Provision of Consultancy Service for the Review of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s funding structure

The Commonwealth Secretariat (“the Secretariat”) is an international organisation established by Agreed Memorandum, which is given privileges and immunities under the domestic law of the United Kingdom by the Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966 (as amended by the International Organisations Act 2005). Under this legislation, the Secretariat is not subject to UK jurisdiction and enforcement. Further information on the Secretariat can be found at: http://thecommonwealth.org/

This status has an impact on some of the standard terms and conditions of contract (see appendix 1). In particular, we draw your attention to our dispute resolution clause, which refers disputes to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitration Tribunal (CSAT). The 8 members of the Tribunal are selected by the Board of Governors and come from Commonwealth member countries. CSAT is located in London, United Kingdom. Information about CSAT, including its governing statute and procedure are available on its website at http://thecommonwealth.org/tribunal.

The Secretariat implements decisions agreed by 54 Heads of Government and Ministers through advocacy, consensus–building, information sharing, analysis, technical assistance, capacity- building, and advice on policy development.

Objectives of Consultancy

The purpose of this review is to conduct an independent study of the Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC), Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) and Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP). This is for the purpose of advising if COMSEC, the CYP and the CFTC could be put on a more predictable, sustainable and stable footing by any revision of:

1. funding arrangements;
2. the Secretariat’s budgeting and programme planning process;
3. arrangements for forecasting of member states’ voluntary contributions; and
4. timelines for payment of voluntary and assessed contributions.

Closing date: 12:00 BST, 16 November 2021

• Code of Ethics
• Commonwealth Secretariat Terms & Conditions
• Invitation to Tender (ITT)
• Pricing Schedule