| CL 116/14
|
| CL 116/14
|
Hundred and sixteenth Session |
Rome, 14 - 19 June 1999 |
REPORT OF THE EIGHTY-FIRST
SESSION OF THE
|
MATTERS REQUIRING ATTENTION BY THE COUNCIL
REPORT OF THE EIGHTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE PROGRAMME COMMITTEE
Adoption of the Agenda and Timetable
FAO Strategic Framework 2000-2015
PART I - OVERALL STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
PART II - CORPORATE STRATEGIES
PART III - IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMME FOR THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
Programme Evaluation Report 1998-99
Summary Programme of Work and Budget 2000-2001
CHAPTER 1: GENERAL POLICY AND DIRECTION
CHAPTER 2: TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRAMMES
Major Programme 2.1: Agricultural Production and Support Systems
Programme 2.1.1: Natural Resources
Programme 2.1.2: Crops
Programme 2.1.3: Livestock
Programme 2.1.4: Agricultural Support Systems
Programme 2.1.5: Agricultural Applications of Isotopes and
Biotechnology
Major Programme 2.2: Food and Agriculture Policy and Development
Major Programme 2.3: Fisheries
Major Programme 2.4: Forestry
Major Programme 2.5: Contributions to Sustainable Development and
Special Programme Thrusts
Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) Reports
Progress Report on the Follow-up to Past Committee Recommendations
Review of the Working Methods of the Programme Committee
Rome, 3 -7 May 1999
1. The Committee submits to the Council the following report of its Eighty-first Session.
2. The following Members were present:
| Chairman: | Mr. D.F.R. Bommer (Germany) |
| Members: | Mr P.N. Ross (Australia) Mr R. Rose (Canada) Mr G. Redai (Ethiopia) Mr E. Kitahara (Japan) Mr G. Mansour (Lebanon) Mr M.M. Seghayer (Libya) Mr P. Paredes Portella (Peru) Ms M.R. Castillo (Philippines) Mr V. Moe (Trinidad and Tobago) Ms S. Nyamudeza (Zimbabwe) |
3. Mr. P.N. Ross replaced Mr. A. Pearson as representative of the Government of Australia on the Programme Committee.
4. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, Mr. M.M. Seghayer (Libya) was elected Vice-Chairman for 1999.
5. Mr. S. Baharsjah, the Independent Chairman of the Council, was present at the meeting.
6. The Agenda and Timetable for the meeting were approved with the inclusion of an oral presentation on the Corporate Communications Policy and Strategy.
7. In considering Version 3.0, the Committee expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the development of the Strategic Framework document. It recognized that this version had benefited, as planned, from the process of progressive refinement of substantive content and the extensive consultations undertaken, including through the Technical Committees of the Council.
8. Recalling that it would return to the matter at its Joint Meeting with the Finance Committee, the Committee addressed the substance of the three main parts of Version 3.0, as well as the supporting Annexes, in order to advise the Council.
9. The Committee considered the improvements made in this part as valuable in defining the context for the proposed corporate strategies and strategic objectives in Part II. In particular, it welcomed the treatment of FAO's purpose and of the impact of recent conferences, culminating in the holding of the World Food Summit, which constituted a new point of reference for Members and for the Organization in looking to the future. The Committee also welcomed the statements of global goals, values, mission and vision for FAO.
10. The Committee nevertheless considered that Part I could be made more compact in Version 4.0, eliminating for instance primarily historical references such as in paragraph 12. Some members suggested that the statements of mission and vision could be shortened, and that in the section on values, aspects relating to Members could be separated from those relating more specifically to FAO staff, in addition to specifying the role of FAO as a centre of excellence and provider of technical cooperation in the field.
11. The Committee noted the refinements made in the formulation of the strategies compared to previous versions. However, it considered that Part II should be made more concise and concentrated to strengthen its focus and increase its impact. It stressed that the large number of strategy elements indicated were amenable to consolidation, in order to improve consistency, eliminate redundancies and ensure a fully interdisciplinary approach. FAO's comparative advantages should be clearly indicated in each of the 12 Strategic Objectives. In this connection, stress was placed on FAO's role in providing leadership, in promoting partnerships and in supporting other organizations' activities critical to food production and food security. The Committee was informed in this connection of the intent to review the formulation of the strategies for Version 4.0 towards those ends and also to indicate the tools and modalities planned to be used to implement the strategies.
