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2012/SOM1/EC/023
Agenda Item: 9
Concept Note: 2012 Capacity Building Program to Support the Implementation of APEC Member Economies ANSSR Plans
Purpose: Information
Submitted by: United States
/ First Economic Committee MeetingMoscow, Russia14-15 February 2012
APEC Concept Note
Please submit through APEC Secretariat Program Director. Concept notes of more than 3 pages
(including title page) or incomplete submissions will not be considered.
Project Title: / 2012 Capacity Building Program to Support the Implementation of APEC Member Economies ANSSR PlansSource of funds (Select one): Operational Account TILF Special Account APEC Support Fund
Committee /
WG / Sub-fora / Task-force: / Economic Committee
Proposing APEC economy: / United States
Co-sponsoring economies: / Australia; Peru; Russia
Expected start date: / April 2012
Expected completion date: / July 2013
Project summary:
Describe the project
in under 150 words.
Your summary should include the project topic, planned activities,
timing and location:
(Summary must be no longer than the box provided. Cover sheet must fit on one page) / This project will build upon progress achieved in 2011, which focused on the identification and development of APEC economies individual plans under the APEC New Strategy for Structural Reform (ANSSR). In 2012-2015, APEC economies will focus on implementing the reforms outlined in their plans. This project will provide capacity building support to APEC economies, and in particular developing member economies, in the implementation of their ANSSR plans via two programs: 1) a macro level workshop at EC2 that will concentrate on big picture issues related to implementation, e.g., designing roadmaps for implementation of ANSSR plans; and 2) a micro level workshop, likely in late 2012, which will be tailored for a smaller grouping of developing economies but designed to engage a larger group of regional stakeholders. The latter event will delve deeper into implementation issues as well as help identify capacity building priorities and ways to access the APEC ANSSR sub-funds through the development of capacity building projects.
Total cost of proposal: (71,132 + 148,758)
USD 219,890 / Total amount being sought from APEC (USD): 71,132
By category: Travel: 63,532 Labour costs: NA
Hosting: 5,000 Publication & distribution: NA Other: 2,600
Project Proponent Information and Declaration:
Name: Ryan MacFarlane
Title: Foreign Affairs Officer
Organization: U.S. Department of State
Postal address: 2201 C Street NW, Room 5317 Washington, DC 20520
Tel: 202-647-2011 Fax: 202-647-0136 E-mail:
Name: Victoria Waite
Title: Chief of Party
Organization: APEC Technical Assistance and Training Facility
Postal address: 35 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore 119616
Tel: (65) 6891-9600 Fax: (65) 6891-9690 E-mail: ;
I declare that this submission has been prepared in line with the Guidebook on APEC Projects. If approved, I agree to develop the project in line with APEC project requirements.
Name of Project Proponent
Date:
Project Synopsis
1. Relevance: Why should APEC undertake this project? What problem or opportunity will the project address and why is it important?
The APEC New Strategy for Structural Reform (ANSSR), as endorsed by Leaders in Yokohama, calls on individual APEC member economies to set forth in 2011 their structural reform priorities and indentify objectives, polices, and approaches for measuring progress through 2015. In 2011, APEC member economies achieved considerable progress, first by conducting three technical assistance and capacity building programs aimed helping APEC member economies identify and develop individual ANSSR plans; and second, by aiming to submit the final ANSSR plans to Ministers and Leaders in Honolulu, Hawaii in November 2011. These activities --- the ANSSR Symposium, the Residential Training Program on ANSSR, and the Workshop on Assessing Approaches to Structural Reform --- were held in Big Sky, Montana (May); Singapore (August); and San Francisco, California (September), respectively.
In 2012, the United States and Australia is proposing a similar coordinated effort --- building upon the 2011 successes --- by focusing technical assistance and capacity building activities aimed at helping APEC member economies, particularly developing member economies, with the implementation of their ANSSR plans. Specifically, we are proposing the following two-pronged approach:
1. Macro- level work stream: a two-day workshop focused on helping APEC member economies develop an implementation roadmap for their individual ANSSR plans, which could be organized in a similar format to the workshops in Singapore and San Francisco with targeted breakout sessions. This workshop could also help identify areas where follow-on and more tailored capacity building is needed.
2. Micro- level work stream: the development of more tailored workshops delivered regionally for a smaller grouping of developing economies (e.g., Latin America) which would enable the participation of more experts from the implementing agencies in each APEC economy. These micro-level workshops would assist APEC economies bring key experts together to identify very specific priorities (and capacity building needs); undertake action planning/roadmap refining to develop clear strategies for stakeholder engagement and reform implementation; and develop tailored projects in which APEC member economies can then apply for ANSSR sub-fund funding. Australia is proposing to implement a self funded regional workshop for SE Asia, and the United States is proposing to implement a similar workshop in Latin America through this concept note.
