49th Workshop Meeting of Heads of NPOs
21–23 October 2008, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Statement of Secretary-General
by Mr. Shigeo Takenaka
APO Secretary-General
Excellencies, Honored Guests,
Distinguished Delegates, Advisers, and Observers,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to all the delegates, advisers, and observers to the 49th Workshop Meeting of Heads of NPOs organized in Siem Reap, the site of the magnificent Angkor Wat. On behalf of the Asian Productivity Organization, let me express my sincere gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia for its generous support and cooperation in hosting this meeting. I would especially like to thank Dr. Ith Praing, APO Director for Cambodia, for his strong leadership and support, and also Mr. Yea Bunna, Head, NPO Cambodia, and his able staff, for the excellent coordination and arrangements made for this meeting.
At the last Governing Body Meeting in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, the amount of the total membership contributions for 2009–2010 was decided unanimously. At the same time several member countries suggested additional topics or ideas for consideration for inclusion in the two-year program. The 2009 and 2010 program plans submitted to this WSM take into account those views and suggestions made at the Tehran GBM and some revisions made by the Secretariat. The Director of Research and Planning will present the planned activities for 2009 and 2010 in greater detail right after my statement, and we will review them more carefully at the strategic planning sessions. For my part, I would like to confine myself to issues of particular importance to us. As a start, I would like to touch on three areas of engagement which represent new initiatives and innovations in program management: They are e-learning initiatives, in-country programs to strengthen NPOs, and research activities.
The first area is e-learning, which is by far the most cost-effective way to deliver knowledge to a wide audience in the APO region. World Bank platform-based e-learning courses, for example, are usually conducted in three stages, with each stage covering about five countries represented by an average 20 participants each. This means that with each course we can cover 15 member countries, training a total of 300 participants.
Last year, we organized three such courses, providing training to over 900 people. This year, we have already completed three courses and two more are presently ongoing, thus training more than 1500 participants. e-Learning courses also enabled us to reach more participants from the private sector. In 2007, among the more than 900 e-learning participants, close to 40% were from the private sector. In the three courses completed so far in 2008, about 60% of the participants represented the same sector.
Every World Bank platform-based e-learning course is designed to be followed by one face-to-face project, attended by those who performed well in the e-learning course. But as the number of good performers is increasing, it is becoming more difficult to select only 20, which is usually the number of participants in regular face-to-face projects. Therefore we are contemplating the possibility of adding more face-to-face follow-up projects or devising other means to address this issue.
After the successful launch of the first self-learning e-course on the APO Web site in 2006, we have been expanding self-learning activities considerably. Currently, we offer six e-learning courses on our Web site. But the shortcoming of this method is that we cannot monitor the participants or issue certificates upon successful completion of the course. I am happy to inform you that from August this year we started a completely new type of self-learning course that will minimize this drawback. Moreover, it can accommodate up to 2000 participants within two years. It is hoped that this new modality will be exploited fully with the cooperation of NPOs. The Secretariat’s officer in charge will give a detailed presentation later.
The second area is DON Implementation based on the findings of the need assessment survey carried out last year under DON Strategy. This year we started in-country training programs or country by country training programs, for productivity and quality practitioners, a novel way to strengthen the capacity of NPOs. In three two-week programs, we trained a total of 75 practitioners in Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and India, of whom 50% were NPO staff members. The programs were successful in all three countries.
We are now in the process of analyzing the results of the three programs to decide where we go from here. Which countries should be covered next? Should we stick to the general basic and advanced courses as we have in the past, or should we take up specific topics such as Six Sigma or knowledge management? Is the program duration of two weeks sufficient? There will be a separate presentation to address these issues later today. We welcome your ideas and suggestions to improve DON Implementation so that it will become a powerful tool to create a critical mass of productivity specialists within NPOs.
In terms of research, the APO has been exploring new methods to strengthen its think tank role for the past two years. One method is to work in collaboration with renowned academic institutions or reputable international organizations to deliver high-quality research outcomes. In the case of our productivity databook project, we are working closely with Keio University in Japan. With the assistance of the university and cooperation of member countries, we were able to compute the labor productivity of member countries fairly accurately and make comparative analyses among them and with selected countries beyond the APO region. One result of this research, for example, revealed that the purchasing power parity-based gross national product of APO member countries as a whole has recently surpassed that of either the USA or the EU15. Further efforts are ongoing to improve the accuracy and international comparability of the data. A presentation on the topic is scheduled by the officer in charge later.
Another example is research on agricultural policies in selected member countries. This topic has been pursued since 2003 through surveys and a symposium. However, it was felt that the products of those exercises did not meet the expected level of analytical depth and international comparability. Based on the recommendations of a subsequent working party meeting, a training course was organized in collaboration with the OECD to equip member country participants with knowledge of and skills in agricultural policy analysis. The cooperation with the OECD is continuing, and the working party members are working hand in hand with OECD experts to produce an accurate picture of our region’s agricultural policies by the end of March next year.
