1 Organisational Positioning of the General Management Forum
The Central Statistics Office is a professional organisation providing expert official statistical services to Ireland.
The work of the Central Statistics Office is carried out under the control of the Director General, in whom power is vested by the President to act as Corporation Sole in the execution of duties as set out in the Statistics Act 1993.
The General Management Forum (GMF) is the largest Management grouping in the Central Statistics Office. It comprises all management grade Officers of Statistics from Assistant Principal/Statistician level, through Principal Officer/Senior Statistician level and up to and including all members of the Management Board.
2 Purpose, Scope and Role of the General Management Forum
The CSO General Management Forum (GMF) is intended to act as a co-ordination and oversight grouping for management and leadership of the Central Statistics Office. The GMF will be a management driver of innovation and continuous improvement in the CSO. The GMF will be a party to the definition and construction of the Strategy and Vision documents of the CSO and will act as the principal operational conduit for the execution of the actions flowing from these, most usually expressed through Divisional Action Plans and Local Business Plans.
To carry out its role, the GMF shall act as a networking, opinion gathering, information exchange and discussion body.
The GMF will gather the full management team of the CSO across all relevant grades to discuss topical issues, address key business challenges, inform decision making and report on progress against agreed objectives.
All areas of operation of the CSO shall be amenable to discussion within the GMF and issues shall be discussed in a spirit of professionalism, openness and co-operation. Within the GMF structure, all Officers shall be deemed to have equal voice and shall be expected to contribute views constructively and to have meaningful input into informing discussion, proposals and decision making.
3 Membership
The GMF membership consists of the all Central Statistics Office staff designated as Officers of Statistics and working at grades of Assistant Principal/Statistician, Principal Officer/Senior Statistician, Assistant Director General and Director General. Membership specifically includes CSO staff at these grades on secondment to other Government Departments, Offices and Agencies, but excludes CSO staff at these grades working on secondment outside of the Government of Ireland or bodies under its aegis (e.g. Eurostat Secondees).
4 Guiding Principles
a) The interests of CSO, and its staff, are paramount in the activities and discussions of the GMF;
b) The GMF is committed to continuous development and innovation for the organisation;
c) Issues will be discussed constructively, in a spirit of cooperation, trust and inclusion;
d) All GMF members shall have equal voice within the GMF structure;
e) GMF recommendations/proposals will be informed by evidence-based evaluation and discussion.
5 GMF Administration
The activities of the GMF will be coordinated and supported by Internal Communications & Engagement Division.
The Agenda and work-plan of the GMF will be managed and overseen by a GMF Executive Committee.
5.1 Membership, Term & Operation of GMF Executive Committee:
The GMF Executive Committee shall ordinarily comprise of a Management Board sponsor, the SMG Executive members and eight Assistant Principal/Statistician nominees. It is recommended that in the interest of ensuring participation across all locations, the Assistant Principal/Statistician grade Executive Committee members should be drawn one each from Cork, Dublin Ardee Road, Dublin Swords and the Irish Statistical System (ISS). Should it prove impossible to secure a nomination from each location, alternatives may be considered, with the stipulation that each of the four locations must be represented by at least one member at Assistant Principal/Statistician or Principal Officer/Senior Statistician grade.
The selection of the Assistant Principal/Statistician and the Principal Officer/Senior Statistician nominees shall be a matter for staff of those grades and the process shall be supported by Internal Communications & Engagement. Selection should have regard to gender balance and to participation by staff at both professional and general service grades.
The standard Term of Office shall be of 12 months duration, with an automatic renewal for a further 12 months subject to specific request to retire at the end of the first 12-month period. Therefore, it would be ordinarily expected that members will serve for a period of 24 months. This system of selection shall not apply to the Management Board Sponsor, although the MB Sponsor may rotate per the same schedule, at the discretion of the Director General.
A chair shall be appointed from within the group for a period of 12 months
Secretariat support shall be provided by Internal Communications & Engagement.
5.2 Role of the Executive Committee:
The Executive Committee has several tasks in terms of the operation of the GMF:
• Defining the Annual Objectives of the GMF and the underlying activities. These will be inspired having regard to inputs from GMF membership, by the Strategy and Vision documents of the Office and by the Prioritisation exercise carried out annually.
