APEC Project Proposal |
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| Project No. | CTI 13 2012T | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Title | Measuring Services Trade - Statistical Capacity Building and Networking | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Status | Completed Project | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication (if any) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fund Account | TILF Special Account | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sub-fund | None | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Year | 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Session | Session 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| APEC Funding | 55,976 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Co-funding Amount | 147,984 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Project Value | 203,960 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sponsoring Forum | Group on Services (GOS) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Topics | Services Trade | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Committee | Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Fora Involved | Not Applicable / Other | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved | Not Applicable |
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| Proposing Economy(ies) | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Co-Sponsoring Economies | Indonesia;Russia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Expected Start Date | 03/07/2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Expected Completion Date | 31/12/2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Proponent Name 1 | Mr. Jai Motwane | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Job Title 1 | Director for Services and Investment | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Organization 1 | Office of the U.S. Trade Representative | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Postal Address 1 | 600 17th St. NW, DC 20508, U.S.A. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Telephone 1 | +1-202-395-9580 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fax 1 | +1-202-395-3891 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Email 1 | jmotwane@ustr.eop.gov | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Proponent Name 2 | Ms. Victoria Waite | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Job Title 2 | Director | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Organization 2 | APEC Technical Assistance and Training Facility | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Postal Address 2 | 35 Heng Mui Keng Ter., Singapore 119616 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Telephone 2 | +65-6891-9657 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fax 2 | +65-6891-9690 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Email 2 | vw@apec.org | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Declaration | Jai Motwane/Victoria Waite | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Summary | The purpose of this project is to improve understanding among APEC economies about the nature of data on international trade in services; to improve the capacity of member economies to compile, analyse, and present data pertaining to the services trade within their respective economies; and to create relationships among statistical agencies within APEC that can support improved collection, quality, and availability of services trade data for the APEC region. A capacity-building and knowledge-sharing workshop would be held in the autumn of 2012, with a view toward forging relationships among member economy and APEC Secretariat experts, in order to enhance the quality and availability of services trade-related data over the long term. |
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| Relevance | The services sector accounts for largest share of business activity, employment, and economic growth in most economies, yet the role of services trade in most economies continues to be poorly understood. A major reason for this disconnect is the absence of abundant, high-quality data on trade in services that is comparable across economies. For example, no data are currently available on services trade linkages among APEC’s 21 member economies. The absence of reliable cross-economy data both makes it difficult to measure the impact of services trade on the economy, but also complicates efforts to design and implement policies that can facilitate services trade, one of APEC’s key objectives. Several constraints contribute to the relative poverty of statistics on international services trade. Compilation and analysis of data on services trade data is inherently challenging, an exercise that involves studying diverse economic activities conducted through a variety of means, and one requiring a specialized set of not easily-developed skills. The APEC region contains a diverse mix of economies with varying degrees of development and experience in services trade statistics, and with a significant scope for learning and capacity-building through the sharing of that experience. At the same time, international organizations such as the WTO and the World Bank have developed expertise in the training of government officials to better understand and develop domestic statistical capabilities relating to services trade. A workshop bringing together experts from these organizations, along with member economy statistical officials and services trade officials, would have immediate capacity- and knowledge-building benefits, but would allow for the creation of a network of APEC-economy experts, with long-term benefits for the quality, availability, and – potentially – comparability of services trade data. |
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| Objectives | The primary objectives of this project will be: (1) to build the knowledge base and technical capacity of APEC economies to compile, analyse, and present services trade data; (2) to create a long-term “network” APEC experts who can share experience, provide technical assistance, and work toward achieving greater data comparability; and (3) to improve the availability of data relating to services trade in the APEC region (including, potentially, through the StatsAPEC website). |
