Kickoff Meeting of the WCO Working Group on Performance Measurement

Following the June 2019 WCO Council decision, the 14 and 15 of November marked the start of a new crucial endeavor that WCO Membership has committed to over the next two years. The 1st meeting of the newly established Working Group on Performance Measurement (WGPM) took place, setting the tone for a pivotal collective challenge aimed at the establishment of a comprehensive WCO Performance Measurement mechanism incorporating all Customs competencies for assessing and improving Customs organizational performance.

The delegates were welcomed by the Deputy Secretary General of the WCO, Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa, who noted the unanimous approach of the WCO community in taking ownership  of the development of its own robust, comprehensive and fully scientific methodology for performance measurement, thus ensuring that the product is recognized politically and the undisputed standard for measuring Customs performance.

The WCO has always been at the forefront in fostering Customs modernization and its conventions, instruments, tools and recommendations are designed at improving Customs administrations’ performance. Therefore, as a part of the mandate of the new Working Group (WG), measuring the extent to which WCO tools and instruments are applied and effectively implemented will also contribute to raising the accountability profile of WCO interventions, and enable a long-lasting impact to be exacted and sustained.

The success of the meeting was demonstrated by the high rate of participation and the dynamic dialogue that confirmed Members key interest in actively contributing to the establishment of a politically recognized, evidence-based, scored assessment mechanism that would enable strategic and evidence-based policy-making processes in Customs administrations, and assist the national economies in revenue mobilization and the safe and smooth movement of goods.

On the basis of a unanimous approach, the WG reached a cohesive view around the goal, overall objective and the specific objectives of the WCO Performance Measurement Mechanism (PMM) that will guide the development of the technical aspects of the PMM.

The WGPM highlighted the importance of learning from the outcomes of other international assessment tools and continuing the dialogue that has been established with the World Bank Group, while recognizing that the impartiality of the WCO PMM should be ensured in order to be globally accepted and politically recognized.  The Work Plan of the WGPM was intensively discussed setting the respective activities for the expected deliverables to be achieved.

In view of the existing practices, a critical mass of participation from Members will enable the effective achievement of the WCO PMM goal and meet the expectations of the international Customs community, ensuring a sustainable impact on the economic development and business environment at national and international level.

WCO NEWS

20/11/2019