APEC member economies have committed to implementing their ANSSR plans by 2015, to achieve real results in reducing behind the border barriers and promoting balanced, inclusive, and sustainable growth. As such, it is important for APEC member economies to remain focused on their ANSSR plans and take advantage of the momentum gained in 2011 by laying out a series of capacity building and technical assistance activities that will help APEC member economies, particularly developing economies, implement their structural reform objectives 2012 – 2015.
2. Objectives: Describe the 2-3 key objectives of the project. (e.g. to... create a framework...; ensure participants will be able to...; share experiences...; enhance understanding...; develop recommendations...; build interest...; revise strategies... etc.)
· Assist economies with the implementation of their individual ANSSR plans
· Provide an avenue for APEC member economies to learn how to identify and subsequently access and use technical assistance resources (e.g., ANSSR sub-fund) to implement individual structural reform objectives as outlined in their ANSSR plans
· Share experiences and lessons learned among APEC member economies on achieving structural reform objectives through action planning and roadmap refining
3. Alignment: Describe how the project will help achieve APEC’s key priorities and meet your forum’s work-plan or medium-term plan.
This project will help achieve APEC’s key priorities by directly contributing to meeting the call for APEC member economies to implement their ANSSR plans. In addition it is equally important to provide guidance, particularly to developing member economies, on how to identify capacity building priorities related to the implementation of ANSSR plans and develop APEC project proposals aimed at securing assistance via the ANSSR sub-fund to address these capacity building needs. APEC Ministers and Leaders endorsed the ANSSR plans, which were submitted during Leaders Week (8-13 November 2011) in Honolulu, Hawaii. APEC Ministers called upon “all relevant APEC fora to contribute to capacity-building activities based on these priorities through 2015. We instruct officials to actively promote, monitor, and review implementation of ANSSR.” Furthermore, the Economic Committee (EC) works to remove structural and regulatory obstacles that inhibit cross-border trade and investment, and ANSSR calls on the EC to lead work to promote more open, well-functioning, transparent and competitive markets.
4. Methodology: How do you plan to implement the project? In this section, address:
· Timeline: Project timelines and dates for key activities and deliverables
o EC2 2012 Macro-level Workshop (SOM2 dates: May 20 – June 5)
§ Upon approval of full project proposal - develop workshop agenda; identify speakers and participants; send official invitations; confirm meeting arrangements; compile workshop materials; and implement workshop
o Micro-level Regional Workshops (Timing TBD, but after EC2)
§ Hold preliminary discussions at EC1 with relevant member economies to gauge interest. In the lead-up to and following the macro-level workshop, discuss timing and agenda with the Latin American group. The aim would be to implement regional workshops before the end of 2012. Will coordinate with Australia on the timing of their proposed self-funded workshop in SE Asia.
· Stakeholders: Beneficiaries and stakeholders (APEC & non-APEC) and how they will be engaged
Public sector participants (officials from government ministries and regulatory agencies) from APEC member economies, especially from developing economies, will be the direct beneficiaries of the 2012 ANSSR Capacity Building Program. Indirect beneficiaries include the APEC business community, civil society, academia, consumers, and APEC trading partners that benefit from more open, well-functioning, transparent, and competitive markets. Capacity building activities will be open to all 21 member economies and funding for participants from travel-eligible economies to attend will be available. Project overseers will engage economy representatives, particularly developing economies, to ensure agenda topics benefit each economy. By complementing Australia’s proposed tailored workshop, this project is designed to engage more stakeholders who will be directly involved in implementing reform efforts.
· Previous projects/activities: If and how this proposal builds on the findings or lessons learned from previous projects/activities, while avoiding duplication
This workshop will build on three events held in 2011 and organized by Australia and the United States: 1) a symposium at SOM2 in Big Sky, Montana which effectively launched the ANSSR work; 2) a residential training course in August in Singapore designed to build capacity, especially of developing members, to indentify structural reform priorities and advance the development of individual economy ANSSR plans; and 3) a two day program held at SOM 3 in San Francisco to integrate objectives, policies, and approaches for measuring progress on structural reform into individual economy plans under ANSSR. While 2011 largely focused on identifying and developing the individual ANSSR plans, the 2012 capacity building programs will focus on implementation of the ANSSR plans, including helping APEC members economies identify and articulate their capacity building and technical assistance implementation priorities.
Australia and the United States are proposing a similar collaborative effort to keep APEC momentum going on ANSSR related work and focusing on implementation aspects of APEC members’ individual ANSSR plans, thereby avoiding duplication of efforts.
· Communication: How you plan to communicate the results or benefits of this project to others
The results and benefits of this project will be communicated to the EC as well as the SOM. The United States and Australia have also plan to make mini-presentations on ANSSR to the relevant working groups and fora (e.g., SMEWG and HRDWG) to build awareness that ANSSR priority areas are relevant to other fora and they should be involved in the implementation process. Since 2012-2015 will focus on the implementation of the ANSSR plans, project proponents also believe that communication of results and benefits is key to ensuring that momentum is maintained in 2013 and beyond.