Update on Administrative and Operational actions to enhance efficiency in National Offices - Department of ...
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Update on Administrative and Operational actions to enhance efficiency in
National Offices
The following presentation is made at the request of the Chair of the Permanent Council in
seeking to update Member States on the work of the national offices, and to reiterate the
critical role national offices play in furtherance of the vision of the OAS, and in advocating
and promoting in the respective host countries the core pillars of Democracy, Human Rights,
Development and Security.
The Coordinating Office has been requested to be concise as this presentation is intended to
be the first of regular efforts to engage with Member States on the national offices over the
course of 2017. The details to be presented are supplementary to the biannual reports for
2016 on the National Offices filed with the Secretariat for Administration and Finance by the
Coordinating Office, a draft of which was presented to CAAP on Tuesday of this week.
Today’s update highlights steps taken within the framework of the Secretary General’s
Executive Order 16-06 to optimize the role of the national offices in addressing perceived
opportunity gaps in information sharing, collaboration for greater efficiency, the leveraging
of a working organizational presence, and to demonstrate the obvious synergies between all
of the dependencies of the General Secretariat. In fulfilling their role as active, visible
interlocutors of the OAS, the Coordinating Office has instituted a process for the systematic
strengthening of the national offices to lend even greater support and to promote the other
dependencies as the organization contributes to national and hemispheric development across
its four pillars.
Notwithstanding budgetary constraints which have severely impacted the availability of funds
for routine operational activities, the national offices still remain the most important tool of
the organization for outreach and action in the Member States, and for direct political
engagement, a constant and visible reference to its pledge to work for the advancement of the
peoples of the Americas. The Offices are invaluable in facilitating, implementing and
monitoring projects, for strengthening mechanisms for political dialogue and for providing
support to technical cooperation programs.
1 Presentation to the Permanent Council – Thursday, February 16, 2017There are currently 28 National Offices (1 in North America, 7 in Central America, 12 in the
Caribbean, 8 in South America), ten of which currently operate without a Representative.
While it may be perceived that there may be a reduction in overall activity in the absence of a
Representative, the work of the OAS must still be reflective of the Organization’s political
commitment to its Member States, and an active presence on the ground with demonstrable
results to the host country is the most effective prism through which to reflect that. As such,
in the absence of Representatives, the Coordinating Office undertakes significant oversight of
operational details, including management of ongoing projects, working with the reduced
staff to maintain a strong organizational profile in the host country, and to carefully managing
all administrative matters.
The Secretary General’s Executive Order 16-06 provided concrete prescriptions for the
realization of set objectives for stimulating enhanced and more effective engagement between
the national offices and other dependencies of the General Secretariat. The Coordinating
Office is pleased to report on the steps taken to date in delivering on that goal within the
framework of the Executive Order:
1. A comprehensive strategy for the Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member
States undertaken by the Office of the Assistant Secretary General was the
antecedent to Executive Order 16-06. It was the culmination of broad based
consultations undertaken with OAS Representatives in the Member States and with
Secretaries to ventilate concerns, to establish synergies, and to propose mechanisms
for amelioration and response in the execution of their respective roles.
Underscoring the need to maximize the collaboration of the National Offices, the
Executive Order mandates a systematized role with substantive functions as a
primary consideration in the conceptual design, planning and implementation of all
projects submitted for consideration and approval for execution in Member States.
2. Per the Executive Order, the Coordinating Office sought the support of Secretariats
and Executive Secretariats with the naming of ‘focal points’, at the level of Director,
who would be a key contact on matters relating to coordination, interaction and
planning. I am pleased to inform that all Secretariats have responded favorably, and
that the Coordinating Office has utilized this mechanism for expediting responses
and for follow up action on critical matters.
3. Despite budgetary constraints and staff reductions, the Coordinating Office has
performed one-on-one training sessions via teleconference with each National
Office on the use of financial tools while observing the quality standards required
by the Organization. This has resulted in improved performance overall.
4. Complementing improved skillsets as a result of those sessions, the Coordinating
Office has ensured accessibility and support through interactive tools that facilitate
daily work and communication with the National Offices. Through the National
Offices Collaborative Space (NOCS) which has seen significant improvement since
2 Presentation to the Permanent Council – Thursday, February 16, 2017its installation, the National Offices perform budget monitoring and execution to
ensure control of expenditures. This tool also provides a common space for the
publication of budgetary and financial data while permitting users to keep track of
reports, inventory and other relevant information. Departments requiring financial
or administrative reporting from National Offices have access to this tool facilitating
instant access, and reducing resource losses due to time and courier costs.
5. Upgraded Cisco Jabber technology has increased productivity and cost saving in
long distance calls. This technology is now installed in all systems in the National
Offices allowing users to select cost efficient options for communication between
Headquarters and the national offices. These include participation in online
meetings, instant messaging (IM), audio and video calls, voice messaging, desktop
sharing, and conferencing. Additionally, there has been a recent effort to replace
obsolete computers, equipment, and systems in order to maximize the benefits of
the newer technology. Once all systems would have been replaced, they will then
meet the demands of modern technology, and this will result in even greater scope
for efficiency and cost saving.
