ECOPOST is an essential component of the subregionsub region's Vision 2020 developmentDevelopment plan for 2020Plan. Vision 2020 lays out a plan for better governance, faster economic and monetary unification, and increased Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). It supports the planned harmonization of investment regulations in West Africa and advises pushing the establishment of a regional investment promotion agency "with vigour." Countries are being advised to support efficient, viable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as to expose traditional agriculture to modern technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation, in order to boost production.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf|title=West Africa. In: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030|last=Essegbey|first=George|last2=Diaby|first2=Nouhou|last3=Konte|first3=Almamy|publisher=UNESCO Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-92-3-100129-1|___location=Paris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=ECOWAS Policy for Science and Technology|last=ECOWAS|publisher=Economic Community of West African States|year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Vision 2020: towards a Democratic and Prosperous Society.|last=ECOWAS|publisher=Economic Community of West African States|year=2011}}</ref>
== A framework for national policies ==
ECOPOST provides a framework for member states wishing to improve – or elaborate for the first time – their own national policies and action plans for science, technology and innovation. ImportantlyMoreover, ECOPOST includes a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the policy's implementation, an aspect often overlooked.<ref name=":0" />
It does not neglect funding rather it proposes creating a solidarity fund which would be managed by a Directorate within ECOWAS to help countries fund investment in key institutions and improve education and training; the fund would also be used to attract foreign direct investment. As of early 2015, the fund had not yet been established.<ref name=":0" />
