Strategic Sustainability

: Pioneering a New Framework for Financial Decision-Makers in the Government of Dubai

Abstract

This research explores the financial decision-making process in Dubai thoroughly in which it concentrates on the decision-making process of funding government infrastructure projects in Dubai. The main objective is to create a foundation for the financial and economic sustainability in government policies that are required in achieving the city of Dubai’s overall sustainability. The research problem is highlighted as the lack of sophisticated policies that back up the financial decision-making process to address and cover the full sustainability concept within the financial decision-making processes in the Government of Dubai.

Considering the identified problem, three primary research questions have been formulated. These questions aim to critically evaluate the efficacy of the current financial decision-making models that are used in public finance administration in the government of Dubai, particularly in terms of their alignment with financial sustainability objectives. The research questions also aim to further explore concepts to enhance the model and the applicability of integrating sustainability concepts into the existing structures, alongside the steps required for implementation. The three questions cover how effective the financial decision-making models in use in the Government of Dubai are, what a robust financial decision-making model would look like to achieve sustainability in the city of Dubai, and what steps are involved in the introduction of such a model within the government financial system. Investigation in those areas through the stated questions plays a vital role in achieving long-term resilience goals for a fast-growing city like Dubai; with high exposure to sustainability challenges, through developing a reliable policy model accordingly.

To address the stated questions and propose the ideal solution, the study employed a qualitative research design. Data has been collected through a two-round modified Delphi method. The first round involved semi-structured interviews held with key financial decision makers in the Government of Dubai. The second round enriched the findings through conducting a focus group for the purpose of the refinement and validation of the initial findings. A constructive grounded theory approach has been adopted and utilised in the interviews, and thematic analysis was applied to generate the solution from real-world data; ensuring practical insight, agreement among experts, and policy relevance. Triangulation was used to enhance the reliability and credibility of the findings. This methodology served the research by enabling it to explore in depth the current policies, challenges, perspectives, and opportunities for improving the financial decision-making process for the Government of Dubai in terms of standardisation.
Findings through the first round approves the gap in sustainability considerations in financial decision-making processes within the Government of Dubai by identifying a couple of points, including bias; due to lack of standardised policies, variance in decisions due to personal judgement as a result of not having an official financial decision making model, inconsistency of TBL and SDG application or integration within the evaluation process, and the absence of real time monitoring and audit of decision making at the strategic level. This wrapped up the experts’ decision in validating the need to develop a unified model that incorporates sustainability factors into the financial decision-making process for large projects within the Government of Dubai. Through the results from focus group, the second round of the modified Delphi method utilised, 5
several key outcomes were achieved. Based on their expertise, two core policy recommendations were agreed upon in consensus: the implementation of a clear set of evaluation criteria covering economic, social, and environmental dimensions, and the establishment of audit mechanisms to ensure compliance. A group consensus was reached on aligning initiatives with government-level strategy by rerouting financial decision-making through the Strategic Affairs Council. Final tailored model has been validated by focus group, ensuring that the model includes the two key sustainability aspects; TBL and SDGs aligned within the evaluation for multi-dimensional results, and the involvement of audit authorities (FAA) at the strategic level. AI adoption has been also proposed as future opportunity exploration for the purpose of forecasting and monitoring.

The study concludes that integrating sustainability paradigms to government public finance management decision-making policies is both necessary and feasible through a set of practices designed and developed according to the needs of the Government of Dubai. The proposed model offers a policy driven approach that aligns the investments with the long-term sustainability goals, ensuring compliance and transparency simultaneously. The suggested structure with SDGs and TBL makes the model more effective in guiding future funding decisions, and institutionalising it would support long-term, resilient, and sustainable development.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Aberystwyth University
Supervisor	Andrew Thomas (Supervisor)