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| Alignment | This project directly addresses a priority within the GOS’s current Collective Action Plan (CAP) to “enhance capacity on trade statistics and respond to the challenges of services trade data collection.” Although this is a critically important medium- to long-term GOS goal, relatively little work has previously been undertaken in this area. More broadly, and because improved quality and availability of services trade data is essential to a better understanding of services trade itself, the project directly contributes to the priority identified in the GOS’s current Terms of Reference (TOR) to “undertake activities aimed at a better understanding of the role of services in an economy.” |
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| TILF/ASF Justification | As a project focused on the enhancement of skills and capabilities, this project is first and foremost a contribution to paragraph 9 of Section A of the OAA, namely “technical cooperation contributing to liberalization and facilitation.” More specifically, the project will directly contribute to work area #15 of Part 1, Section C of the OAA – “Information Gathering and Analysis” – which expressly includes the following collective action: “adopt international standards for trade in services and international investment data.” This project will help economies do just that. More generally, by improving the analytical basis for services trade negotiations and services trade policy-making, the project will indirectly contribute to work area #3 of Part 1, Section C of the OAA (Services), by contributing positively to WTO negotiations on trade in services, and facilitating the supply of services. With regard to Part 2 of the OAA, the project is directly and exceptionally relevant to work area #9 (Trade and Investment Data), which expressly calls on APEC economies to “work towards improving the consistency of data by adopting the latest international standards for compilation of data on international services trade and investment” (emphasis added). |
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| Beneficiaries and Outputs | The primary output of this project will be a capacity-building workshop imparting skills and information to statistical and trade policy officials from APEC economies. A secondary intended output of this project is the establishment of long-term cooperative relationships among statistical officials and agencies within APEC. Three stakeholder groups will be beneficiaries of this project. Statistical officials from APEC economies will be the most direct beneficiaries, receiving technical capacity-building in the form of knowledge and experience shared by experts from both APEC economies and international organizations. Not only will these officials benefit in the near term from information gained at the workshop, but if the project’s longer term objective of developing a network of specialists is achieved, these officials will have the ability to draw on a group of experts and counterparts to help meet job-related challenges over the long term. Trade policy officials from APEC economies will also be beneficiaries of the project, both through improved understanding about the nature and limits of services trade data, but also through access to better statistical information that this project is ultimately aimed at bringing about. Finally, service suppliers in the APEC region (the private sector) stand to benefit from an enhanced ability to identify and assess market opportunities and trends, through the envisaged improvement in quality and comparability of services trade data. |
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| Dissemination | There is no intention to sell the outputs of this project. A summary of workshops outcomes will be published in electronic form at the conclusion of the project, and made available to all APEC economies and to the general public, to enable broad dissemination of project results to statistical and trade policy officials within the region, who are the projects target audience. The publication would include workshop presentations, a bibliography of relevant reading, background information submitted by workshop participants and speakers prior to the workshop, and links to statistical information sources. An attempt will also be made to identify and publish contact points within each economy for agencies/offices responsible for the compilation and analysis of services trade data, to facilitate the creation of am APEC-wide network of specialists. This information could be posted to relevant areas of the APEC website, and updated at the request and initiative of individual member economies. |
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| Gender | The benefits and objectives of this project are gender neutral. In the selection of resource persons and speakers for the workshop, the project overseers will seek to identify and engage experts of all genders. APEC economies will also be encouraged by the project overseers to consider qualified women candidates for participation in the workshop, on an equal footing with men candidates. Care will be taken throughout implementation of the project to ensure that it is carried out in a manner sensitive to gender concerns. |
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| Work Plan | This project would be implemented in stages, with key deliverables taking place in late 2012 and into early 2013. Because projects for the current funding cycle will not secure final BMC approval until after the GOS’s final 2012 meeting, this project’s workshop will be held either before or in conjunction with the GOS’s first 2013 meeting. In the intervening period, the project proponents will consider preparing a background/discussion paper for the GOS, allowing members to achieve a basic familiarity with services statistical issues before the workshop, and affording time and a mechanism for members to have input into formulation of the workshop agenda. A workshop would then be held in either late 2012 or early 2013 (prior to or in conjunction with the first 2013 GOS meeting), in a location to be determined based on sponsoring and host economy preferences, logistical and budgetary considerations, and other relevant factors. Follow-up discussions could be held among GOS members on an intersessional basis, with a view to building on the project beyond 2013. Initial follow-up activities could include, for example, creating links on the APEC website to services trade data compiled by individual member economies. Over the longer term, and as permitted by applicable relevant rules, work could be done to integrate these data into the APECStats database. An indicative timetable of steps and outputs is provided below.
