Secretariat / Administration / Human resources

International Organization Information / Research: 2000 (Part #10)

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Archives: A decision was made to reduce the archive holdings of organizational descriptions that were occupying much space, were of relatively low value, and necessitated unjustified staff time.

Telework: Work on publications is increasingly undertaken with much greater reliance on:

• work away from the Brussels secretariat: the logo project was largely undertaken from Leuven (home of a former UIA staff member), as was the recent Who's Who project, contributions to the Encyclopedia databases, and Yearbook commentary materials; major editing of the Yearbook is now done very successfully in London; development and production of the CD-ROM, previously done in Montreal, has been switched to Paris, and now to London with little disruption (following the movements of the person responsible).
• electronic mail and file transfer: with editors working at a distance, the UIA has effectively been experimenting with a form of "tele-working"; international organizations increasingly communicate with the UIA by e-mail, notably concerning the Yearbook; much information is obtained from the Web. It is planned to further experiment with this mode of operating in the light of new developments with dynamic Web publishing on the NT server.
• flexible working arrangements: volunteers made some contributions to the Encyclopedia (and hopefully will continue to do so in the future) and to the preparatory work for the French translation of the Yearbook; stagiaires have been used for translation work. In some cases this has been converted into paid work, even in the form of contracts.

These developments are partly in response to budgetary constraints, to the needs of individuals, or to the desire to benefit, or continue to benefit, from known expertise with UIA data and programs. It is expected that the UIA involvement with the Web will further change the balance and nature of secretariat operations.

In response to the electronic environment, UIA staff continue to achieve unusual breakthroughs using in-house tools and resources; support and purchase of such resources are undertaken frugally. The electronic environment is causing rapid changes in the: internal modes of work; the way information flows to and from the UIA; as well as 8 between personnel.

Salaries: Salaries remain a regular concern of staff; due both to the Belgian system in general and the high rate of tax. Staff are now acquiring skill sets (e.g. broader computing and internet specific) which would make them extremely attractive in the commercial sector. Additionally, non-Belgian staff are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to residency and taxation issues.

Under staffing: UIA continues to face challenges of identifying relevant candidates for open positions. Additionally, while more continues to be achieved with less, there are concerns about what elements might be lost as the Yearbook operation adjusts to a smaller staff, a larger share of information available through the internet, and increased electronic contact with organizations.

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