• Agreeing, with the administrative support of Internal Communications & Engagement, the range of topics deriving from the Annual Objectives for discussion or consideration by GMF membership and identifying the most appropriate mechanism for dissemination and consultation, to inform discussion and support decision-making;
• Supporting the selection of cross-grade and, where appropriate cross-discipline, Working Groups and sub-committees to handle agreed items for research/analysis/proposals under the Annual Objectives to be brought to the wider GMF membership.
5.3 Executive Committee Meetings
The Executive Committee will meet every second month.
At least five members of the Executive Committee must be present to hold a meeting. This Quorum number must include at least one of each the following grade staff: Assistant Principal/Statistician; Principal Officer/Senior Statistician; Assistant Director General/Director or Director General.
The Executive Committee will publish its meeting schedule at the beginning of each year along with the Annual Objectives for the Forum and will invite suggestions and proposals from GMF members to progress the priority items identified under each Objective.
It shall be open to each GMF member to propose discussion items which are not linked to the agreed Annual Objectives. The recommendation of the GMF Executive Committee as to how to address such items shall be published in the meeting minutes of the Executive Committee.
Draft minutes of each Executive Committee meeting will be circulated to Executive Committee members within one week of the meeting. Finalised minutes of meetings will be made available all GMF members.
The Chair of the Executive Committee is expected to ensure that meetings are conducted appropriately and in a timely manner, that items are discussed consultatively and that normal meeting protocols are observed by all.
6 GMF working methods
6.1 GMF Meetings
The GMF will aim to convene as a full group twice per calendar year. These meetings may be online or in person, as circumstances allow.
Ad hoc GMF workshops or discussion groups may be held in any CSO location or online throughout the year and the output from such discussions will be shared with the wider GMF grouping, in the interest of insight and idea sharing on items such as strategic and corporate objectives/policies; key projects and other issues of interest.
Engagement with and participation in GMF activities is a requirement and all staff at GMF membership grades will be expected to attend and participate in both full meetings or in workshops taking place.
The GMF Executive Committee may also invite staff at other grades or visiting speakers to present or contribute at GMF gatherings, as appropriate.
6.2 Working Groups or Sub-committees
The Executive Committee may convene topic specific Working Groups or Sub-committees to research, develop and communicate on agreed issues. Working Groups shall be cross-grade and cross-function in nature, as appropriate to each topic.
Participation on Working Groups is open to all GMF members. Volunteers by topic will be sought. Where necessary to achieve appropriate Working Group size and composition, GMF members may be co-opted.
Ultimate decision-making authority regarding participation in GMF working groups vests in the Management Board.
Managers shall be expected to make staff available for Working Group participation, when required.
The Terms of Reference of each Working Group shall be approved by the GMF Executive Committee. This approvals process may be managed virtually in the interest of expedience where a GMF Executive Committee meeting is not scheduled for some time, under the coordination of Internal Communications & Engagement Division.
The GMF Executive Committee will receive reports from Working Groups and has responsibility to monitor and evaluate the work of each such Group.
The output of these working groups will be presented to the GMF and may be used as input into operational and strategic decision making within the Office.
Where relevant the work may also be presented at other fora, e.g. MB, SMG, other governance boards or networks.
6.3 Engagement with the Senior Management Group (SMG)
The SMG of the Central Statistics Office comprises all staff at Principal Officer/Senior Statistician grade and above, including Director, Assistant Director General and Director General. As such, the Senior Management Group comprises a sub-group of the wider General Management Forum. This helps to ensure enhanced communication and collaboration between these management levels, with a significant degree of collegiate working in the form of Working Groups.
On occasion, GMF gatherings may be either preceded or followed by SMG meetings, to ensure consistency in focus and to facilitate progression on key topics. Active collaboration between both groups ensures innovative contributions to corporate decision making and policies.
6.4 Evaluation and review
To ensure that the GMF is fulfilling its role, the GMF Executive Committee will undertake an annual self-assessment against its stated Objectives and provide a report, including any recommendations, to the GMF.
The GMF Executive Committee will review its Terms of Reference annually. Any substantive changes to GMF Terms of Reference will be referred to the membership for input/commentary.
7 Organisational Supports
Internal Communications & Engagement Division will provide executive support to the GMF, in relation to both logistical and administrative arrangements.
The work of the GMF contributes to the management of the CSO and staff participation in GMF activities is important. Where possible, Role Profiles should include the requirement to engage with GMF activities and annual reviews should acknowledge individuals’ contributions to GMF Working Groups and/or Executive Committee, in pursuit of the strategic objectives of the CSO.