12. The Committee discussed the order of presentation of the Corporate Strategies to Address Members' Needs, presently labelled A to E, in order to better reflect FAO's comparative advantages. An alternative formula, which was favoured by several members, could be to put the present Strategy B in first place, considering enabling policy and regulatory frameworks as the starting point, to be followed in order by the present E, D, A and C. Several members were opposed to any possible change in the existing order stressing the present order and the role of FAO in food security, noting that the perception of priorities varied greatly between countries and regions.
13. During the discussion, Members provided a number of specific suggestions for amendment and improvement. Among the general considerations, it was recommended highlighting the gender dimension, the strategic role of FAO in collaboration with the private sector, and the need to facilitate transfer and access to technology, particularly in the area of information systems for developing countries. Emphasis was also placed on the need to give more prominence to domestic food production and to FAO's continued essential role in technical cooperation through the field programme closely linked with its normative work.
14. The Committee appreciated the pertinence of this new part. It emphasized the importance of well-understood, effective criteria to guide the selection of substantive priorities and encouraged the use of a grading system for their application. It was suggested that their application may be more practical at the stages of formulation of the Medium-term Plan and the Programme of Work and Budget. The comparative advantages of FAO as outlined in this part would have to be assessed in more precise terms in the context of specific programme areas or disciplines.
15. In describing the broad directions of FAO's work over the long term, several members stressed that FAO would be judged on the implementation of the proposed strategies, and that these would thus need to be supported by adequate resources.
16. The Committee considered that once the basic content of the Strategic Framework was agreed, a short summary text could be usefully developed from it in order to facilitate dissemination of the underlying message to the media and to a broader audience.
17. The Committee addressed more particularly Annex IV, Regional Perspectives. It was assured that the indicated lists of priorities by region were not meant to be exhaustive, or mutually exclusive, and that the text was submitted for discussion and amendment by members. In this regard, the representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Group indicated that their group in Rome will present a contribution.
18. The Committee examined the Programme Evaluation Report 1998-99, which it considered informative and useful in providing assessments of the relevance, coherence and usefulness of programmes with emphasis on the efficiency and results of their implementation. It appreciated further efforts made in improving the evaluation process in line with the Committee's earlier suggestions. These included a more systematic incorporation of comments of the programme managers and senior management as well as a greater use of external expertise in the evaluation process through review panels on the draft report and, in some cases, in the conduct of programme reviews.
19. At the same time, the Committee found many of the individual programme reviews and evaluations to be rather descriptive, without a systematic assessment of the impact being achieved. While appreciating some constraints in this regard (eg. programme design and information available on implementation results), the Committee reiterated the importance of continuing efforts to strengthen further the analytical content of the Report with a focus on effects and impact, including more systematic application of the assessment criteria. It also emphasized analyses of progress in mainstreaming cross-organizational thematic priorities in individual programmes.
20. With respect to individual programmes and activities covered in this Report, the Committee broadly endorsed the main issues and recommendations for submission to the Council, together with observations of the programme managers, senior management and of external reviewers.
21. In this context, the Committee highlighted the following. For Programme 2.1.4: Agricultural Support Systems in Chapter One, it stressed the importance of ensuring a balance between the reorientation towards normative functions and the need to meet priority requirements of developing countries with relevant services including field operations. It requested that proposals of the Secretariat regarding the handling of the semi-commercial products eventually developed under the FAO programmes be presented for the guidance of the Governing Bodies in due course.
22. Regarding Programme 2.4.1: Forest Resources in Chapter Two, the Committee underlined the need to ensure that the Programme maintain adequate capacity for this high priority work and the need for further efforts in priority-setting and consolidation of activities.
23. In Major Programme 3.2: Support to Investment covered in Chapter Three, the Committee noted the significant changes in the work of the Investment Centre and stressed the importance of contribution to capacity-building in borrower countries.
24. In welcoming the first thematic evaluation of TCP projects in Chapter Four, the Committee recognized the relevance of support to food quality control in many member countries, especially in the context of trade. It stressed the importance of ensuring close integration of such TCP-supported assistance with the normative work of the Organization in this field.
25. Concerning the use of Participatory Approaches to Development in FAO covered in Chapter Five, the Committee, while recognizing a considerable amount of work pursued in FAO in this challenging field, agreed with the importance of greater mainstreaming of this concept and related methods, including the assessment of impact of participatory approaches in order to draw lessons relevant both to methodological and policy considerations.