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| Risks | The core output of the project (a workshop) is fairly uncomplicated, so risks to the project are minimal. These include, mainly: (1) the lack of availability of speakers and resource persons for the workshop, and (2) difficulty identifying and securing participation of relevant experts from APEC economies. Each of these risks is manageable, however, and steps will be taken to ensure they are mitigated to the maximum extent. Time will be the most helpful tool of risk mitigation. The project overseers have built sufficient time into the planning of the project to ensure that the identification and involvement of resource persons can begin early, and improve the likelihood that such persons will be available to participate in the event. The relatively broad timeframe for executing the workshop will improve the ability of project overseers to identify a date that will work best for the maximum number of essential speakers and participants. Overseers will also communicate with GOS members early and often, to begin the process of identifying the most useful workshop participants from APEC economies. The use of a discussion paper will aid member economies in the identification of relevant officials. To ensure that financial constraints do not inhibit the ability of qualified participant to attend the workshop, overseers have built travel and associated expenses into the project budget, for travel-eligible economies. |
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| Monitoring and Evaluation | The project plan outlined above provides numerous opportunities to solicit direct feedback on the agenda and planning of the workshop. The plan outlined above provides the project overseers clear guidelines with respect to the timing of the project’s implementation, and a framework within which to report progress to the PMU through the monitoring report process. The principal mechanism for evaluating the project’s primary output will be a participant questionnaire distributed to all speakers and participants of the workshop. The questionnaire will ask respondents not only for their views on the project’s success or otherwise, but will also solicit input on useful follow-up steps. Responses to the questionnaire will be summarized, and the results conveyed both in the final project publication and the PMU completion report. |
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| Linkages | Coordination and cooperation with international fora will be a key component of project implementation. Project overseers will approach experts in organizations such as the WTO, the World Bank, the ASEAN Secretariat, both to solicit input on the project agenda and to seek their direct participation in the workshop. Care will also be taken to ensure that past and ongoing work of these organizations is incorporated into the agenda. A seminar relating to statistics of international services trade was held in Manila in October 2008, as part of the APEC project CTI 03_2008T. That project touched on some of the same themes being proposed for this project, in particular information-sharing, potential networking, and capacity-building. Major developments have, however, taken place since that 2008 seminar. Most significant among these developments is the adoption by the United Nations Statistical Commission of a revised Manual on Statistics of International Services Trade (MSIST), a document produced by a task force of several international agencies (OECD, IMF, WTO, etc.) and that sets out a statistical framework for the collection and dissemination of services trade data. The current project will therefore seek to incorporate any tangible outcomes from the 2008 seminar, but with a view to focusing on important current developments. More importantly, while the previous project was of an ad hoc nature, a central focus of the current project will be to develop a mechanism for continued, long-term cooperation and communication between APEC economies on statistical issues, and to better integrate activities in this area with APEC’s broader trade facilitation agenda and the development of APEC’s institutional statistical capability. APEC is the best source of funds for this project because the project responds directly to established APEC priorities, will be of direct and lasting aid to APEC economy officials, as is supportive of long-term APEC objectives relating to trade and investment facilitation. |
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| Sustainability | There is enormous business and academic community interest in developing better statistics on services trade. Representatives of both these communities will be expected to attend the workshop, and can be expected to carry forward its results and lessons. (Indeed, additional work in this area has been a key recommendation of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) for some time.) The establishment of a long-term network of APEC specialists and experts working on services trade issues will provide a valuable mechanism to support carrying forward of the project’s outputs, as will the effort to integrate the project and its output into the development of the APEC Secretariat’s own statistical resources. As noted above, the project lends itself to a range of possible next steps. These include creating links on the APEC website to services trade data compiled by individual member economies, and, over the longer term, and as permitted by applicable relevant rules, the integration of these data into the StatsAPEC database. Project overseers will seek to ensure the maximum possible participation and involvement of officials in a position to support and bring about these and other possible future actions. |
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| Project Overseers | The project will be overseen jointly by Mr. Jai Motwane and Ms. Victoria Waite. Jai Motwane is Director of Services and Investment at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and since 2008 is U.S. delegate to APEC’s Group on Services (GOS) and Investment Experts’ Group (IEG). Mr. Motwane has overseen the planning and execution of several successful GOS and IEG projects in the last four years, including week-long IEG workshops held in Singapore and Washington, DC, in May and November of 2008, and a series of GOS seminars in Singapore during May and July of 2009. Victoria Waite is a Managing Associate in the Trade and Investment Group at Nathan Associates. In her current assignment, she is the Director of the U.S.-funded APEC Technical Assistance and Training Facility, which is designed to support APEC and the APEC Secretariat in furthering regional economic integration, support the Bogor Goals of free and open trade, and help APEC become a more strategically managed regional institution. During the last three years, Ms. Waite has successfully managed and/or implemented several technical assignments, including numerous workshops for BMC and under CTI, EC and SCE fora. |
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| Cost Efficiency | Project overseers will evaluate cost considerations into every aspect of project planning and implementation, particularly with respect to the timing and location of the workshop. Every attempt will be made to execute the workshop in close proximity with a meeting of the GOS, to leverage the presence of APEC officials who might not otherwise be able to attend. Experts from member economies and relevant international organizations will be brought together under one roof and at one time, concentrating a diverse range of high-quality expertise into a single event for the benefit of APEC participants. The sponsoring economy is proposing to fund over 70% of the projected project expense, offering excellent APEC value for money. |
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| Drawdown Timetable | Not Applicable |
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| Direct Labour | Not Applicable |
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| Waivers | Advance payment may be sought for APEC funded speakers and participants. |
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| Are there any supporting document attached? | No | |||||||||||||||||||||