Membership and Constituencies Management Guidelinespartnering constituencies on governance and...

Secretariat Hosted by the World Health Organization and Board Chaired by Mrs Graça Machel

PMNCH Board Member Handbook - Constituencies & focal points of 16

Membership and Constituencies

Management Guidelines

(DRAFT)

June 2014



TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. PURPOSE

2. BECOME A MEMBER

I. Criteria

II. How to apply III. Duties and responsibilities

IV. Benefits

V. New member orientation

3. CONSTITUENCIES: OVERVIEW

I. Core objectives and responsibilities of all constituencies II. Management of constituencies

a. Representation at Board b. Board Seats

c. Criteria for Board

d. Board Term

III. Reporting and Communication

4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EACH CONSTITUENCY I. ARTs

a. Criteria for Board Representation b. Participation

c. Duties and Responsibilities

d. Action Plan

II. DONORS AND FOUNDATIONS

a. Criteria for Board Representation

b. Participation


III. HCPAs


b. Participation c. Duties and Responsibilities

IV. MULTILATERALS



V. NGOs



VI. PARTNER COUNTRIES



VII. PRIVATE SECTOR



VIII. ADOLESCENTS AND YOUTH





1. PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Constituencies’ Guidelines is to provide a set of overarching principles for all

partnering constituencies on governance and operating procedures, as members of the Partnership for

Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH). An important PMNCH partnership principle is that each

constituency has a right to determine its own internal governance and other processes, provided that these

are consistent with the PMNCH Board Manual1 and PMNCH Principles of Engagement (Annex 1) with

partner organizations.

Words and expressions used in this document shall, unless the context implies otherwise, carry the

definition attributed to them in the Board Manual.

2. BECOME A MEMBER

The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) joins together the reproductive,

maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health communities, encouraging unified and effective approaches

to improve RMNCH in countries. The Partnership enables members to share strategies, align objectives

and resources, and agree on interventions to achieve more together than they would have been able to

achieve individually.

The Partnership has a broad membership divided among seven constituencies to facilitate communication

and management of members’ interactions with the Partnership. Each constituency has a chair person from

among its members, and a focal point in the PMNCH Secretariat who supports the work of the

constituency and its chair.

The following are the seven constituencies of PMNCH:

Partner Countries (PC)

Donors and Foundations (D&F)

Multilateral Organizations (MO)

Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Academic, Research and/or Training Institutions (ART)

Healthcare Professional Associations (HCPA)

Private Sector (PS) Adolescents and Youth (AY)

Membership to PMNCH requires a commitment to advance reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and

adolescent health, in accordance with The Partnership's guiding principles, vision and mission.

PMNCH is hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), and therefore WHO rules and regulations

apply to PMNCH. WHO may limit or not engage in an interaction that is incompatible with WHO goals

and objectives and that of global public health, including products specifically designed to harm, would be

excluded. Therefore, relationships are banned with commercial private sector whose activities are

incompatible with WHO’s work, such as those of the tobacco (or tobacco-related products), breast milk

substitutes or arms industries.

1

Board Manual: (http://www.who.int/pmnch/about/governance/board/en/)

http://www.who.int/pmnch/about/governance/board/en/)



Before completing the form, applicants should review the following information regarding member’s criteria,

responsibilities and benefits, and agree to the PMNCH operating and engagement principles. Please note

that institutions, not individuals, may apply for membership.

I. Criteria:

An entity/organization/institution seeking membership in PMNCH should meet these criteria:

Support the concept of the "Continuum of Care" and The Partnership in its mandate towards the

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 and 52 (and MDG 6) and post-2015 agenda;

Be active in the area of reproductive, maternal, newborn and/or child health (RMNCH), or adolescents

health, or health-related MDGs (MDGs 4, 5 & 6) or a closely related field, such as poverty and under

nutrition (MDG1); education(MDG 2) and gender (MDG 3); safe drinking water and sanitation (MDG 7)

and any related post-2015 agenda;

Be committed to collective action to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality and improve

RMNCH outcomes;

