Program Manager Director General
OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS IN 2014
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Program 21 covers the Office of the Director General (ODG), the Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC), the Assemblies Affairs and Documentation Division (AADD), the Ethics Office, the Office of the Ombudsperson, and the Protocol and Event Management Section.
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Effective engagement with Member States remains a critical element in achieving progress towards the realization of the Organization’s nine Strategic Goals. The year 2014 highlighted challenges in many areas as Member States sought to achieve consensus around the Strategic Goals. In this regard, the Director General led focused discussions with Member States in various fora to assist and provide the space in which consensus could be achieved. It was clear by the end of the year that, while Member States had advanced their discussions, there was still a considerable distance to travel on many issues. These efforts at facilitation and the provision of a trusted space for discussion will continue in earnest in the second year of the biennium. Meanwhile, these same mechanisms of communication, such as briefings for Ambassadors, continued to provide an invaluable means by which to receive feedback and advice for enhancing progress on many issues.
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Internal engagement also formed an important part of program implementation and driving progress towards realizing the Strategic Goals. Reaching out to staff, through regular briefings by the Director General and in other fora, remained a critical part of explaining and seeking buy-in to necessary change. At the same time, the regular sessions of the Senior Management Team (SMT) provided direction to organizational units, operationalizing strategic decisions. The commencement of the Director General’s second term provided an opportunity to inject new energy and ideas into the SMT with the introduction of four new members while retaining the experience of four members of the previous SMT. The SMT was also expanded slightly bringing in managers responsible for human resources and legal affairs, important cross-cutting elements in strategic decision making in all areas. Indeed, with the successful completion of the Strategic Realignment Program in 2013, the SMT played an important role throughout the year in ensuring that the gains from the SRP in terms of culture and values, efficiency in business processes and better alignment of programs, structure and resources to Strategic Goals were maintained.
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The OLC continued to deliver prompt and reliable legal advice and services consistent with statutory requirements and applicable law on constitutional, contracts, treaty law, administrative and human resource related matters, to the Director General, the Secretariat and Member States in the context of strong and, in some areas, increasing demand. A key challenge was the commencement of the new administration of justice system which came into force on January 1, 2014. The OLC was able to seamlessly adapt to the new system in representing the Administration in staff appeals and complaints. The OLC ensured that the depositary functions of WIPO-administered treaties were carried out efficiently despite the increased number of requests for advice. It was encouraging that the WIPO Lex database of intellectual property legal information remained the largest open resource on the Web accessed by more than 1.5 million users worldwide annually. At the same time, the OLC devoted considerable focus throughout the year to engaging with non-governmental stakeholders. In particular, there were sustained outreach efforts and organized activities to facilitate more effective discussions with civil society representatives and ensure an open, transparent and responsive interaction with them on a range of issues including the WIPO Development Agenda. The third annual meeting of accredited non-governmental organizations with the Director General was a case in point.
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The benefits of establishing a dedicated and centralized unit, AADD, to manage delivery of the Assemblies continued to be realized. Two extraordinary sessions were efficiently organized, in March (Coordination Committee) and May (General Assembly), in addition to the usual autumn session of the Assemblies. Organizational innovations and rationalizations, such as webcasting of proceedings, electronic registration and new travel procedures, continued to be introduced and/or refined. Documentation was delivered well in advance. The attention to improving efficiency and the Member States’ experience of the Assemblies was reflected in the very high satisfaction levels achieved in a survey of delegates.
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WIPO continued to engage actively with the UN system, including in the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) and in its two committees – the High Level Committee on Management (HLCM) and the High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP). Our collaboration with these mechanisms provided an important opportunity for WIPO to highlight its perspectives within UN System deliberations, to share good administrative and operational practices, as well as the opportunity to involve the Organization in assisting to build coherence across the UN System.
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The performance of the Ethics Office was impacted in 2014 by the absence of a Chief Ethics Officer for the period from April to July. A Chief Ethics Officer ad interim was designated in early August; the procedure to fill this important position on a continuing basis was ongoing at the end of the reporting period. Owing to these circumstances, establishment of the full financial disclosure program was postponed to 2015-2016. However, the Ethics Office continued to implement its Declaration of Interest policy, which notably includes the disclosure of financial interests in compliance with IPSAS. Furthermore, existing policies continued to guide the Office’s efforts and underpin the Organization’s ethics and integrity system. The Ethics Office oversaw the Whistleblower Protection Policy, which articulates the value placed by WIPO on the participation of all staff members in the Organization’s oversight by affording protection against retaliation. The WIPO Code of Ethics continued to provide a common platform of guiding principles and values expected to be observed by WIPO staff in the conduct of their functions, and the Office provided advisory services to staff at all levels on its implementation.
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The position of the Office of the Ombudsperson as an integral part of the Organization’s accountability and integrity framework was further cemented with the commencement of the new administration of justice system, which came into force on January 1, 2014. A key aspect of this reform was the recognition of the importance of conflict prevention by the inclusion of informal conflict resolution in the Staff Regulations and Rules. Complementing this change, the Office of the Ombudsperson focused on building awareness and conflict competency among staff through pilot trainings, which are envisaged to rollout out on a wider basis in the future. Meanwhile, the Office continued to receive visitors and provide independent and confidential conflict coaching and mediation services at levels similar to previous years, reflecting a positive response to informal conflict resolution services.
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In May, the role of Business Continuity Coordinator was established in the ODG. Considerable progress was made during the ensuing months in putting in place required elements of a dedicated organizational resilience system, such as the publication of an Organizational Resilience Policy and Strategy and the implementation and launch of the organization's first Emergency Notifications System (EMS). These will provide a good basis as elements of this system evolve in the coming months and years.
