeholders to achieve the objectives of the plan, which basically targets people’s happiness and welfare by developing all sectors. He asserted that collaboration among various departments in Dubai Government will lead to excellence and a comprehensive development in the quality of government services.

Sheikh Mohammed said that “the rapid regional and global changes compel us to double our efforts to protect our achievements and enhance our opportunities to reach new ones; this approach constitutes a strategic objective that serves the best interest, both individually and collectively.”

Sheikh Mohammed concluded that “Dubai Plan 2021 is a clear and detailed roadmap, and the success depends on our commitment and our ability to cope with the changes efficiently.”

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From his side, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed has directed all the entities in the Government of Dubai to align their strategic plans with Dubai Plan 2021 to ensure consistency and synergy.

Sheikh Hamdan said in this regard: “Dubai 2021 is a city that puts people first. Dubai Plan 2021 is the highest priority for Government of Dubai for the next seven years. It represents a roadmap documenting the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for Dubai’s future and an interpretation for the community’s hopes and aspirations for a promising future.”

Dubai Plan 2021 took one year in the preparation phase, following directives from the Crown Prince to the General Secretariat of the Executive Council earlier this year to work on the development of Dubai Plan 2021 with the aim of launching it with the close of 2014. The plan is inspired by the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Executive Council formed teams made up of representatives from various entities in Government of Dubai in addition to a strong representation from the private sector and civil society.

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The framework of Dubai Plan 2021 includes six themes that define and describe Dubai in the year 2021:

•       City of Happy, Creative & Empowered People

•       An Inclusive & Cohesive Society

•       The Preferred Place to Live, Work & Visit

•       A Smart & Sustainable City

•       A Pivotal Hub in the Global Economy

•       A Pioneering & Excellent Government.

Commenting on the launch of the plan, Secretary-General of Dubai Executive Council Abdullah Al Shaibani praised the cooperation of all parties involved in the development of the plan and their eagerness to collaborate through the various workshops organised in this regard.

He said: "Dubai is a city that embraces all members of its community with their diverse cultures and languages, and makes them feel an integral part and key players in shaping its future. Our wise leadership constantly urges us to look for ways that guarantee people’s happiness and offer them better services with the highest international standards. During our continuous collaboration with all partners in the formulation of Dubai Plan 2021, we have translated these visions into reality through initiatives, programs and strategic plans developed to enhance Dubai's status locally and globally”.

He added: "Dubai continues to flourish and rise, and launching Dubai Plan 2021 supports Dubai’s development, ensuring its sustainability in line with long term well thought out standards that align with leadership’s vision and that fulfill the needs of all of Dubai’s people."

Dubai Plan 2021 aligns with UAE Vision 2021 and the National Agenda key performance indicators, and complements Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 (DSP 2015) launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in 2007, which aimed at realising the vision of Dubai under the slogan "Dubai ... Where The Future Begins" by coordinating the efforts of all government entities, through a common framework.

Dubai Plan 2021 aims to reinforce Dubai positioning as a global centre and destination across a number of fields, programmes, and projects launched recently, which have included winning the right to host the World Expo 2020, the launch of the initiative to transform Dubai to become the capital of the Islamic economy, and the launch of the Dubai Smart City strategy.

How Dubai Plan 2021 was developed

As the end of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 (DSP 2015) planning horizon was approaching, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, launched the development of Dubai Plan 2021.  Dubai Plan 2021 is a continuation for the success of DSP 2015, which was launched in 2007 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. 

Dubai Plan 2021 aims to reinforce Dubai’s positioning as a global centre and destination across a number of fields, especially the emirate’s revival from the global financial crisis as evidenced by the ambitious initiatives, programmes, and projects launched recently.  These have included winning the right to host the World Expo 2020, the launch of the initiative to transform Dubai to the capital of the Islamic economy, and the launch of the Dubai Smart City strategy among others.

Dubai Plan 2021 Framework

Dubai Plan 2021 describes the future of Dubai through holistic and complementary perspectives, starting with the people and the society who have always been, and always will be, the bedrock of the city.  This perspective describes the characteristics that Dubai’s people need to have to deliver on the city’s aspirations in all areas, and examines the society needed to support and empower these individuals in achieving their goals.  The plan addresses the urban environment including both natural and built assets, and looks at the living experience of the people of Dubai and its visitors as a result of their interaction with this environment and the economic and social services provided.  In addition, the plan also focuses on the economy, which is the city’s development engine and its fuel for its march forward.  Finally, the plan addresses the government as the custodian of the city development in all aspects.  These perspectives were divided into six themes, each highlighting a group of strategic developmental aims for Dubai, and together forming the city’s vision for 2021. 
 