Endorse the values and general principles of The Partnership, as reflected in The Partnership's core

documents, including:

o The Principles of Engagement with PMNCH (Annex 1)

o The Operating Principles as stated in the PMNCH 2012-2015 Strategic Framework (Annex 1)

II. How to apply:

An entity/organization/institution interested in becoming member of the Partnership should fill in an online

application form, available on PMNCH website:

Mandatory Disclaimer: An applicant should sign a mandatory confirmation, indicating that the

entity/organization/institution does not have or has had during the past four years any formal association,

affiliation or link, with the tobacco or arms industry, breast milk substitutes, or any subsidiary of a

tobacco/arms company or commercial entity involved with the manufacture, sale, or distribution of

tobacco/arms or tobacco related products or breast milk substitutes.

Formal association, affiliation or link with the tobacco or arms industry may include, but is not limited to:

Consultancies or contractual/commercial relationships involving business (e.g. licensing, joint venture or

research and development agreements) or other interests, (e.g. advocacy or public relations);

The possession of a financial stake, e.g. shareholdings or bonds;

A proprietary interest in a substance, technology or process (e.g. ownership of patent);

Any programmes, initiatives, research, or projects, either independent or jointly administered which

have been directly or indirectly endorsed, funded either monetarily or otherwise, or promoted by the

tobacco/arms industry, a subsidiary of a tobacco/arms company, or any commercial entity involved with

manufacture, sale, or distribution of tobacco/arms or tobacco related products;

Financial interests, controlling interests (i.e. senior-level individuals, including executive board members,

with current or previous affiliations, financial or otherwise, with the tobacco/arms industry.

III. Duties and responsibilities:

An entity applying for membership is expected to:

2 MDG 4 and 5: http://www.who.int/pmnch/about/about_mdgs/en/

http://www.who.int/pmnch/members/application_form_rev_20120521_v3.pdf



http://www.who.int/pmnch/about/about_mdgs/en/



Promote The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), and advocate for the life

of every woman, newborn and child;

Support the implementation of The Partnership Strategic Framework and contribute, through direct or

indirect work, to one or more Strategic Objectives to implement activities and achieve results defined in

the PMNCH Work-plans;

Actively initiate and participate in collaborative activities to achieve MDGs 4, 5 and 6

Participate in PMNCH’s consultations and requests for information and feedback as required;

Work at promoting and building networks and relationships with their respective constituency partners

and consult with them globally, regionally and nationally.

Review the Partnership’s annual work-plan and contribute to the constituency’s Plan of Action, which is

derived from the overall PMNCH Annual Workplan.

Contribute resources to The Partnership's activities, e.g. funding, in-kind, technical expertise, staff time,

assistance with media and networking, support for other partners’ attendance at forums and other

PMNCH activities and events, etc. Contributions are subject to due diligence and conflict of interest

reviews, as well as relevant principles as outlined in the Partnership’s core documents.

Regularly share knowledge and contribute to PMNCH efforts to disseminate information through:

o The contribution of stories, activities, updates, best practices, reports, projects, events and news

related to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health or related fields;

o The contribution of resources for the RMNCH Knowledge Portal and website;

Update the PMNCH Secretariat of any relevant changes in organization’s profile, focal points or contact

details

IV. Benefits:

The main value-added of The Partnership is that it brings together key Partners focused on improving the

health of women, newborn, children and adolescents. PMNCH Partners can benefit from their membership

in several aspects:

Events and Networking - “Collaborative action is more effective”

Opportunities for members to partner with a wide range of stakeholders on events and other initiatives

to advance a common health agenda, including governments, UN agencies and other multilateral

agencies, health care professionals, donors and foundations, civil society, private sector and other

partners;

The opportunity to jointly advocate for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health

issues;

The opportunity to attend and contribute to our Partnership Forum and other activities and events;

Access to major key players in RMNCH through the Partners' Directory and interactive database

available on PMNCH website, which facilitates mapping of partners according to geographical areas,

activity focus, expertise, etc.;

Regular news and updates on the PMNCH website to facilitate sharing of new ideas and best practices,

provision of data and other information;

Visibility

The listing of your organization in The Partnership’s on-line members database;

A web link on The Partnership website to your organization’s website ;

The ability to send your own organization’s news, press releases, events, and notes from the field for

posting on The Partnership website (via the online member Web Contribution Form);



The possibility to highlight your own resources and news on the Partnership’s web based portal and

website (via the online member Web Contribution Form).

