Mission

In order to lead, coordinate, and manage planning, statistics, population growth, and socioeconomic development for both the national and subnational levels of government (see Government links), the Ministry of Planning acts on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC).

This mission shall be carried out by appropriate planning and execution in compliance with the laws, regulations, and standards relating to the Kingdom’s development, planning, statistics, and population.

Functions and Duties

In Sub-Decree No. 144 (2022), the Ministry of Planning (MoP)’s structure and role were specifically outlined.  The Ministry of Planning is charged with the following duties and responsibilities, according to this document:

• To lead the development of visions, policies, strategies, and priorities for the country’s development on the basis of establishing sustainability and a balance between development, equality, and social justice, while also taking into account the connections between economic, social, cultural, and environmental development.
• Organize and lead the preparation of plans for socioeconomic development, strategy, action plans, and programs linked to planning, population and statistical analysis, and development within the framework of the entire nation.
• Oversees analyses of demographic dynamics and the measurement and analysis of poverty in Cambodia.
• Conduct censuses, including economic and agricultural ones, in compliance with the law on statistics of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the needs of the nation.
• Conducted in line with the Law on Statistics of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey, the Demographic and Health Survey, the Agriculture Survey, the Labor Survey, the Elderly Survey, and other surveys as required by the nation.
• Manage the national database system; manage the nation’s economic, social, and demographic statistics.
• To guarantee that national plans and programs are consistent between the national and sub-national economic and social sectors, design national plans and programs for short-, medium-, and long-term development in collaboration with the relevant ministries and institutions.
• Create and coordinate policies, strategic development plans, and action plans to support programs, activities, and policies in response to UN resolutions and conventions, and present these to the Royal Government in collaboration with the appropriate institutions.
• Monitor and evaluate the progress of all national program planning initiatives, including programs and policies, evaluate the results, and recommend changes to the national program plan as needed.
• For the benefit of the general public and society, research on socioeconomic status, socio-demographics, society, culture, and society-environment is useful in the fields of planning, statistics, population, and development.
• On the request of users of statistics data, offer technical and methodological assistance or perform a census and survey by sector and topic.
• Compile the monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and yearly statistics books for Cambodia as well as national accounting statistics, cost statistics, and national economic satellite accounts.
• Work together with the appropriate ministries and organizations to prioritize public and private investment, making the most efficient use of available domestic and international resources.
• –  Work together to identify the overall amount of resources and the annual public investment allocation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
• Work together to develop strategic policies that prioritize economic, social, cultural, and scientific cooperation in science, technology, and innovation, as well as with partners in development to be consistent with the goals and strategies of the national development strategy.
• Work together to develop policies with relevant entities and ministries. Economic, social, and defense development is ensured by demographic policies, displacement, and action plans on a balanced distribution of the social workforce.
• Information exchange with national statistical offices of regional nations around the world, as well as with national and international organizations.
• Carry out any additional tasks and obligations that the head of the Royal Government considers essential.

Structure of the MoP

In 1997, Sub-Decree No. 144 (2022) provided a thorough explanation of the MoP’s structure and purpose.  This document states that the Ministry of Planning is made up of the following nine Directorates/Units:

A. National Unit

• The Cabinet
• The General Administration Directorate
• The General Directorate t of Planning
• The National Institute of Statistics
• The General Secretariat for Population and Development
• The General Directorate of Inspection
• The Internal Audit Department
• The Procurement Department
• The National School of Planning and Statistics

B. Sub-National Unit

• Municipal-Provincial Planning Department

General Department of Planning

In Sub-Decree No. 144 (2022), the MoP’s structure and role were described in great detail. The following functions and responsibilities of the General Department of Planning are stated in this document’s Chapter 5 and Article 15:

• Develop national programs for the socioeconomic growth of Cambodia, together with short-, medium-, and long-term policies and strategies.
• Assist line ministries and line institutions in developing sector-specific strategic development plans by offering support and direction.
• Examine all international agreements and initiatives that Cambodia must carry out on behalf of the UN in order to localize and incorporate them into national plans.
• Utilize a three-year rolling Public Investment Program (PIP) to prioritize public and private investment in order to fully and effectively utilize all available resources, both domestic and international.
• Develop methods and procedures for developing sub-national development plans that are consistent with National Development Plans and Sub-National Development Plans in collaboration with the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD).
• Create a monitoring and evaluation system to keep track of, monitor, and assess how sectoral plans, national programs, and plans for national development are being carried out.
• The Ministry of Planning, acting on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), shall monitor and assess the implementation of national plans and programs and shall prepare a report summarizing the results of implementation.
• Determine approaches and work together with development partners, ministries, and organizations to calculate poverty in Cambodia.
• Develop strategies, implement them, and take the lead in identifying the poor and vulnerable families in Cambodia as the foundation for all levels of policy and planning.
• Create nutrition promotion policies and strategies and monitor their implementation.
• Create a gender policy and strategy for the Ministry of Planning,  and create the General Department of Planning’s 3-year and annual action plans and budget.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Minister of Planning.
• The General Directorate of Planning has 7 departments as following:
  • General Planning Department
  • Economic Planning Department
  • Social Planning Department
  • Investment Planning Department
  • Nutrition Promotion Department
  • Identification Poor Department
  • Sub-National Planning Department

The Municipal-Provincial Planning Department

Mission, Functions, and Duties of Provincial/Capital Planning Department

The Capital and Provincial Departments of Planning serve as the Ministry of Planning on the mission of leading, coordinating and managing the planning, statistics, and population and development sectors to promote socio-economic development by ensuring quality and efficiency at the sub-national level.

This mission must be carried out through the proper organization and implementation in accordance with the policies, legal framework and legal standards related to the field of planning, statistics and population and development of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Roles and responsibilities of the Capital and Provincial Planning Departments as stated in Prakas No. 0012 MOP (2023) on the organization and functioning of the Capital and Provincial Planning Departments.

The core activities of the Capital and Provincial Planning Department include:

1. Support 5-year development plan of the Municipal/Province, district and commune/Sangkat
2. Support the integration of three-year rolling investment plan and Municipal/ District/Commune / Sangkat budget plan
3. Participation in data collection, survey, and census
4. Provide technical support for commune/Sangkat database collection (CDB) and sub-national project database (SPD)
5. Support poverty analysis and Score-card analysis and 5-year Sub-national plan