City of Happy, Creative & Empowered People

Educated, Cultured and Healthy Individuals: Individuals who take care of their own wellbeing and that of their family through proactive measures to manage their health and enhance their skills and ability to contribute to the economy and society of Dubai building on their solid education and cultured upbringing.

Productive and Innovative in a Variety of Fields: Individuals who strive to succeed, are financially self-sufficient, and embody the mindset and disposition of entrepreneurs and responsible citizens.

Happy Individuals Proud of Their Culture: Individuals who are generally satisfied with their life in Dubai, confident about their future and proud of their cultural origins.

Are the Cornerstone for Dubai’s Development across all fields
: Emiratis men and women playing an important role in the development of Dubai and filling critical roles across various sectors including social, economic, and urban.

An Inclusive & Cohesive Society

A Vibrant and Sustainable Multi-Cultural Society
: A population that is economically and demographically sustainable and for which multiculturalism is a source of strength and pride.

A Tolerant and Inclusive Society Embracing the Civic Values of Dubai: A society in which people are treated equally and fairly and share a set of core civic values including tolerance, and personal responsibility.

Cohesive Families and Communities Forming the Bedrock of Society:
Families and communities that provide nurturing environments for personal development, including the raising of children inculcated with core values of personal responsibility, creativity and tolerance.

The Preferred Place to Live, Work & Visit

A City with the Best Educational, Healthcare and Housing Services Catering to Everyone’s Needs
: High quality housing, education, and healthcare services that are accessible for each socio-economic segment of society and a globally competitive cost of living.

Vibrant and Active, Providing a Rich Cultural Experience and Globally Distinctive Entertainment Outlets: Dubai offers a diverse set of cultural and recreational options, including green spaces, beaches, sporting facilities, entertainment options and cultural experiences making it an attractive and entertaining city for residents and a popular destination for tourists.

The Most Secure Place: A feeling among residents and workers living in Dubai and tourists visiting Dubai, that the city is a safe and secure place to be and that any personal security concerns are dealt with efficiently and transparently by law enforcement authorities.

A Smart & Sustainable City

A Smart, Integrated and Connected City: The infrastructure that supports the economic and social life of Dubai as a city matches world-class levels of efficiency and citizen accessibility, and that allows for future growth of the city.

Sustainable with its Resources: A city that uses its resources sustainably over the long-term and in line with international best practice levels in terms of consumption, efficiency, and management, and in its dependence on renewable energy sources.

Environmental Elements are Clean, Healthy and Sustainable: Dubai enjoys a clean and healthy environment in all its elements and ensures its sustainability in the long-term, and in line with the world’s best practices.

A Safe and Resilient Built Environment: Safety standards across the built environment — including building and transport safety codes and emergency services and crisis/ disaster response capabilities — that match international best practices.

A Pivotal Hub in the Global Economy

A City that Enjoys Sustainable Economic Growth: Economic growth that is resilient to disruptive shocks because it is underpinned by a diversified base of economic activity, innovation in business models and increasing productivity of labor and capital.

One of the World’s Leading Business Centres: Consistently ranked as one of the top 5 global centers for trade, logistics, tourism and finance as well as internationally recognized as the leading financial and trading center at the heart of the Islamic economy.

The Most Business Friendly City and a Preferred Investment Destination: Dubai is the preferred investment destination for foreign capital, and takes its position as the most business friendly city in the world.

A Pioneering and Excellent Government

Proactive and Creative in Meeting the Needs of Individuals and Society as a Whole: The government is forward-looking, proactively listening to and engaging all stakeholders, to ensure that its policies and services meet the needs of individuals and society as a whole, in the present and the future. It also aims to simplify the lives of people through the provision of smart, high quality government services reflecting the individual activities and institutional requirements.

Sustainable and Innovative in the Management of its Resources: The Government of Dubai adopts a culture of innovation and excellence in its approach to the management of public finances in a manner that sustainably supports city development and environmental friendliness, and human resource practices that ensure the accumulation and continuity of knowledge and experience for the government.

Transparent and Reliable: The Government of Dubai ensures a fair and reliable application of all laws and regulations in order to preserve the rights of the individuals and institutions. It is also committed to adopting a transparent approach in the development and implementation of all policies, legislations and services.

The Development Journey

The development of Dubai Plan 2021 was based on extensive research covering local, federal, and international sources.  The first reference point was the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minster of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for the UAE to be “Number 1.”  The approach also took into account Sheikh Mohammed’s aspirations for Dubai in various sectors as expressed through various media, and local and international events.