The use of PMNCH’s logo might be authorized if appropriate, on joint communication materials (prior

agreement/authorization by the PMNCH Secretariat and relevant WHO departments);

Access to knowledge and new resources

Free access to RMNCH news and other knowledge resources and news on the website

www.pmnch.org

Online subscription to PMNCH communications and updates (e-newsletters and e-blast);

Online access to archived issues of PMNCH newsletters, electronic updates, periodicals, advocacy

materials, policy and technical reports produced by PMNCH, WHO and other partners;

Possibility to receive hard copies of some of the documents (if available) through individual requests

made to: [email protected];

Regular electronic updates of headlines and breaking news about reproductive, maternal newborn and

child health from around the world, quick access to latest headlines through the subscription to the

PMNCH RSS and Twitter feeds.

The use of PMNCH’s logo might be authorized if appropriate, on joint communication materials (prior

agreement/authorization by the PMNCH Secretariat and relevant WHO departments);

V. After applying:

Completed applications will be automatically sent to the PMNCH Secretariat for review. The application

review process could result in an application approved, rejected or the applicant may be contacted to

provide further information. Once the application has been approved, you may expect to:

receive a welcome letter/email from the PMNCH Secretariat;

receive an induction e-mail from your relevant constituency chairperson or focal point in the PMNCH

Secretariat; and

start receiving monthly PMNCH newsletters (“e-Blasts”).

VI. New member Orientation:

Welcome letter from the Secretariat upon approval

The Secretariat will inform the Constituency chairperson and focal point about the new member and

will send monthly updates to the chairpersons informing them of the addition of the new members to

their constituencies

The new member will receive an invitation from the chairperson to the next teleconference that the

constituency will hold, where the member will be formally introduced

If the constituency is too large such as the NGO constituency, they will receive an acceptance letter and

a virtual Welcome Pack, including an advocacy calendar with upcoming events and be automatically

subscribed to the PMNCH e-blast

3. CONSTITUENCIES: OVERVIEW

Members of the Partnership have a shared interest in, and commitment to, improving reproductive,

maternal, newborn and child health and are willing to be committed to short- and long-term goals in this

respect. The Partnership has a broad membership divided among seven constituencies to facilitate

communication and management of members’ interactions with the Partnership. The following are PMNCH

seven constituencies:

Partner Countries (PC)

http://www.pmnch.org/

http://www.pmnch.org/



Donors and Foundations (D&F)

Multilateral Organizations (MO)

Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Academic, Research and/or Training Institutions (ART)

Healthcare Professional Associations (HCPA)

Private Sector (PS) Adolescents and Youth (AY)

I. Core Objectives and responsibilities of all Constituencies:

The following are the core objectives and responsibilities shared among all constituencies. The objectives

and responsibilities of each constituency are elaborated further in this document:

To Commit to the cause championed by the PMNCH and contribute in whatever capacity they can

toward achieving MDGs 4 and 5.

To participate fully in Board meetings, representing the constituency and communicating constituency’s

wide views at the Executive Committee and other ad-hoc committees of the Partnership as necessary.

To support advocacy efforts in whatever capacity they can.

To have the capacity to commit adequate time to attend Board meetings, Committees meetings, where

represented and Constituency meetings.

To provide time and resources to the Board when it is in their capacity to do so.

To work for promoting and building networks and relationships with their respective constituency

partners and consult with them globally, regionally and nationally.

To actively engage with other members of the Partnership, relay information about their vision and

promote inter-constituency partnership where possible.

To review the Partnership’s annual work plan and develop a constituency plan of contributions to

implementation of the work.

