The Organisation and Preparation of the National Profile          

                    

4.1.0    The compilation of a National Profile is a significant undertaking requiring a considerable amount of project co-ordination and logistical support. A National Co-ordinator should therefore be identified to facilitate and catalyse the preparation of the National Profile. The selection of an appropriate and committed National Co-ordinator is the key to the successful implementation of the project, and it is important that this person should command the respect and co-operation of all concerned with the development of the document. Furthermore it must be stressed that the National Co-ordinator should have sufficient seniority and influence to bring together all relevant government ministries and institutions, as well as relevant interests outside of government, and to co-ordinate their contributions to the development of the document.

4.1.1    Each country must determine the best way to choose a National Co-ordinator. However it should be remembered that the process of involving all concerned parties and co-ordinating their activities will be greatly facilitated if the National Co-ordinator is widely considered to be knowledgeable, unbiased, and trusted. He or she will need therefore to be a senior figure with a distinguished track record in public administration, economics, or the law. While a senior public servant (Permanent Secretary or equivalent) might represent an eminently suitable choice in this regard, some care should be taken to consider whether a serving government official might in all cases be able to behave with the level of detachment and objectivity which the task requires. In some cases countries might find it more convenient to appoint a recently retired senior official or member of the judiciary, or perhaps a respected academic with a declared interest in the legal aspects of economic management.

4.1.2    The most important initial task of the National Co-ordinator will be to assemble a small team of experts (National Profile Team) with a spread of professional backgrounds in legal, economic, and administrative matters. The National Co-ordinator should also possess the chairmanship and group leading skills to harness and use effectively those human assets at his disposal - (even the most brilliant and renowned academic will add little value to the National Profile project if they lack these process skills in addition to their more evident content knowledge of the subject area) . The members of this team should also be chosen with a view to their own capacities to lead and direct small working groups which might be charged with responsibility to develop material on specific thematic concerns within the project.