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In February 2014, with the appointment of the Chief of Protocol and Event Management, events activities were merged with protocol to enhance and optimize engagement with Member States and other stakeholders. The Fifty-Fourth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO in September 2014 saw a significant increase in the number of events and side-events requested and organized, including the inauguration of the new WIPO Conference Hall. These events were positively received, as reflected in Delegates’ satisfaction levels: 91 per cent for the inauguration and 82 per cent for the side events.
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Program 21, including the work of the Office of the Director General, continued to play a key role in providing the overall strategic guidance and oversight to facilitate the mainstreaming and implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda by all relevant Sectors within WIPO.
PERFORMANCE DATA
Expected Result: IV.2 Enhanced access to, and use of, IP information by IP institutions and the public to promote innovation and creativity
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Performance Indicators
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Baselines
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Targets
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Performance Data
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TLS
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Increase in the no. of WIPO Lex users
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Updated Baseline end 2013: Total of 2,236,486 users in 2012/13 (1,461,841 in 2013; 774,645 in 2012)
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 1,123,93052
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20%
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1,506,508 users in 2014
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On track
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Expected Result: VIII.3 Effective engagement with Member States
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Performance Indicators
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Baselines
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Targets
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Performance Data
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TLS
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% of Committee Meetings for which pre-Committee information meetings for Member States are held
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Updated Baseline end 2013: 81% from a survey of secretaries of committees.
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 80%
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90%
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93%
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On track
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% of letters to the DG from Member States are responded to within 2 weeks
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Updated Baseline end 2013: 81% from an assessment of incoming and outgoing correspondence
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 80%
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80%
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80%
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On track
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% of adherence and other WIPO Treaty-related actions by Member States processed in a timely manner
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Updated Baseline end 2013: 98% of notifications of adherence and other treaty related actions processed within three days.
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 95% processed within three days (end of 2012)
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90 % processed within three days
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95% of notifications of adherence and other treaty related actions processed within three days.
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On track
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Member States satisfaction levels with the preparation and functioning of the Assemblies
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Updated Baseline end 2013: 88% from the 2012 WIPO Assemblies survey (a survey was not possible in 2013 due to exceptional circumstances; survey will be reintroduced in 2014).
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 88% satisfied with arrangements
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85% satisfied with arrangements
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87% (2014 WIPO Assemblies Survey53)
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On track
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Timeliness of publication of Assemblies documents
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Updated Baseline end 2013: For the regular Assemblies, 95% of all documents were published at least two months in advance of the Assemblies.
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 100% relevant documents published two months before the Assemblies
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100% relevant documents published two months before the Assemblies
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95% of all relevant documents were published at least two months in advance of the 2014 Assemblies.
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On track
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Expected Result: VIII.5 WIPO effectively interacts and partners with UN and other IGO processes and negotiations
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Performance Indicators
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Baselines
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Targets
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Performance Data
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TLS
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New joint initiatives with other UN agencies
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Updated Baseline end 2013: Two new initiatives undertaken by the Director General (Director General Chaired the HLCM in 2012; launch by the Director General of the Global Innovation Index at ECOSOC in Geneva in 2013).
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: Two
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Two
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One new initiative undertaken: Application for Observer Status to the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
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On track
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Expected Result: IX.2 An agile and smooth functioning Secretariat with a well managed and appropriately skilled workforce which is effectively delivering results
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% of queries for legal advice and services which receive prompt, independent and reliable responses from the Office of the Legal Counsel
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Updated Baseline end 2013: Despite an increase in the number of requests for advice as well as the fields covered, 98% of the queries received prompt and reliable responses from the OLC.
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 100%
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90%
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95%
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On track
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Expected Result: IX.3 An enabling working environment supported by an effective regulatory framework and appropriate channels to address staff concerns
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% of WIPO staff aware of services available from Ombuds-Office and informal conflict resolution mechanism
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Updated Baseline end 2013: 2013 Staff Feedback Survey: 63%
familiar with Ombuds-function,
32% somewhat familiar
77% as per the 2012 user feedback survey (conducted in March 2013).
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 2011 Staff Feedback Survey: 44% of staff familiar with Ombuds function, 49% somewhat familiar
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Increase of staff awareness to 60%
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A survey on the Ombuds-function is planned as part of the JIU review during the second quarter of 2015
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N/A 2014
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% of survey respondents being aware of WIPO ethics principles and policies
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Updated Baseline end 2013: 98% from the SRP Core Values Survey (conducted from January to February 2013).
Original Baseline P&B 2014/15: 70%
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75%
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Survey to be conducted in
2015 only.
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N/A 2014
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RESOURCE UTILIZATION
Budget and Actual Expenditure (by result)
(in thousands of Swiss francs)
Budget and Actual Expenditure (personnel and non-personnel)
(in thousands of Swiss francs)
NOTE: The 2014/15 Budget after Transfers reflects transfers as of March 31, 2015 to address needs during the 2014/15 biennium in line with Financial Regulation 5.5.
A. Budget after Transfers 2014/15
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The increase in personnel resources was primarily due to (i) the transfer of posts into the Program following the merger of events related activities with the protocol function, the establishment of a Business Continuity Coordinator role and (ii) the regularization of a continuing function in OLC to meet the increasing demand for legal services.
B. Budget utilization 2014
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Budget utilization is within the expected range of 40-60 per cent for the first year of the biennium and is on track.
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