GUIDELINES CONCERNING APERC PROJECT PROPOSALS AND THE FORMATION AND OPERATION OF PROJECT ADVISORY GROUPS
1. In presenting its research proposals for the next year to EGEDA, APERC will:
  • Indicate in what way each project supports the goals of APEC. Support will be established by reference to declarations and statements by APEC leaders, energy ministers, senior officials (SOM) and/or EWG;
  • Prepare a planning document (such as a GANTT chart) to demonstrate how the suite of new projects and ongoing activities (e.g. projects underway, technical assistance program) are to be completed within stated timelines and with available resources. The planning document should indicate, for each project, the start date, completion date, milestones, resources applied and relationship to other APERC activities.
2. As described in the terms of reference, a project advisory group (PAG) will be established for each of the new research projects proposed by APERC at the annual meeting of EGEDA (February-March). The role of a PAG is to provide professional input and advice to the development and conduct of the research.

3. Membership in a PAG is limited to EGEDA members or their designates. Designates may be from the public, academic or private sectors of the member economy. If a designate from the private or academic sectors is nominated, it is the responsibility of the EGEDA delegate from the member economy to ensure that there is no actual or perceived conflict of interest.

4. In principle, the maximum size of a project advisory group is five members but may be larger depending on the interest of member economies. Member economies are encouraged to participate in at least one PAG. As a general rule a member economy will be limited to one member on each PAG. If the member economy wishes more than one member on a PAG, it should consult with the Chair and Vice-Chair of EGEDA.

5. The project advisory group for a given project will remain in existence until the project is completed (i.e. either results in a publication or is abandoned).

6. Normally, the process to establish a project advisory group will commence at the annual EGEDA meeting via the following steps:

  • As agreed upon at the March 2003 EGEDA meeting in Hanoi, APERC will provide, to the Chair of EGEDA for distribution to EGEDA members, the required information on its preliminary project proposals for the coming year sufficiently in advance of the annual meeting (a minimum of two weeks is recommended);
  • Following a presentation and discussion of these proposals, EGEDA delegates will indicate their preliminary interest in participating in the advisory groups for each approved project. This interest will be confirmed in writing to the Chair, EGEDA within a certain timeframe;
  • The Chair and Vice-Chair will be responsible for resolving any issues (too many/too few members, ensuring balance in group, etc) associated with membership. The Chair or Vice-Chair will ask for a volunteer to lead each advisory group and will appoint a leader if no one volunteers;
  • The Chair of EGEDA will communicate a final list of PAG members within a month of the EGEDA meeting.
7. In developing the outlook, APERC staff will liaise with researchers from each member economy to review the outlook results for that economy. This consultation, which may be undertaken electronically or in person, will be undertaken at a sufficiently early stage of the outlook process to allow for changes if necessary.

8. Prior to publication of the outlook, APERC staff and each interested member of EGEDA will work together to identify and explain, where possible, the major differences between the official national forecast and the APERC forecast for the member economy.

9. It is anticipated that the PAG and the APERC research team for each project will interact (probably electronically) at various critical points during the project. The role of the APERC project leader will be key to the success of this communication process. He/she will be responsible for ensuring that material is distributed to PAG members in a timely fashion (a minimum of two weeks is recommended for reviews of drafts), for communicating questions/issues raised and their resolution to all PAG members, for informing APERC management of the implications of PAG recommendations for the project and for, in general, fostering a professional dialogue between the project team and PAG members. The Chair or Vice-Chair will work with the leaders of each advisory group to ensure that communication takes place in an effective and timely manner.

10. The leaders of the advisory group or its members will provide to EGEDA, at the request of the Chair or Vice-Chair, its assessment of the quality and completeness of the research work. This information, combined with EGEDAfs comments and responses from APERC, will be included in the report of the meeting. The report should focus on the value and feasibility of accomplishing the research agenda put forth by APERC.
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The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. All Rights Reserved.