Dr. Bahaa Helmy Writes: The Role of Specialized Experts in Shaping States' Public Policy

When they were established in 1971, the Specialized National Councils played an important role and left a valuable legacy of studies carried out in various fields by a large group of specialized experts and scientists who took part in the councils' various fields of work — before these councils turned into places for flattering the men of the former regimes, which made them deviate from their goals and marginalized their role. It is accepted that governments in developed countries rely on teams of experts and advisers in various fields, in addition to strategic and specialized research centers, to carry out the necessary studies and arrive at proposals and recommendations that contribute to shaping states' public policies. Regardless of the bad mental image of the experience of the Egyptian government offices drawing on a number of experts and advisers who were chosen — or rather appointed — on the basis of personal relationships or favoritism at the expense of competence, which naturally led to the failure of the experience, here we are talking about the role and competence of the specialized councils that were re-formed by the presidential decree issued in 2015, which report to the President of the Republic and assist in shaping the state's public policy and preparing comprehensive studies in all fields of national work falling within the competence of each of these councils, namely “the Specialized Council for Community Development, the Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research, the Specialized Council for Economic Development, and the Specialized Council for Foreign Policy and National Security”. Each of the aforementioned specialized councils is formed of a number of members with effective competence and scientific and practical experience in the field relating to the council's activity. On the ground, however, there appears to be a need to draw on more people with accumulated experience in many of the government's work policies. It may not be enough to choose ministers and leadership levels in general from among those with loyalty and competence alone; rather, they must be supported with expertise or experts to study all the various aspects and dimensions of all economic, social and other decisions, especially those relating to or affecting the citizen's livelihood, as strategic decisions requiring continuous follow-up and evaluation to achieve the defined goals. The recent constitutional amendments, which included bringing the Senate back into the field of giving opinions and advice as the house of expertise on the matters referred to it, show the extent of the political leadership's belief in the need for experts and consultants with experience, knowledge and drive. We therefore hope for the speedy completion of the law on the Shura Council — which has been much delayed — so that it can be constituted and formed in accordance with the Constitution to play its hoped-for advisory role in studying matters and producing scientific visions suited to practical application and to the speed of achievement needed to realize sustainable development as planned, and so that it can be a center of thought, research, knowledge and expertise, as the pillars and launching pads for building a promising future for coming generations.