Country Self-Assessment Review & Report (Stage 1)
During this stage, a country develops and implements a national strategy, structures and methodologies with the aim of producing a Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR) and draft Programme of Action (POA) to the APR Secretariat for consideration.
In keeping with the APRM principle of national ownership and guidance, there are no strict directives that member states must adhere to when providing information on the four thematic governance areas examined by the APRM to the APR Secretariat. However, the practice in early country examples has been for a country to initiate a national process of stakeholder engagements, research and/or other fact-finding activities which gather views and opinions from a broad spectrum of national and local stakeholders. One of the few requirements of a country's national consultations is that they engage with the broadest possible spectrum of national stakeholders, including actors in government, the private sector/business community and civil society organizations. The manner in which this consultation is conducted is left to the discretion of each countries focal point/governing body for the APRM.
The fact that no standard model exists upon which early countries undertaking a self-assessment could base their own methods has encouraged a significant degree of innovation and diverse methodologies in early country models.
| country | innovations |
|---|---|
| Ghana | First state to undergo peer review; National Governing Council entirely independent of Government; Random nationwide household survey; Recognised potential for disruption to process caused by National Elections. |
| Rwanda | Periodic national retreats (Nyadungus) for stakeholders to develop contributions to report; Publication of regular newsletter informing on latest APR developments in country; Used external quality assurers to evaluate quality of process (2 South African NGOs). |
| Kenya | First country to elect civil society representatives to National Governing Council; 1st country to remove non-performing members of Governing Council under APR procedures; 4 separate national governance surveys compiled into final report (Lead Technical Agencies). |
| Mauritius | First country to appoint existing organization as national APR governing body (National Economic & Social Council); 1st country to elect a new government mid-process in the APRM; National self-assessment process has been continuously delayed and set-back; APR process incomplete after 3 years. |
| South Africa | Radically transformed APRM Questionnaire (Shortened/Translated) to make it more accessible to majority of citizens; Conduct a national validation conference on the report; Commissioned Community Development Workers to survey rural and inaccessible communities on the APRM, national APRM song; 1st Country to enable electronic submissions to National Governing Council. |
Ultimately, there are two necessary products of any national self-assessment process:
- a finalised Country Self-Assessment Report;
- a draft Country Program of Action.
The CSAR is sent to the APR Secretariat, who in turn begin preparations for the official Country Review Mission visit (CRM), during which the appropriateness and quality of the country's self-assessment process is evaluated. The CSAR also forms part of the materials a CRM uses to draft the official Country Report for the APR Forum (add link).
The draft POA is developed for the purpose of providing a framework through which governance deficits and needs can be addressed. The POA includes specific targets, outputs and timeframes for these targets, as well as line item budgets and potential implementing institutions responsible for ensuring that targets are met. POA's cover a period of five years, whereupon the peer review process begins again as the country assesses its progress towards the POA targets, as do the country's peers in the APRM.