II. Management of Constituencies:

Partner Forum: The PMNCH works within international agreed frameworks including the International

Conference on Population and Development (ICPD); the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW);

the UN Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); the Global Strategy of

Women and Children’s Health and many more. Together, these bodies and institutions form a Forum of

Partners. The Forum is a consultative body, which meets every two years to share RMNCH best practice

and experience, promotes communication amongst the spectrum of RMNCH stakeholders, provides an

opportunity for active exchange of views and information on global and national practices, and provides

members with an opportunity to contribute to, or be involved in, RPMNCH activities, including task forces.

a. Representation at the Board:

The PMNCH’s 740+ members are governed by a Board of representatives of no more than 25 with

alternates for each Board member. Each constituency has a designated numbers of seats at PMNCH

board including a chairperson for each. The chairperson of the constituency is chosen from among the

constituency’s board representatives. Each constituency has a focal point at the PMNCH secretariat to

support work of constituency and its chair.

Costs resulting from the appointment or selection, and functioning of a constituency chairperson should be

borne by the constituency and/or Board member, and not the Secretariat.

b. Board Seats:

Seats at PMNCH Board are allocated among constituencies as follow:



ARTs (3 seats)

D&Fs – including one specific seat for Foundation (4 seats)

HCPAs (3 seats)

Multilaterals- with a health mandate related to MDG 4 and 5 i.e. UNICEF, WNFPA, WHO, World

Bank (4 seats)

NGOs (4 seats)

Partner countries- Developing countries, represented by the Ministry of health (4 seats)

Private Sector (2 seats)

Optional seat which may be filled by an additional bilateral donor ( 1seat)

Representative of the Adolescents and Youth Constituency

c. Criteria for Board representation:

Each constituency has the liberty to develop its own process to designate its representatives to the

Board and shall provide written updates to the Board for reference regarding this process. An

important principle is that Board members represent the views of their constituency; therefore it is

crucial that they conduct regular consultation with their constituencies. It is therefore paramount that

Board representatives are appointed in a fair and transparent manner.

Selection of members will be guided by the criteria described in the Board Manual, as outlined below:

Board Members (and Alternates where applicable) are expected to:

Be actively working in the field of reproductive, maternal, newborn or child health and have

expertise across the RMNCH continuum of care;

Have a high level of profile within the constituency and regionally or globally;

Have a high level of authority in the organization represented;

Willingness and ability to afford the time and resources required for Board work;

To speak for their constituencies and indicate when they are reflecting an institutional or personal

view.

Specific criteria (e.g. representation from a specific geographic area or a specific issue) may be set by

the Board and/or a constituency group.

The Board Manual does not specify Board member competencies beyond the above criteria, and

enables constituencies to create their own criteria for Board/Alternate member selection, provided

that it is transparent, fair and the result is representative of the constituency’s agreed criteria and

requirements. However, Board nominees are required to provide “a letter of support” from their

organization, stating clearly the position or relationship of the nominated candidate to the organization

she/he represents and indicating that the nominee has the organization’s support for fulfilling the role

of Board member in order for the Board to accept the nomination.

Any nominated for the Board position will be subject to a thorough due diligence process by the

PMNCH Board before the Board position is confirmed.

d. Board Term:

The four multilateral organizations (UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, the World Bank) hold permanent seats

on the Board. The term of office for all other Board members is of two calendar years and renewable.



There is no formal selection process constituencies must follow to choose their Board representatives, provided

they update the Board in writing regarding their process. However, constituencies may opt for a formal

selection process if they wish to do so (Please refer to Annex 2)

III. Reporting and Communication:

The process for constituency communication is vital to ensure optimal constituency functioning.

The role of Board members and alternates is to include responsibilities in relation to communication

and information dissemination

Constituency chairpersons to play coordination and communication role

In addition, constituencies are strongly encouraged to establish regular communication mechanisms e.g.

constituency calls, information dissemination, newsletter, mechanisms for soliciting views and opinions.

They are also encouraged to explore opportunities for ad-hoc communications, such as possibilities to

leverage other forums (e.g. meetings and other global, regional or local events) and hold face-to-face

meetings.

Call frequency is determined by the constituencies to disseminate information from the Executive

Committee calls and solicit constituency views in advance for the next call.

Constituencies hold a special call prior to every PMNCH Board meeting, held bi-annually, to review Board

agenda and align positions and suggestions for discussions at the Board.

Constituencies can establish working groups or other sub-groups to facilitate communication on specific

issues of interest to select members.