26. Finally, the Committee re-affirmed the importance of evaluation in bringing about improvements in planning, implementing and managing programmes through an institutionalized learning process, as well as facilitating accountability. In particular, it stressed the need to correct the existing weakness in assessing programme results and impact, noting that the situation is becoming more conducive to this effort, especially with the introduction of a new programming approach. Thus, the Committee looked forward to the opportunity to discuss evaluation in the context of the Strategic Framework and the new programme model at its next session in September this year.
27. The Committee discussed first the Director-General's Introduction and Part I - Programme Framework of the document and examined subsequently the proposals under the budgetary chapters 1 to 4.
28. The Committee stressed that this Summary PWB embodied the first attempt to apply the new programming framework to all activities under Chapter 2: Technical and Economic Programmes and Major Programme 3.1: Policy Assistance, following the pilot experiment in the present biennium, which was limited to Programme 2.1.1: Natural Resources. The Committee recalled that it had anticipated the difficulties inherent in such a full-scale exercise. It took note that this had entailed extensive internal discussions on the application of the new approach to specific programme contexts. Even the structure under Programme 2.1.1 had been revised, reflecting further discussions in the concerned division, AGL.
29. In reviewing the proposals under the pertinent programmes, the Committee observed that there was a need to review across units the use of the three main constituent entities of technical projects, continuing programme activities and technical services agreements so as to ensure consistency. The Committee agreed that the new approach as presented in the document should therefore still be considered as "work in progress" and that the PWB documentation for 2000-2001 could only reflect the present transitional phase. It recognized that the impact of the new approach would be appreciated more fully in the next biennium, when a full Medium Term Plan based on the Strategic Framework and the PWB document would be submitted to FAO Governing Bodies. Nevertheless, the Committee looked forward to those refinements which could be introduced at this stage in pursuing the application of the revised programming approach in the full Programme of Work and Budget 2000-2001. The Committee also observed that the links across entities would be more apparent in the full PWB document.
30. The Committee recognized and accepted that another consequence of the introduction of the new approach was that no straightforward comparison was possible between the budgetary allocations made in the current PWB 1998-99 below the programme level, and those proposed for 2000-2001 under the various entities.
31. The Committee observed that the proposals in the Summary PWB had been framed within a zero-real growth (ZRG) approach. In addition, a number of activities had been indicated as warranting additional resources beyond ZRG in the light of those requests made in various FAO Governing Bodies and at Ministerial Meetings recently held, but which could not be accommodated within the ZRG scenario. Several members regretted that the consequences of a zero-nominal growth (ZNG) scenario had not been examined and presented in the Summary.
32. In recalling that the Committee would return to the matter at the Joint Meeting with the Finance Committee, members provided preliminary indications of their preference as regards the eventual budget level to be approved by the Conference. The opinions expressed fell essentially into two groups.
33. Some members stressed that the ZRG proposals represented a strict minimum in the light of the heavy demands placed on the Organization. Several members deemed that the proposals made for real growth (RG) would facilitate an even more fitting response of the Organization and would enable it to resume growth in resources after a protracted period of reduction in real terms.
34. Other members favoured ZNG, which they stressed as the approach they pursued throughout the UN system. They emphasized that this was in line with budgetary restrictions experienced by Governments, which were expected to be matched by corresponding restraint by international organizations. They therefore requested that the full PWB contain a programme and budgetary scenario based upon ZNG beside the two others presented at ZRG and RG level. They also drew attention to the persistent problem of arrears.
35. The Committee noted the basically unchanged provision under this chapter, which covered inter alia the cost of key Governing Bodies, FAO contributions to various UN system-wide mechanisms, as well as a range of established offices at Headquarters and Liaison Offices.
36. The Committee generally endorsed the medium-term objectives and priorities of the major programme, while recalling that improved food security had to address the needs of both rural and urban populations.
37. In noting the general trend towards disciplinary projects under the major programme, the Committee urged that appropriate coordination and management arrangements ensure an interdisciplinary approach to project design and implementation across organizational units. In this regard, it recalled that the Fifteenth Session of COAG had recommended the formulation of cross-sectoral programmes in biotechnology, organic agriculture, and urban and peri-urban agriculture.
38. The Committee noted the reformulation of the entities based on experience gained under the new programme model in 1998-99. It welcomed the balance achieved through two discipline-oriented technical projects on water use and soil fertility respectively, and two integrated technical projects where common outputs could be identified across disciplines.
39. The Committee reiterated the importance of information services and partnership activities as provided under two continuing programme activities which also responded in part to COAG's recent recommendation to give priority to monitoring land and freshwater resources. It noted the significant allocation of staff resources to provide direct technical services to Member Nations and backstopping to the field programme, which appeared to be above average.
40. The Committee endorsed the continued emphasis on improved crops and cropping systems, EMPRES - plant pest component, plant genetic resources and sustainable seed production. It noted the four complementary continuing programme activities which provided inter alia for the secretariat of the IPPC, the interim secretariat of PIC, the secretariat of the CGRFA, and support to countries on migratory pest management. The Committee welcomed the formulation of a distinct technical project on IPM which was buttressed by substantial extra-budgetary resources through the Global IPM Facility. It was assured that work on urban and peri-urban agriculture and grassland-based production systems was coordinated with related projects in Programmes 2.1.3 and 2.1.4.
41. The Committee reiterated the importance of linking normative work to the field programme and direct advice to Member Nations. It was informed that, while technical support services for crops and cropping systems was shown under a technical services agreement, similar technical support services for plant protection, seeds and genetic resources were programmed within the respective technical projects.
42. The Committee endorsed the continued work on animal production, animal genetic resources, animal health including EMPRES - livestock component, and information systems. The Committee noted that the previous inter-disciplinary sub-programmes had been replaced by primarily disciplinary-oriented projects which, however, worked together to address common objectives. It received clarification that activities on PAAT, peri-urban production systems and animal health standards were included under the new project entities.
43. The Committee highlighted the importance of emergency interventions in animal health where FAO had a clear advantage, such as the control of screwworm in the Near East. It was informed that EMPRES was on track for eradicating rinderpest by 2010 and had attracted significant extra-budgetary support. The Committee noted that, under project 213A5 on animal genetic resources, much of the work to produce the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources would depend on availability of extra-budgetary resources.
44. The Committee took note of the wide range of support systems covered under the programme, which all made important contributions to ensuring food security. The Committee appreciated the attention given to collaborative arrangements, e.g. noting that work on urban food needs was linked to several other FAO programmes, while the work on rural finance was benefiting from well-developed external partnerships. It recognized the advantages of addressing small-farmer competitiveness and agri-business entrepreneurship, in view of their positive impact on food security.
45. The Committee appreciated the interaction with other substantive programmes, especially with Programmes 2.1.2 and 2.1.3 on plant and animal biotechnology respectively. It recognized the enhanced level of capacity-building for food and pesticide control carried out through training programmes at the Seibersdorf Laboratory. The Committee was informed that significant technical services were provided by the Joint FAO/IAEA division through the IAEA technical cooperation programme.
46. The Committee observed that the Major Programme contained few Technical Projects and invited further efforts to identify time-bound entities, for example in the areas of nutrition, and agriculture and trade policy.
47. The Committee noted the substantial restructuring affecting Programmes 2.2.2 to 2.2.4 which did not involve significant resource changes between major work areas, but aimed at a more coherent presentation. The new structure, therefore, permitted to see a better continuum involving: the collection and dissemination of information; monitoring, assessments and outlooks; and, based on these, the development of policy concepts and recommendations. Certain resource adjustments had also been made in response to changing priorities.
48. The Committee emphasised the importance of the Codex Alimentarius. It expressed support for work on food quality and consumer protection at the country level, as well as the continuing attention to specific problems of malnutrition.
49. In reiterating the importance of FAO databases and information systems, the Committee requested that particular attention be given to ensuring data quality and raising awareness amongst both producers and users of statistics. It urged further efforts in assisting member countries to improve their national systems of food and agricultural statistics, including through appropriate methodological documents and supporting software. The proposed work on disaggregation of statistics by gender, undertaken in collaboration with the SD department and other partners, was welcomed. Regarding the production of high quality statistics, the Committee noted the Secretariat's view that this was better achieved through a decentralized approach, whereby technical subject-matter specialists were associated with the collection, processing and analysis functions.
50. The Committee underlined the role of WAICENT in information management and dissemination of technical and scientific information. It was informed that, after the first phase of development of WAICENT, priority had been given to strengthening information management capabilities in Regional Offices and to supporting capacity building for agricultural information management in developing countries. This had been made possible through streamlining and restructuring of AGRIS. The Committee was further informed of the significant efficiency savings realized through the centralization of the dissemination function in WAICENT. As many countries did not have easy access to the Internet, particularly in remote rural areas, printed publications and CD-ROMs were also important.
