Our strategy 2020–2022
Stability in implementation – even in challenging times
In 2019 we adopted a new Corporate Strategy, which is to guide us through the period 2020 to 2022. It helps us focus more strongly on what sets us apart – our capacity to implement effective projects. What we mean by this is the ability to implement demanding commissions in international cooperation rapidly and effectively, under even the most difficult circumstances.
2020 was the first year of the cycle. It is becoming apparent that the focus of our strategy is effective, even under unforeseen circumstances and a rapidly changing international cooperation landscape. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have retained our ability to operate worldwide and have actually been able to expand our work.
‘Strategy Architecture’ diagram: Four main external factors influence our actions. They are depicted as clouds around our strategy architecture: • The trend towards more competition (and ideas competitions) will continue. • Our business is becoming increasingly volatile and diverse. • The demands on GIZ’s project management are rising steadily. • Digitalisation has an enormous impact on all of our work. The roof of the strategy architecture is our vision: We work to shape a future worth living around the world. We focus on our capacity to implement effective projects now and in the future. We do so in our four areas of action, which are the rooms in our strategy architecture. • Effectiveness, Objective 1: We translate political requirements quickly and visibly into effective solutions. • Business development, Objective 2: We strengthen our market position with data-driven and technology-based services. • Expertise & alliances, Objective 3: We mobilise internal and external expertise more rapidly and manage it more effectively. • Value for money – Objective 4: We digitalise our internal business processes, thereby making them more efficient. – Objective 5: We create demand-based implementation structures. The strategy architecture stands on foundations: Targets of the Shareholder and legal foundation. The federal enterprise GIZ is a globally active service provider and partner in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work. A signpost next to the structure points the way to the 2030 Agenda, which guides our actions.
GIZ’s Corporate Strategy draws together our strategic objectives and measures for the period 2020 to 2022. Overarching strategies and programmes, covering areas such as sustainability, gender and digital transformation, are incorporated into the Corporate Strategy. With this integrated system of objectives, GIZ provides staff with clear guidance.
Focusing on the essentials
Four new corporate projects are at the heart of the Corporate Strategy. They are designed to breathe life into the strategy, across departments and regions. We call them focus projects because they help us focus on what is most important in the strategy.
Digital for results
Digital transformation is opening up a wealth of new opportunities, in international cooperation as elsewhere. That is why we want to make GIZ a data-competent company that positions itself precisely within the global digital ecosystem, and looks ahead with vision to see where data can unlock new potential and where other trends lie. New partnerships and cooperation activities, for instance involving technology providers, can help us on our way. It is our goal to use digital approaches and products to make our work even more effective. That is why we launched the focus project Data-Driven and Technology-Based Services.
Adapting flexibly to change
The conditions that constitute the framework within which we operate are changing and becoming more volatile, with new commissioning parties, a growing and increasingly diverse portfolio, and more conflicts and fragile states around the world. To respond to these new conditions, we need flexible models and structures for worldwide implementation, which can be adapted rapidly on a case-by-case basis. This is why we have the focus project Future-Proof Implementation Structures.
Agility in action
Rising expectations on the part of commissioning parties concerning our ability to deliver, labour market dynamics, and changing conditions in countries of assignment make it imperative that we too change. So that we retain our ability to act under these conditions, we need the appropriate expertise in the right place at the right time. That is why we aim to use resources more flexibly and in a more forward-looking manner. In this, we also build on new approaches for service delivery and on external support and cooperation arrangements. This is the main thrust of the focus project Tailored Expertise.
Working efficiently
Our business has become faster and more complex over the years. To adapt to this new pace, we need modern processes that function holistically and across all organisational units. We aim to put in place joined-up processes and leave behind us the practice of passing on data manually from one department to another. This is the domain of the focus project Digitalised End-To-End Business Processes.
Information on the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be found on this page:
