APEC as an Institution: Multilateral Governance in the Asia-Pacific

4. The APEC Secretariat: A Management Perspective

The APEC Secretariat 67 By: ROS Size: 6" x 9" J/No: 03-10509 Fonts: Bembo 4 THE APEC SECRETARIAT A Management Perspective STEWART GOODINGS Introduction This chapter is designed to stimulate discussion and informed debate about the organizational structure and role of the APEC Secretariat.The chapter reviews the evolution of the Secretariat, its current situation, its weaknesses, as well as options for improvement. Finally, it makes some recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness of the Secretariat. Background The APEC Secretariat was established in Singapore in 1992 with the intention of creating a support mechanism that reflected the informal, consensus-based nature of the APEC process. Thus, it was decided to keep the Secretariat small, based on secondments from host economies. It was not expected to emulate the much larger permanent staffs of other multilateral organizations such as the OECD.The Secretariat was mandated to provide four core functions: 03a APEC Ch 4 4/9/03, 1:10 PM 67 68 Stewart Goodings By: ROS Size: 6" x 9" J/No: 03-10509 Fonts: Bembo • Advisory, operational, logistic, and technical services to member economies and to APEC fora. • Financial oversight, control, and evaluation of projects funded from theAPEC Operational andTILF (trade and investment liberalization and facilitation) accounts. • Information and public affairs support to promote APEC’s role and activities. • Capacity to support research and analysis in collaboration with APEC Study Centres and the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council (PECC). During the past decade, there has been a substantial enlargement of the APEC agenda, with more committees and fora,more sectoral ministerial meetings, and more projects than was the case in the early days of the organization.The issue now is whether the current resources and structure and operational procedures of the Secretariat are adequate to cope with both this increased workload and the greater expectations of member economies. Current Situation At present,theAPEC Secretariat is led by an Executive Director seconded from the member economy which is hosting the annual APEC process. There is a deputy Executive Director, seconded from the member economy which will host the APEC process in the subsequent year.The deputy is in effect “learning the ropes” for the following year during which he will have full responsibility for leading APEC when his economy is the host. There are approximately twenty-three officials seconded from member economies on two to three-year postings, and an equivalent number of locally engaged administrative support staff.The programme staff are usually generalists coming from the Foreign Affairs or Trade departments of their economies. Each one is assigned to provide programme and technical assistance to the Lead Shepherd or Chair of one or more committees or fora. In addition, there are programme staff assigned to look after certain corporate functions such as finance, public information, evaluation, and research. Weaknesses of the Current Situation 1. There is a serious lack of continuity in the Secretariat.The top two leaders are in place for a maximum of two years.Their primary duty is to their respective member economies to ensure that the annual 03a APEC Ch 4 4/9/03, 1:10 PM 68 The APEC Secretariat 69 By: ROS Size: 6" x 9" J/No: 03-10509 Fonts: Bembo hosting process works smoothly. They spend much of their time travelling to member economies preparing for the annual Ministerial and Leaders’ meetings.Thus, their opportunities for focusing on the management of the Secretariat and building stable procedures and practices are severely limited.As for the programme staff,the rotation is constant,with seconded staff leaving to return to their homes,and new ones arriving,often with no overlap in timing.An office where the most experienced employee is a “veteran” of three or perhaps four years is unlikely to have much of an institutional memory or commitment to long-term thinking. 2. There is no provision for specialists in the Secretariat.Whomever the member economies send to Singapore must then be assigned to work on committees and functional areas based on the expertise each brings to the assignment. While the Secretariat does try to recruit the specialized skills needed from member economies, this does not always work, and often there is a gap between what is needed and what is available.This hampers the ability of the Secretariat to address particular problems,such as the well documented need to do a better job of evaluating APEC projects, or of reaching...