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Published version available at http://www.fao.org/strategicframework

CL 116/12





Council



Hundred-and-sixteenth Session

Rome, 14 - 19 June 1999

A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR FAO
2000 - 2015
Version 3.0

This document contains the third draft of a proposed Strategic Framework to guide the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the medium and longer term. It is a revision of Version 2.0, modified on the basis of the reactions and guidance of Technical Committees of FAO (the Committees on Commodity Problems, on Agriculture, on Fisheries and on Forestry), of the Ministerial Meetings on Fisheries and on Forestry, as well as those comments from sister organizations in the United Nations system and other partners outside the system which had been received by the Secretariat by mid-March 1999.

A structured process of consultations, between September 1998 and September 1999, foresees the preparation of successive versions of the document, prior to its submission for discussion and adoption by the FAO Conference in November 1999 as the Strategic Framework for FAO for the years 2000-2015 (see also Annex I). This document therefore constitutes the third step in an iterative and interactive process, involving the full membership of FAO, and drawing on the wealth of knowledge and vision which its partners may offer.

Version 1.0 was discussed by the Programme and Finance Committees at their autumn sessions and subsequently by the Council at its 115th session in November 1998. On the basis of the reports of the Committees, additional information provided and its own consideration of the document, the Council "welcomed the progress made so far and considered that Version 1.0 provided a good basis for discussion at this stage." It recognized the wide range of expectations as to the scope and contents of future versions, which it would be particularly challenging to reconcile. Nevertheless, it agreed on "the desirability of a more concise and less descriptive document to facilitate further discussions", but pointed out that "ways would need to be found to present sufficient supporting material to meet the diverse interests of Members."

The Secretariat has endeavoured to accommodate, to the greatest extent possible, the recommendations and suggestions made on both Versions 1.0 and 2.0, keeping in mind the Council's general guidance. The present document, Version 3.0 contains an entirely new section covering the programmme for implementation of the Strategic Framework, and an additional annex highlighting regional perspectives on the corporate strategies. Version 3.0 has the following structure:

Part I, the Overall Strategic Framework, alludes to the challenges facing the Organization in the coming 15 years (which are dealt with in more detail in Annex II). It then recalls the purpose of FAO, and the goals of Members to which FAO is expected to contribute. Finally, it presents statements of values, mission and vision for the Organization.

Part II, Corporate Strategies, spells out in more depth the strategic orientations which derive from the overall analysis. In its first section, it proposes five major corporate strategies, to address Members' needs in the medium to long term, defining within each area two or three strategic objectives. The second section of Part II identifies major strategic issues of a cross-organizational nature, and indicates the steps underway or proposed to respond to them. Version 1.0 had five such strategies; a sixth was added for Version 2.0 and received support during discussions on that document.

Part III gives the Implementation Programme for the Strategic Framework, as requested in Conference Resolution 6/97 (see below). After situating the Strategic Framework within the broader planning framework now approved for FAO, this part explains the planning methodology to be adopted and covers the question of priority setting in the context of the new planning framework. Material on criteria, on comparative advantage and on partnerships, presented in the annexes to Version 2.0, has now been expanded and moved to this part of the main document as suggested during discussions in the Technical Committees. Finally, a schedule is given for implementation following Conference approval in November 1999.

Annex I shows the sequence of events leading to the approval and publication of the Strategic Framework.

Annex II looks at trends in the external environment and the challenges facing countries and the international community in achieving the objectives of the World Food Summit and the outlook for agriculture, forestry and fisheries development. It then summarizes the results of the Secretariat's analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), the results of the questionnaire to Members, and the rationale underlying the proposals for corporate strategies. Much of this material was presented in the body of Version 1.0, and in response to the Council's suggestion it has been moved to the annex to allow the document to focus on proposals.

Annex III contains an abridged version of the Secretariat's analysis of external partnerships, with examples presented in tabular form to illustrate the detailed work carried out in the process of formulating the corporate strategies. In response to comments made in the Technical Committees, a further internal review has been carried out of the role which FAO would have vis-�-vis partners in the various areas covered, and amendments have been made in the examples provided. Further detail has also been given regarding the specific UN organizations with which FAO will be working on different aspects of the strategies.

Annex IV complements the proposals made in Part II, under Corporate Strategies to Address Members' Needs, by giving more specific regional perspectives for each of the 12 strategic objectives.

The document is submitted in accordance with Conference Resolution 6/97, reproduced below:

 

RESOLUTION 6/97
Strengthening the FAO 2000 Project

THE CONFERENCE

Reaffirming the commitment in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Plan of Action to reduce the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015,

Welcoming the proposals by the Director-General to strengthen the strategic management of FAO, especially the formulation of a long-term Strategic Framework and consequently modified Medium-Term Plan and Programme of Work and Budget (the FAO 2000 project):

  1. Requests the Director-General to further the process leading to the development of a Strategic Vision for the FAO for the years 2000-2015, including inter alia, a set of core strategic objectives and an Implementation Programme;
  2. Decides that the process should be, in the framework of existing structures, a full participatory process, involving not only the Secretariat but also the full membership of FAO;
  3. Decides further that this process should recognize that a prime responsibility of the CFS is to monitor the implementation of the World Food Plan of Action;
  4. Requests the Director-General to prepare an appropriate progress report for consideration in the FAO Council in November 1998.


(Adopted on 18 November 1997)

Box 1. Action on Version 3.0

The present document, Version 3.0, constitutes the second revision of the draft Strategic Framework, and is submitted for the views and comments of the Programme and Finance Committees and the Council, as well as FAO's external partners. Reactions to Version 3.0 will be drawn upon to produce Version 4.0 for the consideration of the Committees, the Council, and finally the Conference in November 1999.


CONTENTS

Acronyms

Annex I:

Sequence of Events Leading to the Approval and Publication of a
Strategic Framework for FAO 2000-2015

Annex II:

Background Analysis and Rationale for Proposals

Annex III:

Analysis of External Partnerships

Annex IV:

Regional Perspectives

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