Guidelines for PMNCH constituencies’ communication:

a. Upon approval of a membership Constituencies will put in place regular and/or periodic

communication mechanisms to:

exchange views and inform each other about their work;

come up with ways to contribute to PMNCH annual work-plan (Sample work plan Annex 3);

reach consensus on ideas and agree on issues to raise to the Board;

discuss PMNCH governance events and other advocacy events;

explore ways to reach the community at large.

b. Members will have the possibility to contact their constituency via the Secretariat focal point, and raise

ideas, thoughts and any other matters through this channel. Members are welcome to provide their

thoughts on PMNCH related work regarding their constituency and contribute in a more active way if

they wish to do so.

The PMNCH governance calendar, including all meetings and documents to date can be accessed on our website:

http://www.who.int/pmnch/about/governance/board/govcalendar/en/

IV. Membership criteria of each constituency: Apart from the overall roles and responsibilities shared among all constituencies, as outlined earlier in this

document, constituency has a set of specific membership criteria due to its unique nature and the role it

plays in the work of PMNCH as follows.

http://www.who.int/pmnch/about/governance/board/govcalendar/en/



I. ACADEMIC, RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS (ARTs):

A registered academic, research or training (ART) institute with expertise in one or more aspects of

the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, including adolescence (RMNCH+A) Continuum

of Care. This will be an institution that focuses in particular on important cross-cutting policy issues in

RMNCH + A, such as brokering knowledge, mobilizing resources, promoting accountability, and one

that has established networks and relationships with other ART institutions.

II. DONORS AND FOUNDATIONS (D&Fs)

Increasing sustainability and country capacity by strengthening health systems and human resources,

keeping MNCH outcomes in focus as the key indicators for success. A full member of the Donors and

Foundations constituency can be a bilateral donor, a national government, or a foundation, which has

provided, currently provides, or explicitly intends to provide grant funding towards the delivery of

PMNCH workplans. Such a member is eligible to express interest for a Board Member or a Board

Alternate seat. Other bilateral donors, national governments, or foundations who do not meet the

grant funding criteria, but do provide grants that support evidence based action across the

reproductive, maternal, newborn and/or child health, including adolescence (RMNCH+A) Continuum

of Care are eligible to be observers in the constituency. Observers will be able to participate in all calls and meetings unless these are, from time to time, determined as closed to members only by the Chair of the constituency.

III. HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (HCPAs)

A registered health care professional association (HCPA), currently and actively working in the field of

reproductive, maternal, newborn and/or child health, including adolescence (RMNCH+A). This will be

an association whose members have expertise across the RMNCH+A Continuum of Care, a focus of

their work on important cross-cutting policy issues in this field (e.g. brokering knowledge, mobilizing resources, promoting accountability). It will be an association that has established networks and

relationships with other HCPAs.

IV. MULTILATERALS ORGANIZATIONS (MOs)

Currently and actively working in the field of maternal, newborn or child health; appropriate level of

profile within the constituency and regionally or globally; appropriate level of authority in the

organization represented; willingness and ability to afford the time and resources required for Board

work.

V. NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOs)

A registered non-governmental organization (NGO) with expertise and active engagement in one or

more aspects of the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, including adolescence

(RMNCH+A) Continuum of Care. This will be an institution that focuses on evidence based advocacy

or implementation of projects essential to RMNCH+A at national, regional, and/ or global level, and

one that has a focus on important cross-cutting policy issues in RMNCH + A, such as brokering

knowledge, mobilizing resources, promoting accountability. It has established networks and

relationships with other RMNCH+A relevant stakeholders and initiatives.

VI. PARTNER COUNTRIES (PCs):

Partners Countries health sector

Willingness to cooperate and collaborate in the sector of RMNCH



To share strategies, align objectives and resources, and agree on interventions to achieve more

together

Supporting constituency partners to align their strategic directions and catalyze collective action to achieve universal access to comprehensive, high-quality reproductive, maternal, newborn and child

health care

VII. PRIVATE SECTOR (PS):

A registered national, regional, or multinational for-profit private sector entity or association

representing a for-profit constituency with operations related to RMNCH+A, and potential drivers

that enable or prevent improved health for local communities. The entity will have demonstrable

experience in accelerating progress towards improved RMNCH+A related objectives. The private

sector entity should not have, at least during the past four years, any formal association, affiliation or

link, with the tobacco or arms industry, breast milk substitutes, or any subsidiary of a

tobacco/arms/breast milk substitutes company or commercial entity involved with the manufacture,

sale, or distribution of tobacco/arms or tobacco related products or breast milk substitutes.