51. The Committee expressed general support for the work proposed on agriculture, food security and trade policy. In response to questions regarding the main beneficiaries, it was informed that this work was intended to serve all countries, with due attention to the special needs of developing countries in, for instance, trade-related matters. In this connection, the Committee stressed the priority of work on agricultural commodity trade, standard setting and analysis of the impact of WTO agreements on food security, and confirmed the importance of technical assistance to developing countries including capacity building in preparation for the next round of multilateral trade negotiations through studies, analyses and training.
52. The Committee expressed satisfaction with the apparent balanced application of the new programming approach in this Major Programme.
53. The Committee recognized the importance of work on the Compliance Agreement and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. It stressed also the importance of assisting developing countries in the implementation of the Code, aiming at enhancing the contribution of fisheries to improved nutrition and food security.
54. The Committee expressed support for many of the activities proposed, particularly work on the action plans for the management of fishing capacity, the management and conservation of sharks and the reduction of the incidental catch of sea birds. Work for the benefit of Small Island Developing States, on illegal fishing, the Vessel Monitoring System approach, and the development of emergency indicators was also endorsed.
55. The Committee recalled the many important issues raised at the recent session of the Committee on Forestry and the Forestry Ministerial Meeting which needed to be addressed in the development of the Programme of Work and Budget for 2000 - 2001. It also supported the recommendations made by both COFO and the Forestry Ministerial Meeting calling for an increase in resources for forestry.
56. The Committee noted the apparent grouping of biodiversity with wildlife in project 241A4, stressing that biodiversity was more than just wildlife. It was reassured that the Major Programme took biodiversity as a broad, multi-disciplinary issue, and it was grouped with wildlife more as a matter of convenience in order to avoid an excessive number of projects.
57. The Committee noted the complementary links between the FAO Strategic Plan for Forestry and the broader Strategic Framework for FAO. It was satisfied that the increase under Programme Management was simply due to a revised allocation of costs of the combined Management Support Unit, also serving the Fisheries Department.
58. The Committee supported the proposed objectives of this Major Programme, requesting however that a higher profile be given to the key priority of women-in-development. The Committee also endorsed in general the structure of technical projects, continuing programme activities and service agreements proposed.
59. In connection with Programme 2.5.1: Research, Natural Resources Management and Technology Transfer, the Committee stressed that continued attention should be paid to extension and research links, and technology transfer. The Committee noted that intensification of agricultural production should be appropriately linked with natural resource management and environmental sustainability.
60. The Committee reiterated the importance of Programme 2.5.2: Women and Population and its role in mainstreaming gender issues throughout FAO programmes. It obtained clarification on the shift of resources from Programme 2.5.2 into an inter-divisional/departmental project under Programme 2.5.1 dealing with data and information for Sustainable Development, thus achieving greater synergy under the new programme model.
61. Under Programme 2.5.3: Rural Development, with regard to the promotion of participatory approaches and methods in support of food security, the Committee noted that the development of an integrated database will be undertaken in collaboration with various units inside FAO, as well as other international, regional or national institutions.
62. The Committee was informed of the impact of the decentralization process on field operations, noting that, after initial difficulties, this was entering a stabilization phase.
63. The Committee recognized the multiple interactions between Headquarters units, policy and operations teams in Regional and Sub-regional Offices, as well as FAORs in connection with important activities of programme development and ensuring country focus.
64. The Committee reiterated its support for the work of the Investment Centre, while noting the essential role played by the Centre in capacity development in project formulation in developing countries.
65. The Committee noted the recent evolution of the breakdown of TCP projects by main categories. It was informed that the increase under category D (Support to Development) was due to several water components of SPFS projects, as requested by the concerned countries. The internal resource transfers associated with TCP for operational and technical services provided by other FAO units, were also clarified.
66. The Committee considered document PC 81/6-FC 92/13 on Review of FAO Language Policy, and expressed appreciation for the comprehensive information and analysis provided by the Secretariat. It recalled the pragmatic approach to the use of languages as agreed in the 1977 Conference and the principle of statutory parity between FAO languages and the need for a pragmatic and flexible approach as reaffirmed by the Council in 1978. The Committee noted with satisfaction the Director-General's central concern for the equitable treatment of the official languages in the Organization.