These research projects have some common features. One is that they are conducted over two years or longer. One year is usually not sufficient to produce solid research results. Another is that we seek cooperation from other academically or internationally renowned organizations. We complement each other, since those organizations are good at theoretical analysis, while the APO provides strength through its extensive network in member countries. The third is support by professionals in the field from member countries. Good results cannot be expected without the sustained cooperation of committed national experts.
In parallel with our efforts to implement new initiatives, we are exploring ways to improve existing training projects. I would like to update you on measures introduced recently for this purpose. One important measure is the introduction of a test to be undertaken by participants at the final session of every course. The objective is not only to check the performance of participants but also to determine the appropriateness of the curriculum, the selection of resource persons and, above all, the overall effectiveness of the course. We are in the process of applying this to e-learning training courses as well. Contrary to the general perception that participants do not like tests, most seem to welcome opportunities to find out how much progress they have made.
Another measure is to organize our courses in such a way that we not only provide training but also opportunities for internationally recognized certification in ISO22000, ISO14000, or OHSAS 18000 in collaboration with International Register of Certified Auditors-approved agencies. Since 2007, 38 professionals from member countries received certification as lead auditors who can now perform audits and train others. In view of the positive response, we are planning to expand certification courses in 2009 and after.
The Secretariat’s biggest challenge in ensuring the quality of projects is selecting qualified, willing participants. An individual who does not meet the specified qualifications finds it difficult to catch up with other participants. One who is not eager to learn often makes other participants’ learning more difficult. To date, unfortunately, some nominated candidates have fit these descriptions.
During the last Liaison Officers’ Meeting in Tokyo, this issue was discussed at length. The Secretariat stressed its commitment to improving the quality of participants, which was eventually supported by liaison officers. I am sure that I can also count on your cooperation in taking the necessary steps in your countries to nominate only qualified, suitable participants for APO projects.
Now I would like to turn to four specific subjects, all of which are of special significance to us. The first is knowledge management. After a gestation period of two years, during which we organized three workshops, three expert group meetings, two conferences, and two study meetings on the subject, we have finally developed a tangible result, namely the APO knowledge management framework and a training manual. The manual, which is intended to assist trainers and consultants in NPOs, was field-tested last month at a workshop held in Fiji with reasonably good results. To test our approach further, we initiated two demonstration projects on knowledge management, one in India and the other in the Philippines. The objective of our approach is to show that knowledge management is useful not only for big companies but also for the region’s small and medium enterprises. I am confident that the demonstration projects and our other initiatives will confirm that we are on the right track.
The next subject is safety. Productivity without safety is meaningless in today’s world, and in trying to improve productivity we must protect our workers and consumers. Unfortunately, however, an increasing number of news items report violations of food and other safety regulations. We therefore plan to devote substantial resources to promoting safety in the Asia-Pacific region. On food safety, we will undertake projects on the GLOBALGAP Standard and other food safety management system, and ecofarming and organic farming, among others. We are also scheduling to organize an Asian Food and Agribusiness Conference in 2010. I hope that the latter will serve as a forum to stimulate strategic thinking on regional food supply chains with particular emphasis on food safety. A separate presentation on food safety will be made later for your information.
The third subject is the Eco-products International Fairs. After successful fairs held in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam, they are recognized as major environmental events in the region. The Eco-products International Fair is meant to enlighten the public about the need to be more environmentally conscious and the need to stem the tide of global warming. It has succeeded in doing just that in every host country so far. The next fair will be held in Manila, the Philippines, in March 2009. I am sure that with the help of the DAP, the Government of the Philippines, and other stakeholders in the country, this Eco-products International Fair will be another resounding success.
In tandem with the Eco-products International Fair, the APO publishes the Eco-products Directory featuring the best examples of environment-friendly products and services. The fourth and last edition was released at the opening of the EPIF 2008 in Vietnam with about 700 entries. Although the contents are presented in a much more reader-friendly way than its predecessors, the number of products covered in the fourth edition is still not up to our expectations. I intend to make major efforts to increase the number of entries in the directory so that it will cover most of the best examples in the region in a few years.
As the final subject, I would like to mention the APO African Program funded by a special cash grant from the Government of Japan. To follow up on the basic course for African productivity practitioners held in 2007, the APO organized a three-week advanced course in South Africa this year, which was well received by participating African countries. In the coming November, we plan to organize the second basic course again in South Africa to meet the growing demand.
The APO also participated in TICAD IV last May in Yokohama, hosted by the Government of Japan. The documents issued after the meeting officially recognized the APO as an organization contributing to the productivity movement in Africa. Encouraged by this result, the Secretariat is exploring ways to establish partnerships among NPOs and the productivity organizations of some African countries. A meeting will be organized soon in Singapore to discuss how best to establish such partnerships.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the face of unprecedented economic challenges, the APO must remain committed, relevant, and focused and work in sync with NPOs to raise productivity in member countries. We need to look for more innovative ways to help member countries address these economic challenges. We also need to explore expertise beyond the APO network and collaborate with organizations and agencies in other parts of the world to accelerate productivity improvement in the Asia-Pacific region. In other words, we should not be afraid of making changes when changes are needed. I believe that this WSM will provide valuable insights to help achieve our goals. I hope that our discussions are productive and that you all have an enjoyable stay in historic Siem Reap.
Thank you.
