Follow-up to the Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation
of the SPS Agreement

Mentoring system - concept note

Note by the Secretariat[1]

The report of the Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement, under "Technical assistance and special and differential treatment", includes the following recommendation:

The Committee will work with the Secretariat to explore a mentoring system to assist developing and LDC Members, including with respect to transparency and their timely engagement on SPS matters, taking into account lessons learned from previous experiences with mentoring systems.[2]

This concept note reflects a proposal, prepared by the Secretariat for discussion with Members, to roll out a pilot mentoring system, in light of lessons learned from the 2008-2010 SPS transparency mentoring system.

1  lessons learned from the 2008-2010 SPS transparency mentoring system

1.1.  In 2008, a mentoring system was launched to assist developing country Members on SPS transparency-related matters.[3] It resulted in 19 mentoring relationships in 2008-2010 between individuals with responsibilities as SPS Enquiry Points and/or Notification Authorities. These focused on issues relating to notifications and raising awareness on transparency at domestic level. Certain challenges were identified with this mentoring system, such as challenges relating to lack of engagement, technical issues and ineffective communication channels, internal procedural requirements, staff turnover, and the limited number of mentors.[4]

1.2.  Key lessons can be drawn from that previous mentoring experience[5]:

a._         mentoring requires proactive participation, regular engagement, and strong commitment from both mentees and mentors. Mentees should be accountable and empowered to operationalize actions;

b._         mentoring does not need to be institution-based, but should rather be about a personal relationship between two individuals;

c._         individuals interested in being mentored play a key role in identifying mentoring goals;

d._         well-defined, concrete, and specific objectives as well as timeframes should be identified early on;

e._         clear communication channels are needed;

f._          the Secretariat can support the process by, inter alia, matching mentees and mentors, following up on progress, and reporting to the Committee on the mentorship system; and

g._         SPS Committee events can help to connect mentees and mentors.

2  Proposed way forward

2.1  Objective and key features of the proposed mentoring system

2.1.  The proposed mentoring system aims at assisting developing and LDC Members, including with respect to transparency and their timely engagement on SPS matters. It connects mentees and mentors, including in the context of South-South cooperation.

2.2.  Mentoring is an informal, ad hoc supportive relationship for knowledge-sharing, peer learning, and engagement on SPS-related issues. Mentees and mentors engage and exchange so that mentees can work towards the achievement of their objectives, as identified at the outset.

2.3.  Mentoring is a flexible process and is not necessarily very time consuming. It also does not require financial resources or imply any financial commitment (unless otherwise agreed). Key features of the proposed mentoring system include:

a._         Relationship-based and flexible: each mentoring relationship has its own dynamics, timeline, and means and periodicity of communication. While the Secretariat can provide guidance, each mentee/mentor pair adopts the approaches that work best for them to build a strong relationship with effective engagement.

b._         Goal-oriented: each mentoring relationship implies clearly defined, measurable, and achievable objectives. Individuals interested in being mentored clearly identify specific needs and objectives at the outset, to be refined and agreed upon in the first stages of the mentoring phase.

c._         Mentee/mentor matching: the Secretariat matches mentees and mentors based on identified needs and objectives, region, time zones, language, and expertise. Mentoring could be on a one-on-one basis or for a small group of mentees.

d._         Mentoring network: while mentoring relationships operate independently, opportunities are provided for mentees and mentors to share experiences across the mentoring system.

e._         Evaluation and reporting: the Secretariat monitors and evaluates progress based on quantitative and qualitative data and periodically reports to the Committee. Mentees and mentors are invited to provide feedback to the Committee on individual mentoring relationships, in a manner agreed between them.

2.4.  The mentoring system relies on clearly defined roles and responsibilities:

a._         Mentees identify specific needs and clear objectives for the mentoring. Mentees proactively engage, take initiative, ask questions, follow through, and reflect on progress. Mentees should be empowered to operationalize actions and are responsible for implementing the necessary actions towards the achievement of their objectives.

b._         Mentors proactively engage, share knowledge and expertise, act as a sounding board, and provide feedback to help mentees achieve their goals. Mentors are not expected to provide financial support nor are they expected to have all the answers or provide ready-to-implement solutions.

c._         The Committee oversees the mentoring system and considers impact and possible improvements to ensure sustainability of the system over time.

d._         The Secretariat calls for and reviews expressions of interest in mentoring, matches mentees and mentors, provides assistance for individual mentoring relationships as necessary, enables experience sharing through a mentoring network, collects data for evaluation purposes, and reports to the Committee.

2.2  Pilot implementation plan

2.5.  The mentoring system will be piloted starting in 2025, to be evaluated, refined, and possibly scaled up in 2026.

2.6.  The pilot phase will focus on a limited number of carefully selected mentoring requests based on diverse criteria, including: (i) the objective(s) identified in the mentoring request, which should be clearly defined, measurable, and achievable; (ii) commitment of mentees to proactively engage in the mentoring, based on the quality of the mentoring request and preliminary exchanges; and (iii) for diversity purposes, language, region and main goal of the mentoring.

2.7.  Figure 1 below provides an overview of the steps for pilot implementation, with a tentative timeline.

Figure 1 - Pilot implementation steps

__________