67. The Committee recognized that language services and publications had been significantly reduced as a result of successive cuts in the budget.
68. The Committee noted that, in spite of the general obligations of the Organization to provide information to its members in all FAO languages, the use of one language had tended to prevail in meetings and publications. Concern was expressed in particular by members from the Near East Region regarding the relatively low usage of Arabic for meetings and publications. Specific mention was made in this connection of the unavailability of documents and publications in the Arabic language on matters of importance to the Near East Region, such as desert locust and the Codex Alimentarius. The Committee concurred with the principle that world-wide meetings should be held in the languages of the Organization.
69. The Committee welcomed the Organization's commitment to a more balanced approach and gradual improvements in the usage of all FAO languages. It supported the Director-General's proposals in this direction contained in the document and requested that these be reflected, to the extent possible, in the various scenarios of the PWB 2000-2001 that would be developed for consideration by Council and Conference. In the view of the Committee, implementation of the language policy should not divert resources away from the technical and economic programmes of the Organization.
70. The Committee also considered the possibility of producing fewer publications as one way to free resources to be used for improving language coverage. Some members felt, however, that further decreases in the number of publications might detract from the Organization's role as "centre of excellence" and publisher of technical information in the areas of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
71. The Committee requested that the reporting on programme implementation should in future systematically include a section on progress in the use of languages within the Organization.
72. In view of the strong interest expressed by the Council at its November 1998 session in the Secretariat analysis of language issues, the Committee decided to forward document PC 81/6-FC 92/13 to the June session of the Council for information.
73. The Committee expressed particular appreciation of the presence of the Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit during its discussion of the following JIU Reports.
74. The Committee took note of the studies included in the work programme. It observed that the study on "private sector involvement and collaboration with the UN system" stemmed from a suggestion made by FAO. It looked forward to the corresponding report with great interest, in view of the importance and topicality of the theme.
75. The Committee took note of the recommendations in this report and the comments of the Director-General and the ACC thereon. It supported efforts to reach common definitions of fellowships to ensure full comparability of statistics throughout the UN system.
76. The Committee received updated information on fellowship activities in FAO. It was pleased to note that after some decline, due in particular to reduced UNDP-financed fellowships, there had been a turnaround under the Unilateral Trust Fund (UTF) modality. The Committee discussed various aspects of the current fellowships programmes. It also addressed the essential dimension of assessing the effective use of the trainees in beneficiary countries and recognized the attendant difficulties and encouraged evaluations of the impact of fellowships.
77. In view of the above, the Committee requested that an information note on the fellowships programme including a disaggregation by gender be submitted to its next session.
78. The Committee took note of the recommendations in this report and the comments of the Director-General and the ACC thereon. It confirmed that FAO Governing Bodies had expressed satisfaction with internal oversight arrangements in the Organization. The Committee also agreed that uniformity of approach throughout the system should not be pursued for its own sake, as the respective Governing Bodies were best able to decide on the most appropriate solutions to meet each organization's needs.
79. The Committee appreciated the form of the report and noted that four items relating to evaluation would be included in a broader paper on evaluation to be discussed at the next session.
80. As part of the Review of the Working Methods of the Programme Committee, it was requested that the Secretariat provide the Committee with an annual report indicating important programme changes that had occurred during the year. It was also suggested to investigate whether the Programme and Finance Committees could meet in rooms adjacent to each other to facilitate informal communication between them.
81. The Committee requested that in the future its agendas be further coordinated with those of the Finance Committee and the Joint Meeting in order to optimize the use of the time available.
82. The Committee was informed under Possible Items for Discussion at the Next Session that in addition to their standing items they would need to consider the Programme of Work and Budget 2000-2001, Version 4.0 of the Strategic Framework, Mainstreaming Gender, Programme Evaluation and an information paper on Fellowships.
83. Other items requested for consideration at some future date, included the use of consultants, particularly in the context of the formulation of TCP projects, administrative costs and programme management in the context of the new programme model and an up-date on decentralization. An information paper was also requested on the selection and impact of TeleFood projects.
84. At the request of the Committee, a presentation of the new Corporate Communications Policy and Strategy was made. The Committee expressed its appreciation and satisfaction with the presentation.
85. The Committee noted that the Eighty-second Session of the Programme Committee would be held in Rome from Monday 13 September to Friday 17 September 1999.
2 Doc.: CL 116/12; JM 99/INF/2
