Contact: nationalcommittees@icom.museum

TERMS OF REFERENCE
Task Force (Working Group) on National Committees

1.0 BACKGROUND

The creation of a National Committees Task Force is one of the significant Recommendations summarised at the beginning of "A Tool Box For Renovating ICOM": Report From Task Force for Review and Reform of ICOM [ICOM-RTF] (R.41). Such a task force has also been incorporated into the ICOM Strategic Plan 2001 - 2007 document - an ICOM-RTF document prepared for Dec.2000 ICOM review and final presentation to the ICOM General Assembly in Barcelona, July 2001.

1.1 AREA OF AUTHORITY

1. To investigate and make concrete recommendations on any and all aspects of the role and responsibilities of National Committees within ICOM.
2. To review the potential for closer connections with the Regional Organizations.
3. To review the relationship between ICOM National Committees and national museums associations.

1.2 REPORTS

Executive Council (EC), through the Advisory Committee (AC). Throughout its work, the NC Task Force will actively seek the advice of the Secretariat on membership and National Committee matters.

1.3 COMPOSITION

The Task Force on National Committees shall have 14 members, drawn predominantly from within the Advisory Committee and from the National Committee Chairpersons. It shall include up to 2 members of the Executive Council.
The Task Force will name its own Chairperson. Members must also be aware that ICOM does not have specific resources to facilitate meetings of the Task Force and therefore much of its work may need to be carried out electronically, or in conjunction with other ICOM meetings.
List of Members of the Task Force (Working Group) on National Committees

2.0 SUMMARY OF THE AREAS FOR INVESTIGATION

The Task Force on National Committees is asked to review and make recommendations on various issues identified in the Tool Box, as specified below. The approach to these issues should be exploratory, and seek to come up with helpful analysis and recommendations.

The National Committees Task Force is requested to:

1. establish comparative data on National Committees' roles and responsibilities across different national contexts;
2. explore a four-part potential for the role of National Committees:
   1. to assist museums' development within countries by ensuring that museum personnel have access to ICOM's international networks of expertise;
   2. to ensure that issues of international importance on museums and cultural heritage can be projected through networks within countries, and appropriate advice be conveyed to local and national bodies (and be projected to governments);
   3. to establish comparative international data on changes in museums' national funding and resourcing;
   4. to advise the AC and EC on potentialities for increasing the importance and service-value of the categories of Institutional Members and Supporting Members within ICOM;
3. develop protocols for collaboration and co-operation between ICOM National Committees and national museums associations; examine the feasibility of creating official representation within ICOM for a grouping of national museums associations.
4. investigate possibilities with the ICOM Programmes Unit for sourcing and interconnecting expertise locally and globally through the National Committees;
5. review membership servicing costs within each country and make specific recommendations relating to national subscription levels;
6. review potential financial benefits for ICOM National Committees through application of the category of Supporting Members / ICOM Foundation links;
7. review, together with ICOM Membership Services, options for an additional tier(s) for ICOM subscriptions, in order to accommodate more equitably those countries that fall between the discriminations of "developed" and "developing" nations as currently described by the World Bank;
8. identify opportunities for the National Committees' networks to help brief local and national governments on issues of global concern to museums;
9. advise on any additional issues or topics that the Task Force identifies as deserving attention and being within its frame of reference

TIME FRAME

Progress reports should be tabled with the Advisory Committee and the Executive Council on a regular basis. In addition, the Task Force must bear in mind that any recommendations requiring revisions to the Statutes must be approved by the Advisory and the Executive Council by June 2002, at the latest.

At its first meeting, the Task Force should establish its own timetable, and notify this to the Chair of the Advisory Committee.