Competitiveness Initiatives
The National Competitiveness Centre, in its efforts to integrate competitiveness within the economy at all levels, has launched a number of initiatives to enhance, encourage & recognize good competitive practices across public & private sectors.
Tracking the impact of increasing competitiveness in any economy can be a daunting task. One indicator to show the underlying health and expansion of an economy - and direct impact on job creation - is measuring company growth. Such growth statistics, if appropriately gathered, can help to generate sample data regarding corporate growth, economic diversification, job creation, etc. The list measures growth statistics by compounded annual growth rate, and also gathers other information such as jobs created year on year of both companies five years and older, as well as those in business for less than five years.
The National Competitiveness Centre undertook this initiative to help provide policy recommendations to help the country develop a more competitive business environment to smaller size businesses. The SFG100 list is an annual project managed by AllWorld, and supported by Al Watan, one of the country's most widely read general newspapers; both founding partner’s with SAGIA’s NCC. In its second year of publication, the list covers both companies over 5 years old and "Start-Ups" - companies whose growth merits watching for what it indicates regarding the underlying strength of the Saudi economy.
The Saudi Fast Growth 100 shines a spotlight on a new generation of companies that are creating jobs and spurring innovation and growth. They are the Kingdom’s “leading indicator” of competitiveness. By highlighting these companies, the Saudi Fast Growth 100 will ignite the next generation of small and medium-size companies, ensuring the Kingdom's future prosperity. These are real companies, with real growth and real success
Saudi Arabian Responsible Competitiveness Index 
One hallmark of a mature business is its commitment to giving back to the community. Such social responsibility enables the less fortunate to benefit from a successful enterprise’s prosperity.
The Saudi Arabian Responsible Competitiveness Index provides the first in-depth assessment of how Saudi Arabian companies enhance productivity and create value through responsible business practices. SAGIA launched the program in 2008 in partnership with the King Khalid Foundation and support from AccountAbility, a global non-profit organization. The main components of the SARCI are:
· The Saudi Arabian Responsible Competitiveness Index, which ranks the most socially responsible companies in Saudi Arabia
· The King Khalid Award for Responsible Competitiveness, given to the top three most socially responsible companies on the SARCI
· The Leadership Dialogue, an educational forum about the importance of corporate social responsibility for Saudi Arabian companies & an International exchange platform for best practices on both the domestic and global level
The SARCI shows how Saudi Arabian businesses are going beyond legal compliance and making significant contributions to responsible competitiveness through smart philanthropy, best human resources practices, innovative products and services, and responsible communications and branding.
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At GCF 2010, SAGIA expects to announce two additional initiatives focusing on youth and leadership, and the NCC has committed to driving further initiatives in the coming years. While reforms enhance important regulatory and policy-related elements of the economy, the NCC’s strategic initiatives will promote entrepreneurship and innovation and bring Saudi Arabia’s economy to the forefront of competitiveness
As FDI has a direct correlation with competitiveness & showcases a country's competitive investment environment, SAGIA has set forth to improve the Saudi investment environment to attract greater investment, acting as an enabling factor for the country to become a knowledge-based economy. As a verification of the Kingdom’s growing competitiveness, Saudi Arabia was the 14th largest recipient of FDI in this year's UNCTAD World Investment Report, which measures actual investment in a country’s economy. The country’s WIR ranking dovetails with its ranking rise in the World Bank’s IFC Ease of Doing Business Report, in which the country is currently placed as the 13th most competitive regulatory environment.
To recognize the contribution of foreign investors to the country’s economic development and diversification, SAGIA will recognize the top 100 FDI companies in KSA at the Global Competitiveness Forum. Adding both jobs and knowledge transfer; the increasing levels of FDI in Saudi Arabia are an acknowledgment of the underlying health of the country’s investment environment – especially relevant in a climate of increased uncertainty due to the global financial crisis.
As a further recognition of the importance of FDI, the NCC is creating a databank of all FDI in the Kingdom. Amongst other activities, this databank will offer projections on the Saudi economy's development, and provide statistics on job creation, economic impact of investment, knowledge transfer activities that are adding to the economy's productivity quotient. The NCC plans to use the information to make informed public policy recommendations regarding investment environment improvement, investor incentive package creation, and investment attraction strategies
SAUDI OXFORD ADVANCED MANAGEMENTAND LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME
The Saudi Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme (SOAMLP), run in Oxford, UK, and Riyadh, KSA, provides a compelling forum for the leaders who shape the competitiveness of Saudi Arabia. In an intellectually stimulating environment, participants reflect on their leadership experiences, assess how external and internal challenges affect executives and their organisations, and explore ways to design and implement innovative strategies. In early 2008 RAKISA Education entered into a long term partnership with Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.
Leadership for Competitiveness
SOAMLP is a joint initiative of Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Rakisa Education and The North Development Program for the purpose of developing leaders from public and private sector organisations who will raise the competitiveness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and take Saudi economy and the society to the next level.
The design of the programme is embedded in the challenges leaders in public and private sector organisations in Saudi Arabia face. Real life leadership issues faced by Saudi leaders are debated in the class with the help of case studies on Saudi and international organisations. These case studies have been specifically prepared for the SOAMLP.
In addition, the participants undertake sector specific projects to develop innovative strategies for enhancing the competitiveness of strategically important sectors in the Saudi economy. In the 2009 programme, the sectors included: education, health, water, energy, petrochemicals, telecommunications and transportation.
The four-week SOAMLP was the first programme in this relationship which was successfully designed and delivered in Oxford, UK and Riyadh, KSA during February and April 2009. The programme was supported by Saudi Arabia General Investment Agency (SAGIA) and was attended by 43 senior executives, CEOs, business leaders and entrepreneurs, educationists and senior public servants from Saudi Arabia. The content and the learning methods of SOAMLP 09 were based on Saudi realities and the programme was an outstanding success.
SOAMLP VISION AND MISSION
To create a compelling context for the participants to:
· Share views on key global and Saudi trends and pressures and how these challenges are shaping the competitive landscape of Saudi and international organisations
· Acquire strategic perspectives and tools required by organisations to develop capabilities and strategies thereby enhancing competitiveness, employee engagement and creating higher value for the stakeholders
· Step back and reflect on their leadership experiences and skills –helping them to successfully lead and make a difference in their organisation, Saudi Society, and the region