2007 (PDF, 2.81 MB) - Belgium

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Resources
1. Internal organisation of the FPS
Entrenching modernisation
No fewer than five new directors-general took over
the reins in 2007. This led to the drafting of completely
new versions of all the management and
support plans – including the one for the Chairman
of the Executive Committee. In addition to focusing
on new or recent FPS tasks, the plans set out the
principles of good governance: clear and measurable
objectives and meaningful indicators.
Lessons have also been learned from a year of using
the Executive Committee scoreboards. We have
found that regular monitoring and supervision of
the FPS’s basic missions is essential, but this will
be streamlined to keep the FPS on the right course,
with its focus on serving the public, providing coordination
and preparing policy.
Changes in half the members of the Executive
Committee also led to further improvements in the
management structure. Greater emphasis is being
placed on long-term planning and decisions are
being communicated better to all personnel.
The revamped Modernisation and Management
Support Department (S.06) is contributing to this
drive for self-discipline. In 2007 too, the department
encouraged personnel (in a user-friendly way)
to adopt a project-based approach to their work,
so that good intentions are backed up by concrete
time-limited projects. The tangible results of this
targeted approach are addressed in the various
sections of this activity report, e.g. the far-reaching
computerisation of consular services, the extension
of the Accounting network, the start of a new
economic diplomacy drive, the stepping up of the
Knowledge Management programme, the restyling
of the Missions Inspectorate, the operationalisation
of development circles and the constant modernisation
of our IT infrastructure.
Renewed attention was also paid to dialogue with
our missions. The aim is to produce a task description
that more accurately reflects our priority missions.
We completed our Charter for a Customer-Friendly
FPS. It reaffirms the desire of all our departments to
actually address the needs of Belgian citizens, companies
and organisations.
Modernisation and computerisation of
management on course
For Budget and Management Control (B&B), 2007 too
was a year of modernisation of the management of
the FPS – both in Brussels and at the missions.
It must be borne in mind here that the budgetary context
was more complex than in previous years, as B&B
had to respect principles of budgetary caution inherent
to managing affairs for a caretaker government.
The directorates-general have provided B&B with
their full backing during this precarious period in the
support directorate’s efforts to minimise the impact
of B&B’s budgetary caution on the FPS.
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