ADAFSA · Strategy Sector · العربية

Decision-Ready
The Art of Fulfilling Executive Council Requests

A two-day programme and standing toolkit for the Strategy Sector — so every Council submission is accepted first time and enables the decision it serves.

Why this programme

Three failure patterns keep sending submissions back

The Strategy Sector is ADAFSA's single channel for Executive Council requests via the General Secretariat (الأمانة العامة للمجلس التنفيذي). Each return costs weeks of delay and credibility.

Requirements not met

Below the completeness and standard the Secretariat expects before an item reaches decision-makers.

Insufficient for decision-making

Volume without answers — returned for the detail a decision-maker must have.

The wrong question answered

The ask is misread, departments answer a question the Council never asked, and the work is redone.

The reframe behind everything: the Strategy Sector does not send documents — it enables decisions. Every submission is a decision-support product, and “decision-ready”, not “complete”, is the standard.

The course

Two days, eight modules — the life of a request

Day 1

1 · The Decision-Maker's Lens

The Council, its Secretariat, and the five questions.

Day 1

2 · Decoding the Ask

Six request types; the Restated Ask discipline.

Day 1

3 · Intake Discipline

One front door; triage; clarify once, early; plan backwards.

Day 1

4 · Orchestrating the Organization

Tasking Briefs; validating department inputs.

Day 2

5 · From Information to Answers

Pyramid Principle, SCQA, MECE; a precise المطلوب.

Day 2

6 · Building the Submission

The eight-section memorandum; Council-grade exhibits; bilingual discipline.

Day 2

7 · The Quality Gate

Three-level review; red-teaming the Top 12 return reasons.

Day 2

8 · Closing the Loop

Submit early; handle returns; debrief; knowledge base.

Core frameworks

The five questions every submission must answer

  1. 1What exactly is being asked or decided?
  2. 2Why now?
  3. 3What is the evidence?
  4. 4What are the implications?
  5. 5What do we recommend — precisely?

The six stages of every request

1Receive & Triage
2Clarify & Plan
3Task & Collect
4Synthesize & Build
5Review & Submit
6Follow Up & Learn

The Top 12 reasons submissions come back

  1. The ask not fully answered — sub-questions missed
  2. Financial implications absent or unquantified
  3. No evidence of coordination with concerned entities
  4. Stale data with no as-of dates
  5. Numbers inconsistent across text, tables, slides
  6. Recommendation vague or missing
  7. Options not analysed
  8. Legal review missing where needed
  9. Annexes missing or never referenced
  10. Formatting below standard or wrong template
  11. Arabic and English versions inconsistent
  12. Submitted late, or at the deadline with no margin

After the training

The toolkit the team keeps

1 · Fulfilment Playbook

The standing SOP: six stages, RACI, SLAs, escalation rules, four team metrics.

2 · Templates & Checklists

Ten artefacts — from the Intake Log to the 28-item Pre-Submission Checklist.

3 · Quick Reference Guide

The desk-side card: five questions, six stages, Top 12, do/don't rules, model phrasings.

Full document pages and downloads are being added; the complete package is available from the Strategy Sector.