RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/ 548 
 
1 April 2021 
(21-2792) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 
 
ENHANCING STRATEGIC PLANNING AND HORIZONTAL COORDINATION  AND OUTPUT 
REPORTING IN THE WTO   
 
1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  The objective of this paper is to reinvigorate discussion of the topic of Enhancing Strategic 
Planning and Horizontal Coordination and questions raised by Members . These include questions  
relating to: 1) transparency and  information sharing amongst divisions in the WTO ; 2) alignment of  
resources and development of strategies to support the organization 's goals ; and 3) best practices 
for enhancing strategic planning and horizontal coordination in other international organisations, 
e.g. role of Chief Operating Officer  or Chief Strategy Officer.1  
1.2.  Previous CBFA formal  and informal exchanges have covered some aspects of these issues. For 
example, questions relating to s trategic planning and horizontal coordination were on the agenda of 
the formal  meetings of the Committee h eld on 7 July and 22 October 2020 .2 Several  Members have 
underscored the importance of these matters  and have e xpressed an interest in continuing small 
group discussions and/or convening informal sessions of the CBFA to further compare and explore 
ideas regarding strategic planning  and horizontal coo rdination . Members have remarked , for 
example, that: 1) the WTO  could, in line with other international organizations,  benefit from having 
a strategic plan against which to measure activitie s; 2) strategic planning could assist in the budget 
allocation exe rcise, and in  analysing the outcomes of the budget ; 3) a concise strategic plan could 
contribute to  coherence and bring a multi -year perspective  to planning and goal -setting (tied to the 
term of the Director -General , for instance ); and 4) a cautious and me asured approach, over time, 
might be the best way to proceed.   
1.3.  Points 1) and 2) in paragraph 1.2 above are related to the topic of output reporting, which 
were on the agenda of formal CBFA meeting  held on 7 July 20203.  
1.4.  In addition to being discussed at two formal meetings of the CBFA, s trategic planning was also 
the subject of a dedicated  informal session  of the Committee  held on 4 December 2020 . That meeting 
covered  three issues : 1) the potential use of strategic foresight analysis  in inter national organizations 
generally and the WTO in particular; 2)  strategic planning and results -based management at the 
World Intellectual Property Organization;  and 3) WTO Secretariat perspectives and updates on 
strategic foresight issues.   
1.5.  As mentioned at the meeting, strategic foresight analysis can contribute to longer -term 
strategic planning in the sense that its objective is  to identify and consider the large -scale forces 
that are at play in the global economy , including social, political, demographic and other factors. 
Strategic foresight will help the Secretariat  to develop a culture of adaptability and flexibility to 
better meet the needs of Members  amid changing circumstances.  
1.6.  To facilitate further exchange a nd deliberation on these and other issues , the topic of Enhancing 
Strategic Planning and Horizontal Coordination has been included on the agenda of the next meeting  
of the CBFA scheduled for 20 May 2021. The topic of Output Reporting will be a part of thes e 
discussions.  
 
1 See WT/BFA/INF/5 , WT/BFA/INF/7 , and WT/BFA/INF/12 . 
2 WT/BFA/187 and WT/BFA/190.  
3 See WT/BFA/W/518.  WT/BFA/W/ 548 
 
- 2 - 
 
 
  
 2  NEXT STEPS  
2.1.  The benefits of strategic planning and coordinated resource planning are well known.  For 
example,  strategic plans can be used to set out  a vision, core functions, strategic and management 
objectives, and to bring further precision to the mandate and role of an international  organization in 
a changing world.  
2.2.  Strategic  planning is a vehicle to improve horizontal coordination . In the WTO context,  
horizontal coordination is already being pursued , for instance,  through  bodies such as the IT Steering 
Committee and the short -term staff selection committee  and recently through the cross -divisional 
work WTO COVID -19 Task Force. The establishment of a Delivery Unit by the Director General is  a 
notable development.   
2.3.  Before su ggesting approaches to enhance strategic planning and horizontal coordination in the 
WTO, the Secretariat would welcome further input and contributions by Members . The Secretariat 
also invite s Members to indicate whether they would prefer  to continue discu ssions  in the context of 
informal open -ended meetings of the CBFA dedicated to the strategic planning and horizontal 
coordination , or in some other format .  
 
__________