2nd workshop on the Lead Country coordination of the project’s activities in Paris, September 25-26, 2017
How to better organise the involvement of the ENP-S countries in the implementation of the activities of MEDSTAT IV?
MEDSTAT IV is being implemented in close collaboration between the project’s experts and the representatives of the country leaders for the sectors. This new “participative” and collaborative approach requires a transfer of techniques, tools and processes to the ENP-S countries in the areas of group management and leadership, project management (including reporting, monitoring and evaluation) and meeting chairmanship and facilitation. During the life of MEDSTAT IV, the Lead and co-Lead coordinators are supported by the project’s KEs in all the tasks relating to the implementation of the project’s activities for the sector they cover.
Countries volunteered to become lead coordinators in 2013 for the six thematic sectors cover by MEDSTAT IV and for training. At the last Forum meeting (Malta, May 16-17), the ENP-S countries volunteered to take the Lead and co-Lead for the horizontal sectors of Visibility (Egypt and Tunisia) and Gender (Jordan). As per today, there are 14 Lead and Co-lead coordinators involved in the implementation of the project’s activities.
A first workshop was organised in September 2016 which focused on basic communication techniques and tools and was very much appreciated by the participants. However, the impact of the training remained limited to the improvement of the personal capacities of the participants. In the course of the second part of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, the project deepened the discussion with the Lead countries mainly through discussion and contacts taken in the framework of the preparation of the 2017 EU-MED Forum of statisticians meeting (May 15-16). In particular, the point was made that the sharing of responsibility in the implementation of the project should be taken as an involvement of countries (Lead countries) and not only of individuals (Lead coordinators nominated by the countries). While it was agreed upon that the training and sensitization of the Lead coordinators should be pursued, it should take a more institutional form, making sure that what was transferred to the Lead coordinators would then help strengthening capacity within the NSIs of the Lead countries.
The experiences of the “Nordic Network in statistics” and of the “Baltic statistical cooperation” were presented by respectively Denmark statistics and by Statistics Lithuania. Even if the local contexts of these experiences are different with the one of the ENP-S countries, some lessons have been drawn that will enrich the reflection.
The meeting reached an agreement on a list of guidelines regarding the tasks to be covered by the Lead coordination and the way they should be addressed in each of the sectors covered by MEDSTAT IV. Each sector is specific and the guidelines leave them the necessary operational flexibility. The guidelines will be circulated to the members of the Forum for comments and approval. On this basis, the project and Morocco, as the country co-leading the Forum, will prepare a consolidated operational document. This document will be submitted to the next Forum.
For more information, please contact: Medsta4@expertisefrance.fr