Membership in the private sector constituency will be subject to a prescribed due diligence process.

VIII. ADOLESCENTS AND YOUTH (AY): Youth-led organisation and/or network, leading and/or implementing SRMNCAH work at national,

regional or global levels for at least 2 years . Be able to appoint one main and one alternate delegates

(between ages 10-30) for representation in the Constituency, with availability of at least 3 hours per

week to commit to the Constituency’s work. The focal persons should be willing to offer at least three

hours per week to respond and engage in Adolescent and Youth constituency’s work.

Be able to communicate with other constituency members.

Be willing to freely share activity reports, examples of work, learnings from their organisations and

communities at large with other constituency and The Partnership at large.



ANNEX 1

PMNCH's Operational Principles

PMNCH’s operational principles are specified in PMNCH’s 2012-2015 Strategic Framework. They define

the way the Partnership expects to function – i.e., its modus operandi. These include:

being partner-centric;

playing a convening and brokering role for its Partners;

being guided by country demand and regional priorities; and

continuing to promote the "continuum of care" concept.

PMNCH’s Principles of Engagement

As discussed with WHO and Board during the “conflict of interest policies”, these principles of engagement

should apply to ALL organizations – with some principles being more relevant to some constituencies.

1. Strategic alignment

Engagement has clear links to PMNCH mission and priority actions, and is well aligned with the PMNCH

strategy and work plan.

Engagement is consistent and compliant with WHO technical norms and standards.

Private sector organization should not produce a product or engage in practices that would be detrimental

to health in any way or harm PMNCH’s / WHO’s reputations.

2. Clear value add

Engagement demonstrates value for public health in the area of RMNCH.

Engagement is additive, and creates value which is over and above what could be achieved by PMNCH

without engagement of the private sector.

3. Independence and impartiality

Engagement must maintain PMNCH objectivity, integrity, independence and impartiality.

Potential or actual, real or perceived conflicts of interests should be reported and managed in keeping with

applicable WHO policies and PMNCH Board approved principles.

Pursuit of the public health goal takes precedence over the interests of any individual organization or group

of organizations wishing to engage with PMNCH.

4. No endorsement and no exclusivity

Engagement should not bestow any unfair competitive advantage to any organization or entity, and should

allow a level playing field for all. In the case of for-profit companies, collaboration will be open to all

interested commercial parties on the same basis.



Engagement should not provide endorsement or preference of a particular organization. In particular, for

private sector entities, engagement will not result in endorsement or preference of particular products and

/ or services.

5. Transparency

While respecting individual privacy and institutional confidentiality, as appropriate, all interested persons

(within PMNCH and public at large) should easily be able to obtain information on:

benefits to PMNCH and the organization;

the nature and scope of activities;

rules of engagement and mechanisms of decision for the selection process;

delineation of roles, responsibilities, and contributions; and

outcomes of engagement.

6. Due diligence

Due diligence, including risk assessment, risk management and guidelines will take place, as relevant and

necessary, on the selection of Partners (including legal and communication aspects) and the engagement

process. For example, if relevant, private sector partners should have a sound corporate social

responsibility track record and leadership, a history of commitment to development and health goals,

responsible environmental and labour practices, and a positive public image.

PMNCH is a Partnership hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), and therefore WHO rules and

regulations apply to PMNCH. WHO may limit or not engage in an interaction that is incompatible with WHO goals

and objectives and that of global public health, including products specifically designed to harm, would be excluded.

Therefore, relationships are banned with commercial private sector whose activities are incompatible with WHO’s

work, such as the tobacco (or tobacco-related products) breast milk substitutes or arms industries.



