APEC Officials LoginAPEC Groups
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Budget and Management Committee |
The Budget and Management Committee (BMC) advises the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) on budgetary, administrative and managerial issues. Its key responsibility is to prepare the budget for APEC and approve and recommend APEC funding for projects.
The BMC also monitors and evaluates APEC's project management systems. It takes decisions and makes recommendations to Senior Officials to improve project efficiency and effectiveness. It also works closely with APEC's other Committees to ensure projects remain relevant to APEC's core goals and objectives.
Achievements
The BMC approved 151 APEC projects to commence in 2009. Project topics include improving trade agreement making, sharing best practices in manufacturing, and accessing finance for small, medium and micro enterprises. These projects are valued at around US$12million and span all 21 APEC member economies.
In 2009 the BMC also made recommendations to Senior Officials on a new long-term strategy for fiscal viability and continued with efforts to reform and improve project processes including:
- Implemented an additional project approval session (now thrice annually)
- Explored the feasibility of full or part devolution of project management to member economies
- Reviewed the project assessment, prioritisation, ranking and evaluation processes
- Reviewed the Guidebook for APEC Projects
- Considered ways to enhance the role of the Project Management Unit (PMU) with a stronger mandate for project design, development and evaluation with the assistance of the US APEC Technical Assistance and Training Facility (TATF) and additional support for dedicated PMU resources from Australia
- Ensured successful transition to a system of quarterly project approval sessions from 2010 and quicker funds disbursement
Current Activities
A number of small groups have been set up to make recommendations to the BMC on improvements to budget and project management issues. There are currently two active working groups under the BMC:
1. Working Group on Project Management
Chaired by the United States, this group leads work on APEC's project reform agenda. Members oversee the development and implementation of initiatives to improve both the effectiveness and efficiency of APEC projects. In 2010, their priorities include:
- Trialing a new method of selecting projects based on priority and centrality to APEC's core objectives
- Establishing a framework to facilitate larger and longer-duration APEC projects
- Rethinking APEC's approach to evaluating the impact of projects
2. Working Group on APEC Fiscal Sustainability
Chaired by Singapore, this group assists the BMC in managing the Secretariat's budgetary process and implementation. In 2010, the group will look into implementing the recommendations approved by Senior Officials to improve the long term fiscal viability of APEC.
Budget and Management Committee (BMC) - Key Contacts
Chair
Mr Jaya RATNAM
Director
International Economics Directorate
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tanglin
Singapore 248163
Tel: (65) 63798000
Fax: (65) 64747885
Email: jaya_ratnam@mfa.gov.sg
APEC Secretariat
Ms Winsome Au
Director (Finance)
Email: wa@apec.org
Ms Evelyn Loh
Director (Program)
Project Management Unit
Email: el@apec.org
To find out more about APEC projects, please visit: http://www.apec.org/apec/projects.html
Reviewed on: 24 March 2010