National Security Strategy of Belize Execution and Monitoring Programmes Introduction Pressured by the immediacy of today’s concerns, government ministries and agencies often focus on current issues at the expense of strategic long-term thinking. Without a long-term view, policy makers lack the strategic perspective needed to achieve the goals of this vision. The absence of an institutionalised process for long-range national security planning results in a structural strategic disadvantage. Overarching Issues Achieving the Belize vision requires adopting strategic concepts and action plans that have a high probability of success while at the same time minimising risk of failure. Recognising that constrained resources require the development of innovative strategies and action plans that maximise the use of resources and look for synergies, ministries must develop strategic concepts and actions plans that are suitable, feasible and acceptable. A suitable concept or action plan addresses the root causes of the problem, identifies the threats and challenges, and establishes the conditions necessary to achieve the desired goal. To be feasible the strategic concept or action plan must have the necessary means or resources available for execution. The plan is acceptable when its execution costs are justified by the importance or benefits of the goal. By striking a balance between benefits, the probability of success and the associated costs, risk can be minimised. With such plans in hand, the government will have the necessary information to carefully prioritise and allocate resources in a rational manner. Periodic Strategy Reviews Recognizing that the security environment is dynamic and requires periodic adjustments in the allocation of resources, regular periodic reviews of the strategy and resource prioritisations need to occur to ensure we attain the national security goals of Belize. Execution and Monitoring Programmes 29