Annex 2

BOARD MEMBERS OPTIONAL SELECTION PROCESS

There is no formal selection process constituencies must follow to choose their Board representatives,

provided they update the Board in writing regarding their process. However, constituencies may opt for a

formal selection process if they wish to do so. The optional process is outlined below.

Formal Selection Process for Board Representation of Constituencies (OPTIONAL)

In a formal selection process of constituencies’ representatives to the PMNCH Board each constituency

establishes a “Selection Committee”. The constituency also determines whether an alternate system should

be adopted, whereby the Board representative and Alternate are from different -or the same-

organization(s).

Selection Committee:

The Selection Committee will comprise of five members with a quorum of three. It will be chaired by the

chair of the Executive Committee and will have the following additional members:

Relevant constituency’s chairperson

Three constituency Board members, or when this is not possible: one constituency Board member and

two other Board Members.

One additional Executive Committee member

Purpose and Tasks of the Selection Committee:

The purpose of the Selection Committee is to select representative members and alternates for each

constituency to the PMNCH Board, in accordance with the criteria set by the constituency, and to ensure

that the Board representation reflects the diverse nature of the constituency.

The Selection Committee must also review expressions of interest for constituency representatives and

alternates to the PMNCH Board and consider each expression of interest against the criteria established by

the particular constituency. In accordance with the selection criteria, the Selection Committee will then

reach a decision on the final candidate(s) and ensure that this is communicated to the Executive Committee

for final approval.

Board representation principles:

The constituency also agrees on the following principles for representation on the Board:

The term of representation should be for one term (2 years) as a matter of norm. A second term

should only be considered if the Selection Committee finds no other suitable alternative.

Rotation should be staggered, ideally with no more than 3 rotations per year, to ensure continuity.

To ensure wide representation and avoid a locked system it is not expected that the alternate becomes

the next Board member when a vacancy arises.

A constituency member can hold either a Board seat or alternate position at any point in time. If

vacancies for Board seats and alternate positions arise, a member may express interest in both. In such

circumstances the Selection Committee should select Board representation first. Members selected as a

Board member should then be excluded by the Selection Committee from being among the alternate

candidates.



Role of Secretariat in a Formal Selection Process:

To support the Selection Committee the PMNCH Secretariat will:

Identify upcoming rotations and call for expressions of interest at least 3 months in advance of each

rotation. To simplify Board rotations, it is proposed that Board tenure is now per calendar year, rather

than the number of Board meetings, this system starts on the 1st of January 2014. The expression of

interest from each organization should state the name and designation of the proposed board/alternate

member.

Collate expressions of interest and present these to the Selection Committee.

Prepare, and circulate, main points and decisions of the Selection Committee.

Communicate the Selection Committee’s decision on the final candidate(s) to the Executive Committee

for final approval.

Seek final confirmation and acceptance from the chosen candidate(s).

Communicate with unsuccessful candidates.

Inform all constituency members of selected candidate(s).

Ensure that the Board is informed at the subsequent Board meeting, following which the serving

member(s) will step down.

Ensure new members are recognized and welcomed by the Chair at their first Board meeting

Review of the selection process:

One year after the appointment of the Selection Committee, the constituency should review the selection

process put in place, considering the effectiveness and efficiency of the approach to determine whether the

process should continue in its current form, or whether modifications are needed.



Annex 3

Constituency Action Plan Constituency’s contribution to the implementation of PMNCH annual work-plan

(DRAFT TEMPLATE FOR DISCUSSION)

Proposed constituency activities under outcomes for PMNCH Work-plan Year (YYYY):

Outcome 1:

Funding Responsible

Workstream Activities and Scope

Within PMNCH Other Sources

Budget

Constituency

Partners

Outcome 2:

Funding Responsible


Within PMNCH Other Sources

Budget

Constituency

Partners

Outcome 3:

Funding Responsible


Within PMNCH

Budget Other Sources

Constituency

Partners

Outcome 4:


Funding Responsible

Constituency

Partners Within PMNCH

Budget

Other Sources

Membership and Constituencies Management Guidelinespartnering constituencies on governance and...

Documents

Transcript of Membership and Constituencies Management Guidelinespartnering constituencies on governance and...