# Presentation: 120629

## Proposed Plan for Governance of the Washington Group 

- Prepared by:
- Jennifer Madans, Barbara Altman, Beth Rasch (USA);
- Renée Langlois (Canada);
- Elena DePalma, and Roberta Crialesi (Italy)

- 3rd WG meeting, Brussels

## Introduction

- In accordance with the UN guidelines, city groups determine their own mechanism of work.
- It is timely for the WG to formalize a plan to govern its structure and operation due to the:
- size of the group;
- need for the outcomes of the group’s work;
- external pressure to perform the work quickly;
- nature of the work.

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## Outline: major topics

- Membership
- Organizational structure
- III.	Operating principles

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## MembershipA. Composition

- Representatives from national statistical offices (NSO) of nation-states belonging to the UN.
- Members are selected by their NSO.
- One or more persons from an NSO can represent each nation-state, however, one person should be named as the primary representative.
- Membership in the WG is voluntary.

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## MembershipA. Composition

- Well-recognized international organizations are invited to participate in all WG activities (setting meeting agendas, participating in discussions and workgroup activities).
- The WG will strive for consensus when making decisions.  If consensus is not possible and balloting is necessary, each member-state will have one vote.

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## MembershipB. Responsibilities

- Members must contribute substantively to the work of the WG through:
- workgroup participation;
- individual or group contribution of position papers or activity reports;
- formal commentary;
- participation in other product-oriented work identified by the WG.

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## MembershipB. Responsibilities

- Each representative is expected to fund his or her participation in the group.
- Limited funding may be available for a small number of members to attend the annual meeting.
- It is the member’s responsibility to notify the secretariat of the need for funding well in advance of the meeting.

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## II.  Organizational structure

*Secretariat / Steering Committee*
- Composition and responsibilities
*Workgroups*
- Composition and responsibilities
*Meeting Host / Planning Committee*
- Composition and responsibilities

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## II.  Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Composition
- Secretariat and steering committee positions are voluntary.
- For now, the secretariat will be a standing position in order to facilitate continuity and consistency of communication.
- Volunteers for the secretariat position will be accepted at this meeting and will be selected by the full WG membership.

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## II.  Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Composition
- The steering committee will include 7 representatives of member nations, including planning committee chairs (hosts) from the last 3 major meetings and representatives from each major geographical region of the world.
- Steering committee members will be selected / replaced at the annual WG meeting by the full membership.

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## II.  Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Composition
- Steering committee members will serve 3-year terms with the option to complete a second term if committee members agree.
- The steering committee will be a rotating body.  No more than 3 members will be replaced yearly.  The 1st committee selected will have terms varying from 1-3 years that will be assigned randomly upon selection.

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## II. Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Responsibilities of the executive secretariat
- The secretariat serves as the central contact for communications with the full WG membership, will address external inquiries, and will maintain and regularly update the membership list.
- The secretariat will maintain the WG website and will provide annual updates to the UNSD City Group website.

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## II.  Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Responsibilities of secretariat
- The secretariat will draft annual and interim reports to the UN statistical commission for approval by the steering committee.
- Prior to each annual meeting, the secretariat will solicit volunteers to host the meeting for the next year.

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## II.  Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Responsibilities of secretariat
- The secretariat will be the point-of-contact for workgroups and will provide a semi-annual report of their progress to the steering committee.
- The secretariat will maintain a list of opportunities for funding for members to attend annual meetings, along with a list of members requesting funding.

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## II.  Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Responsibilities of steering committee
- The steering committee will select the annual meeting hosts, sites, and dates, and will establish the planning group for each annual meeting of the WG.
- The steering committee will approve interim and annual reports to the UN.

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## II.  Organizational structureA. Secretariat / steering committee

- Responsibilities of steering committee
- The steering committee will be advisory to workgroups to coordinate work between groups and provide recommendations about timeframe, form, and content of work products, etc.
- Countries / organizations that provide funding for meeting attendance to WG members can select the recipients of the funds with input from the steering committee and information provided by the secretariat.

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## II.  Organizational structureB. Workgroups

- Composition
- Workgroup membership is voluntary.
- Workgroups will be self-selected based on interest and expertise in the topical work of the group.

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## II.  Organizational structureB. Workgroups

- Composition
- Each workgroup will designate a leader as the primary contact for the workgroup and the secretariat.
- Persons external to the WG with recognized expertise in one of the workgroup topics can be invited to participate on an ad hoc basis by the group leader.

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## II.  Organizational structureB. Workgroups

- Formation and disbanding
- Workgroups will be formed each time that a major work topic is identified and agreed upon at annual meetings.
- When the specific task of the workgroup is completed, the group will disband and have the opportunity to participate in new topical areas.

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## II.  Organizational structureB. Workgroups

- Responsibilities
- Workgroups will be responsible for preparing and presenting position papers / activity reports at annual meetings on agreed upon topics.
- Workgroup leaders will solicit comments on position papers / activity reports from the full WG membership via the secretariat.
- Workgroup leaders will provide a brief, semi-annual report of progress to the secretariat.

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## II.  Organizational structureC. Meeting host / planning committee

- Composition
- The planning committee will be selected by the steering committee and will include the meeting host and leaders from the workgroups that will be participating in the meeting.

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##  II.  Organizational structureC. Meeting host / planning committee

- Responsibilities of the meeting host
- The host will secure the meeting facilities.
- The host will identify a meeting hotel or local hotels to assist WG membership with travel arrangements.
- The host will provide a map of the local area, a list of local restaurants and attractions, and a list of transportation options to meeting participants.

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## II.  Organizational structureC. Meeting host / planning committee

- Responsibilities of the meeting host
- The host will collect, copy, and distribute materials for presentation and discussion at the meeting.
- The host will moderate the meeting, provide introductory and summary statements, and will lead balloting.
- The host will present the WG report at the annual UN Statistical Commission meeting in March.
- If the host will not be attending the meeting, they will be responsible for designating another WG member to present the report.

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## II.  Organizational structureC. Meeting host / planning committee

- Joint responsibilities
- The planning committee and host will plan the meeting agenda and schedule, and assist in identifying potential commentators for scheduled presentations.

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## III.  Operating principlesA. Content of annual meetings

- Annual meetings will be organized around topical position papers and activity reports prepared by small workgroups.
- Papers will include discrete “next steps” with a plan and timeline for accomplishing those steps.

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## III.  Operating principlesA. Content of annual meetings

- Major work topics will emanate from work presented at annual meetings.
- WG members may suggest work topics that are related to WG objectives with deliverable outcomes.
- Major work topics for future years will be identified at annual meetings.

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## III.  Operating principlesA. Content of annual meetings

- At annual meetings, workgroups will be designated around work topics.
- The secretariat and steering committee members will be selected.

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## III.  Operating principlesB. Meeting schedule

- The WG will meet annually, in advance of the deadline for the report to the annual UN Statistical Commission meeting in March.
- The report deadline is the preceding November.
- Before each annual meeting, the secretariat will solicit volunteers to be potential meeting hosts for the following annual meeting.

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## III.  Operating principlesC. Communication

- The primary means of communication will be through the WG website.
- The membership list will be updated through annual email correspondence with WG members to determine who would like to continue to be involved.
- Workgroup leaders will be responsible for communication among the workgroup members and with the secretariat.

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## Commentaries

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