On 8 October 2021, the WCO Working Group on Performance Measurement (WGPM) concluded the virtual phase of its 4th Meeting, following a document-based consultation that had provided a solid basis for future decision-making. With the aim of integrating different perspectives and expectations in the design of a recognized and trustworthy WCO Performance Measurement Mechanism (PMM), the Working Group welcomed the participation of representatives of the WCO Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG), the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) and other partner international organizations, who were engaged and consulted on the methodological design of the PMM.
Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General of the WCO, welcomed the delegates to the Meeting and commended them for the outstanding work carried out during the intersession, and for the constructive and informed contributions made during the document-based phase of the Meeting. He observed that other international organizations’ success stories and different experiences of applying performance measurement and evaluation approaches intensified the need to position the WCO to take full ownership of the task of developing a robust, comprehensive and fully scientific methodology for performance measurement in the Customs area. Referring to the benefits of the PMM, he said: “The PMM will be not only relevant and feasible for each national administration but also adaptive and sustainable, making it a living WCO mechanism to assist with the dynamic needs of strategic decision-making both for WCO Members and for the WCO overall. The momentum is here for the WCO to deploy data analytics capabilities to promote the use of performance information and more effectively assist the WCO Members in the improvement of their organizational capacity.”
The success of the Meeting was demonstrated by the high number of participants and the lively discussions, which confirmed Members’ keen interest in actively contributing to the establishment of the WCO PMM.
Key milestones were reached on several aspects, such as the specifications for the hybrid model (including voluntary self-assessment followed by a peer review stage, at Members’ request, to ensure a thorough performance evaluation), and also the decision to move progressively towards the development of a WCO data collection platform to ensure adequate analytical capabilities in support of the mechanism and its usability.
The WGPM also approved the KPIs to launch the pilot that will run between December 2021 and February 2022 in order to assess the feasibility of data collection and ensure data quality and consistency in the PMM. The outcomes of the pilot will be presented at the 5th Meeting of the WGPM, for due consideration and further guidance.
In his closing remarks Mr. Treviño Chapa encouraged Members to participate in the pilot, as it will be the basis for ensuring that the feasibility assessment takes regional perspectives into account.
The Working Group recognized that Members’ sustained interest in promoting the continuous improvement of their organizational capacity through the PMM will fuel their participation in the pilot and the PMM, and announced further steps that will lead to the release of the first operational version of the PMM under the aegis of the WGPM.