- Cognigate Advisory Team
- Aug 28
- 3 min read
Introduction: The Execution Gap in Government
Across the MENA region, governments are launching ambitious visions — from UAE Vision 2031 to Saudi Vision 2030, Egypt Vision 2030, and beyond. These strategies outline bold goals in sustainability, digitalization, education, and economic diversification.
But there’s a challenge: many organizations struggle to translate strategy into execution. Goals are announced, but progress often stalls due to unclear ownership, siloed departments, or a lack of measurable outcomes.
Harvard Business Review identifies the problem:
“Only 20% of strategic targets set by organizations are realized. The rest are lost to poor execution.”
In the public sector, this execution gap can undermine trust, delay services, and waste resources.
Why Traditional Performance Management Falls Short
Overloaded KPIs: Governments track hundreds of metrics, many of which are misaligned with actual outcomes.
Departmental Silos: Ministries and agencies work in isolation, slowing collaboration.
Top-Down Reporting: Performance is often tracked for compliance, not improvement.
Lack of Transparency: Citizens rarely see how strategies translate into services.
PwC notes:
“Public sector organizations often confuse measuring activities with measuring impact.”
OKRs: A Framework for Public Sector Transformation
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) provide a simple, agile framework to close the strategy-execution gap. Originally popularized in Silicon Valley, OKRs are now being adopted globally in both private and public sectors.
Objectives: Ambitious, qualitative goals (e.g., “Deliver world-class citizen services”).
Key Results: Measurable outcomes that show progress (e.g., “Reduce average service response time from 5 days to 1 day”).
McKinsey highlights:
“OKRs improve alignment and transparency, enabling leaders to track progress toward strategic goals in real time.”
Public Sector Use Cases Across MENA
1. UAE – Service Excellence
Government entities align OKRs with citizen happiness targets, ensuring every department contributes to faster, more seamless services.
2. Saudi Arabia – Vision 2030 Programs
OKRs are used to cascade national goals into measurable outcomes across ministries — from tourism to digital infrastructure.
3. Egypt – Education and Healthcare
Agencies set OKRs to track improvements in literacy rates, healthcare accessibility, and digital service adoption.
4. Qatar and Morocco – Sustainability Goals
OKRs ensure environmental initiatives (waste reduction, clean energy adoption) are not just slogans, but measured outcomes.
Benefits of OKRs in Government
Alignment: Everyone from ministers to frontline employees works toward the same objectives.
Agility: OKRs are reviewed quarterly, allowing governments to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.
Transparency: Citizens and stakeholders can see measurable progress.
Impact Focus: Shifts attention from activities (e.g., “launching an app”) to outcomes (e.g., “increasing adoption by 50%”).
Deloitte confirms:
“Public sector organizations that adopt outcome-based performance management frameworks deliver significantly higher citizen satisfaction.”
Cognigate’s Perspective: Driving Human-Centric Outcomes
For Cognigate, OKRs are not just about dashboards — they are about connecting strategy to human experience:
Did the initiative save citizens time?
Did it make employees’ jobs easier?
Did it improve trust in government services?
“OKRs succeed in government when they are not just measured, but felt by the people they serve.” — Cognigate
Conclusion: Closing the Gap Between Vision and Reality
The MENA region is leading the world in bold visions for the future. But strategies without execution risk remaining words on paper. OKRs offer a practical, transparent, and human-centered framework to ensure strategies are realized.
As John Doerr, who popularized OKRs, said:
“Ideas are easy. Execution is everything.”
For governments across MENA, execution is not just everything — it is the difference between trust and frustration, progress and stagnation.
At Cognigate, we believe OKRs can transform public sector performance by turning ambitious strategies into measurable human impact.
