Organizational Details

Governing Body
The GB is the supreme organ of the APO. It is composed of one government-appointed director from each member economy. The GB meets annually to review the annual report of the Secretary-General and the auditor’s financial report and decide on the budget, strategic directions, policies, and program plans.

Secretary-General
The Secretary-General is appointed by the GB and is responsible for directing and supervising the work of the Secretariat and convening regular and special sessions of the GB. The Secretary-General is primarily responsible for preparing the biennial program plan and budget and submitting them to the GB for approval, as well as giving annual reports on the activities of the organization. Other responsibilities include submitting information and documentation relating to the agendas of the regular and special sessions of the GB and arranging for the regular and special sessions of the GB and other meetings.

Workshop Meeting of Heads of NPOs
Each member economy designates a national body to be its NPO. NPOs act as the APO’s planning and implementing agencies and coordinate productivity projects hosted by their governments. Each year, the APO organizes a Workshop Meeting of Heads of NPOs to evaluate the previous year’s projects, confirm the program plan for the next year, and deliberate on productivity issues and emerging needs of members.

APO Secretariat
The Secretariat is the executive arm of the APO and is headed by the Secretary-General. It carries out the decisions of the GB and, in close cooperation and consultation with NPOs, undertakes planning, preparation, coordination, and implementation of projects. It also collaborates with other international organizations, governments, and private institutions for the benefit of its members.

Administration & Finance Department
The Administration and Finance (A&F) Department provides organizational, financial, personnel management, and IT support to all Secretariat departments. It also oversees the annual Governing Body Meeting and Workshop Meeting of Heads of NPOs. Additionally, the A&F Department undertakes public relations activities through information programs.

Research & Planning Department
The Research and Planning (R&P) Department is the think tank unit and, along with the Agriculture and Industry Departments of the Secretariat, serves as a regional advisory body within the APO. It undertakes research on productivity data to draw up effective pro-growth policies based on accurate measurement of economic performance and productivity trends. Studies on emerging concepts, trends, and productivity-related tools and techniques are carried out to update members on key information. Under the APO’s Center of Excellence Program, the R&P Department assists members in developing and strengthening core competencies. The R&P Department also carries out organizational planning.

Industry Department
As the major training arm of the Secretariat, the Industry Department conducts courses, workshops, observational study missions, conferences, and other human resources development projects focusing on strengthening of NPOs, SMEs, and the manufacturing, service, and public sectors as well as Green Productivity (GP)-related topics. It is responsible for the BCBN, I-OSM, DMP, DON, and TES Programs. Based on the recently developed Public-sector Productivity Framework, the Industry Department plans to conduct tailored projects aimed at top-ranking policymakers and officials of member countries.

Agriculture Department
The Agriculture Department assists APO members in improving the productivity of the agriculture and rural sectors, promoting environment-friendly, sustainable practices in agriculture, and enhancing the competitiveness of the agribusiness and food-processing industry. To achieve this, the activities of the department focus on three priority areas: sustainable development in agriculture; processing and marketing of agricultural and food products; and rural entrepreneurship development.