The Dubai Plan 2021 framework also looked into all the efforts and initiatives that aim to put Dubai on the world map, starting with the hosting of the World Expo 2020 and other initiatives such as Dubai the Capital of Islamic Economy, My Community which aims to transform Dubai into a city that is friendly to people with disabilities, Dubai Smart City, and Dubai Government towards 2021, in addition to many others that will contribute towards driving Dubai forward in the coming years. 

On the federal level, the Dubai Plan 2021 framework ensured alignment with the UAE Vision 2021 and incorporated all key performance indicators defined in the UAE National Agenda that was launched by Sheikh Mohammed earlier this year. 

In addition, the team working on developing the Dubai Plan 2021 ensured that the framework is both comprehensive and integrated, by researching theoretical models for the development of cities.  The team also examined various benchmark cities that relate to Dubai geographically, economically, and socially, that have set strong examples in developmental approaches, and that constantly compete to be the best in the world in social, economic, urban, and governance aspects.  These cities include Singapore, London, New York, Helsinki, Barcelona, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur among others.  The performance of these cities was used to assess Dubai’s performance vis-à-vis the sectors and areas in which each city excels.

The Dubai Plan 2021 development journey started at the beginning of this year with a series of workshops with Government of Dubai entities that resulted in the development of the strategic framework and related key performance indicators (KPIs) that would be used to assess and understand Dubai’s current standing on one hand, and to measure its progress in achieving its targets and goals on another.  The Dubai Plan 2021 framework and KPIs were subsequently endorsed by the Sector Committees, and approved by The Executive Council in May 2014. 

The next phase of the Dubai Plan 2021 development involved the collection of data and information in collaboration with all Government of Dubai entities and the Dubai Statistics Center, in preparation for conducting a comprehensive situation analysis that would assess Dubai’s current performance and identify key gaps.  This included capturing all administrative data collected by the government, as well as launching several surveys to collect specialized data on social development, education, infrastructure addressing specific social issues or gauging people’s satisfaction with infrastructure and other government services.  These surveys included the Gallup World Poll, which is a survey that is conducted in over 140 counties annually, allowing for direct comparison with some of the world’s leading cities in many areas. 

In addition to the workshops conducted with government entities, the development of Dubai Plan 2021 included a number of interactions targeting different segments of the society.  This included conducting the “Dubai … the Future” workshop with a select group of university students in Dubai which resulted in a number of ideas reflecting the priorities and aspirations of this key segment that was more than happy to engage in thinking about the future of Dubai.  These ideas were documented and used as a key input in developing different elements of the plan.  Moreover, a digital brainstorming session was conducted through the plan’s social media platforms that engaged all segments of the society as well as social media users globally.  This brainstorm contributed a large number of ideas that were used in enriching Dubai Plan 2021.

The development of Dubai Plan 2021 also included a series of workshops with local and global experts in various fields (social, economic, urban, etc.) that identified global mega-trends and its potential impact on the region and the emirate.  These sessions helped in identifying a number of dynamic tensions that must be taken into account by decision makers in the development of the programs and policies that will drive the achievement of Dubai’s objectives. 

These workshops were followed with the Dubai Plan 2021 Creative Labs, which were conducted in November over a period of four days, and which involved thought leaders and experts from government, private sector, and civil society.  The Labs were highlighted by the visit of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, who was presented with some of the key findings and outputs, and who reiterated the importance of keeping the people of Dubai and their happiness at the heart of Dubai Plan 2021. 

Systematic Measurement Approach

The development of Dubai Plan 2021 from its onset emphasized the importance of the measurability of Dubai’s ambitious objectives.  Accordingly, the Dubai Plan 2021 team paid close attention to the KPIs that would be used to measure the achievement of the six themes and related aims defined in the strategic framework.  These KPIs would be monitored on a regular basis by the General Secretariat of the Executive Council in collaboration with relevant government entities. 

The Dubai Plan 2021 framework includes over six hundred KPIs that include both qualitative and quantitative measures, distributed over several tiers.  The top tier of KPIs provide an overall understanding of Dubai’s performance across all Dubai Plan 2021 themes, and targets Dubai’s top leadership and decision makers in The Executive Council.  KPIs in the second tier contribute towards measuring Dubai’s success in achieving the aims defined within each of Dubai Plan 2021’s six themes.  The remaining KPIs, which constitute the majority, provide detailed information that help explain Dubai’s performance in various sectors. 

These KPIs will be used to publish an annual report to The Executive Council and top leadership, summarizing Dubai’s performance and assessing its success in achieving the aim of Dubai Plan 2021, incorporating in depth analysis and benchmarks.