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Council
Group of Specialists to review the management of the Union
Link
to the Council Oversight Group (COG) website
Link
to the Consultancy Project website
Background
Based on
Plenipotentiary Decision 7 (Marrakesh, 2002) the ITU Council, at its extraordinary
session in 2002, created the Group of Specialists (GoS) to review the management
of the Union. The Group consists of one member from each administrative region,
and is mandated to carry out its work in consultation with the
Secretary-General, Directors of the Bureaux and Sector Advisory Groups,
and to report to the 2003 session of the Council.
Ongoing
work of the Group
The
Council at its 2003 session mandated the GoS to further study and prepare its
mid- and long-term recommendations, and to monitor implementation of the
near-term recommendations. The Group's work is ongoing, and is being carried by
physical meetings and electronic means. The Group's work is to be carried out in
close coordination with the Council Oversight Group (COG) newly established by
the 2003 Council to oversee implementation of the near-term recommendations of
the GoS, as approved by the Council. The terms of reference of the two Groups
are contained in Council Resolution 1210.
Following
the selection of a consultancy firm in accordance with Council Resolution 1212
(approved at the 2003 Additional Council session), the GoS is mandated to
monitor the work of the consultancy, in liaison with the COG, and to report to
the ITU Council at its 2004 meeting.
Original
terms
of reference of the Group
Under
the terms of Decision COM 6/1 (Marrakesh, 2002), the purpose of the Group of Specialists (GoS) to review
the management of the Union shall be to undertake, as a matter of urgency,
studies on the overall management of the Union, in order that the results of the
studies are implemented in time for the 2004-2005 biennial budget. The experts
serving on the group shall be provided by administrations, at their own cost.
The
terms of reference of the Group, as set out in Decision COM 6/1 (Marrakesh,
2002), are as follows:
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Terms
of reference of the Group of Specialists to review the management of the
Union |
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To identify and evaluate options, with supporting pros
and cons, relating to the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of the
management and administration of the Union as a whole, considering all
elements that would contribute to efficient and effective fulfilment of
the functions and duties of ITU, and in particular to review:
1) the
organization of the Union's financial management, including:
i)
performing a thorough examination of ITU, including the system of
budgets managed by the Sectors, so as to identify all opportunities for
savings and ensure maximum economic use of the Union's resources;
ii)
identifying the necessary control mechanisms to ensure appropriate
accountability and control, including any role the Deputy
Secretary-General might take in financial approval;
iii)
recommending appropriate changes to the Financial Regulations;
2) Various
functions, to see how they could further support the activities of the
Union and in the light of the changes in priorities of the membership,
(e.g. the library and the Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU));
3) the present distribution of tasks related to documentation and publications
among the relevant departments of the General Secretariat and the Bureaux,
identifying situations which give rise to problems of quality control, and
clarifying the assignment of responsibilities and accountability;
4) interpretation and translation staffing and systems, including
partial outsourcing (see Document PP02/115);
5)
the provision of financial information to Member States;
6)
better use of the centralized support services of the General
Secretariat in order to achieve cost reduction in relation to TELECOM
activities;
7)
common administrative functions of each Sector, including their
consolidation into the General Secretariat;
8)
simplification of internal procedures.
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First
meeting of the Group
At
the first meeting of the GoS, held at ITU in Geneva on Thursday, 9 January 2003, Mr
Richard Beaird (United States) was elected as Chairman, and Mr Alexander
Kushtuev (Russian Federation) was elected as Vice-Chairman. The other members of
the Group are: Ms M. Townswick (United States, representing Mr Beaird), Mr
A.Gomes (Portugal), Mr A.Tazi-Riffi (Morocco) and Mr T.Yamada (Japan). The Group considered
a number of contributions and established the programme and allocation of
responsibilities for its work.
Second
meeting of the Group
The
second meeting of the GoS was held in Geneva from 12 to 14 February 2003. The
Group continued its discussions on the basis of interviews carried out,
documental research and informal meetings between its members, as well as
several written contributions from its own members. At its second meeting, the
Group also held interviews with the Secretary-General, and with the Chief of the
Finance Department. On the basis of all inputs, the outline of the draft report
to the ITU Council was prepared.
Third
meeting of the Group - preparation of the Report to the ITU Council
The
third meeting of the GoS was held in Geneva from 9 to 11 April 2003. The Group
considered the draft report to the ITU Council as well as a number of further
contributions. It also held interviews with the External Auditors and the Chief
of the Finance Department. On the basis of these inputs, the report to the ITU
Council was finalized, together with a cover letter to the Chairman of the
Council, Mr José Mendes (Portugal).
Information
documents for the work of the GoS
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