6. The OAS National Offices through the Representatives constitute an essential
component of the Organization’s early warning institutional capacity for the
streamlining of its prospective virtual situation room. As part of a broader training
program to OAS professionals at Headquarters, following discussions between the
Coordinating Office, the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy and the EU
funded Global Crisis Response Support Programme, the National Offices were
included as beneficiaries of training which would strengthen their capacity to
manage information, and to file standardized and focused reports to Headquarters.
Eighteen participants benefitted from the 5 day seminar in Barbados which was
fully funded by the European Union. It covered foundational training in ‘Open
Source Information’, ‘Information Analysis and Reporting’, and ‘Knowledge
Management.
7. While in Barbados for the EU funded training, the Assistant Secretary General
engaged Country Representatives in a frank and open dialogue which allowed for
the ventilation of concerns, many of which are finding responses as the stipulations
of the Executive Order are implemented. Representatives were also exposed to
interactive evening sessions on timely topics such as ‘Borders that divide us: The
role of the OAS in monitoring and advising on border conflicts and migration
among Member States” and on ‘Coordination Mechanisms in the Latin American
and Caribbean Regions in the event of Natural Hazards and New Security Threats’.
8. The Coordinating Office has been working with the Political and Prospective
Analysis Section (SAPEM) of the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy to
develop templates that would focus and refine the reporting required of OAS
Country Representatives and Special Representatives, for generating timely and
quality information that would support the efforts of the General Secretariat to
identify and meet the needs of our Member States. Important steps were made
towards this end at the EU-funded “Peer to Peer Seminar for OAS National
3 Presentation to the Permanent Council – Thursday, February 16, 2017Representatives” in Barbados in September 2016, and we continue to work with
SAPEM to develop and implement the necessary products.
9. Commencing in October, 2016, the Coordinating Office has responded to the call to
roll out synergistic processes which can bridge the information gap which often
leads to a feeling of alienation in the national offices. Through regularly scheduled
audio-visual ‘cyber meetings’, National Offices are now brought immediately into
the mainstream of the work of Secretariats and their Departments, and over the
course of one hour are able to be updated by Secretaries, and to engage in a question
and answer session that is responsive to the need for clarification or for additional
data. This, in and of itself, has proven to be a clearing house for ideas on how best
to support the work of the Secretariats, through direct information sharing and
exchange. To date, there have been interactions between the National Offices and
all Secretariats, with one exception, as well as with the Leo Rowe Fund and the
Office of the Ombudsperson, and the Coordinating Offices is maintaining a focus on
ensuring that this remains a viable channel for expanding collaboration between all
dependencies of the General Secretariat.
10. The Coordinating Office is also part of a collaborative effort within the Office of the
Assistant Secretary General and with the Press and Communications Department to
respond to requests from Member States to make accessible for public consumption
the breath of cooperation provided by the OAS in the Americas. Appropriate
templates have been completed for collating data provided by Secretariats for
reflection on the OAS website beneath the country profile of each Member State.
This is intended as a mechanism for rationalizing the relevance of the OAS to its
Member States, as well as for providing easy, user-friendly access to information
for citizens of the hemisphere about the significant role played by the Organization
along the lines of its four pillars, while providing invaluable data to government
officials, scholars, and Civil Society. The intention is to have the information
updated biannually.
11. There has been significant progress on the drafting of a Manual of Procedures for
National Offices which will provide easy access to basic institutional information,
as well as a guide to Representatives in the execution of their responsibilities. The
manual is designed to assist current Directors in enhancing their operations for
greater efficiency and cost saving, to serve as a handy, supplementary tool for new
Directors, and as a procedural handbook. The information in this manual will be
presented in electronic format and will be updated over time in keeping with policy
and other developments within the Organization, and to reflect changes in the
organizational structure. The manual is expected to be completed in advance of the
2017 General Assembly.
The efforts of the Coordinating Office are ongoing, and through consistency in harnessing the
resourcefulness and responsiveness of the National Offices, as well as by continually
threading the linkages for collaboration with Secretariats and other dependencies of the
General Secretariat, the measurable results will increase exponentially as we optimize the
existing nexuses.
4 Presentation to the Permanent Council – Thursday, February 16, 2017The National Offices are an investment not just in a physical presence of the Organization in
the Member States, but to prove their value they must be an investment that is fully optimized
by all dependencies in support of the work of the OAS, reducing costs related to travel,
communication, accommodation, physical interaction. Their value extends to their
invigorating of political dialogue on the ground, to actively repositioning the OAS as the
premier hemispheric political organization, and to cementing the Organization’s preeminence
in delivering to the peoples of the Americas along its four pillars.
5 Presentation to the Permanent Council – Thursday, February 16, 2017You can also read
