Summary 3, oct. 10-16: Themes and opinions from the e-conference debate

number of participants: 6

Thread 1: If we were reinventing FSC today knowing what we know, what would it look like? OR, what do we want FSC to look like in 5 years time?

1. A clear strategic goal:

The strategic achievement of FSC has been to act as the catalyst that gave rise to certification and provided a template for what an acceptable scheme looks like. The strategic goal for FSC over the next five years is its transformation from a catalyst to an enterprise. To achieve this FSC will want to agree now to a strategic goal that has a clear, achievable outcome in mind. A goal that is as creative and innovative in its definition and implementation as were the founding elements that became the catalyst. There are countless things that FSC can do to improve, and numerous day-to-day problems that have to be addressed, but more than anything else FSC needs a clear strategic goal and the leadership and will to achieve its purpose.

2. Defined targets:

Its time to go back to basics and look at the FSC mission and re-design the way the organisation is run in order to most effectively deliver that mission. The organisation has blown in the wind. Does the FSC have a Three Year Plan with targets and strategies to achieve them? What are the FSC's targets? I don't think there are any and if there are, they're certainly not well publicised.

FSC needs to be more proactive and needs to have a vision which would include targets, and short- and medium-term plans.

3. A re-organised internal structure:

FSC needs to ditch its current Board structure and establish a Board that is more capable of delegating authority and enabling people to achieve targets. People panic if you suggest that the FSC should be run more like a company yet even NGOs have strong people at the top delegating authority - why not the FSC? FSC must get the systems in place to deliver on its mission, and that means getting the right people, it means putting financial resources in the right place to deliver on the core objective and it means restructuring the FSC Board so that decisions can be taken by others and quickly.

As a successful enterprise, FSC needs to be able to provide its services in a timely and professional manner. FSC needs to operate at the speed of business and avoid institutional paralysis. The structure of FSC needs to be redesigned to allow leaders to make decisions and take action consistent with the strategic goal. The Board should set strategic direction and ensure that programs are being delivered, they should not micro-manage day-to-day operations. The role of the Board should be well defined and the Board should be relieved of operational responsibilities, freeing them up to concentrate on achievement of the strategic goal.

FSC needs to actively encourage leadership to emerge within the organization at all levels in support of achieving the strategic goal. It needs to reinvent the structure and governance of FSC while maintaining its multi-interest base. FSC needs a corporate structure including a Board focused on strategic issues, a Secretariat managing global affairs and National Initiatives managing affairs at the country or continent scale.

4. A larger staff body:

If FSC is going to become a true global force, it must expand and the means for ensuring this expansion must be secured. It would seem that much of this expansion should be at the personnel level: FSC simply needs to employ more people. This expansion must also occur regionally, especially in target areas. Establishing an office in central Africa, for example, is a step in the right direction, but two people posted there on short-term contracts will not suffice.

5. Reliable service:

As a successful global enterprise FSC must provide services that are reliable and maintain a predictable policy framework. While some business sectors appear to thrive on chaos, the forest products industry requires predictability and a reasonable level of certainty. FSC must be (and be seen to be) a stable organisation managed by talented individuals delivering consistent policy and continuity of service.

6. Decentralization, but only with better funding:

The decentralised, federal structure makes sense in many ways. However, the major stumbling block would seem to be funding national initiatives in the South. If FSC opts for this new structure, it must develop sustainable financial strategies to cover the operational costs of these initiatives.

7. Membership reform:

The primary role of the membership is to ensure that FSC maintains a multi-interest base. At present there are serious problems related to member accountability, as well as the roles and responsibilities for members. Could the role of the FSC membership become one of inspiration, ideas and support and less one of governance?

8. A pragmatic approach:

FSC has got to be pragmatic not dogmatic - if a particular country wants to have 16 chambers in its National Initiative, what's the problem, so long as the standard that comes out the other end is right?

9. A completely new way of working?

Would the FSC Board be brave enough to convene a vibrant and dynamic strategy group comprising some of the certification world's key thinkers - like the GFTN Advisory Group - who would be responsible for thinking the whole structure issue through and coming up with some bold and brand new organisational plan/structure to deliver the same objective - well managed forests - with revised targets and a new way of working?

The FSC objectives conference is funded by DFID-FRP (UK) projectnr ZF0185, and facilitated by Treemail (NL)
For more information please contact: info@fscobjectives.org