What is TDAG?
History
Telecommunication Development Advisory Group replaced the Telecommunication Development Advisory Board (TDAB), established by the Additional Plenipotentiary Conference held in Geneva in 1992. Provision No. 227 of Article 18 of the Convention (Geneva, 1992) specified that a Telecommunication Development Advisory Board shall be established and the members of the Board shall be appointed by the Director in consultation with the Secretary-General. The Board shall be composed of persons with a wide and equitable cross-section of interests and expertise in telecommunication development and shall elect its chairman from among its members. The Board shall advise the Director, who shall participate in its meetings, on priorities and strategies in the Union's telecommunication development activities; it shall, inter alia, recommend steps to foster cooperation and coordination with other organizations interested in telecommunication development. TDAB held nine meetings between 1993 and 1998.
WTDC-98 recommended to the Plenipotentiary Conference held in Minneapolis, United States, to amend the Convention in order to convert TDAB into an open advisory group with delegated authority as decided by WTDCs and with a mechanism to ensure regionally balanced representation of developed and developing countries. The first meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG) took place on 8-9 April 1999. TDAG has since held meetings annually.
TDAG mandate
The Telecommunication Development Advisory Group, reviews priorities, strategies and financial matters of ITU-D. It meets once every year to advise the Director of BDT on the implementation of whatever WTDC Action Plan is in force, including issues relating to the budget and the operational plan of ITU-D. In addition, TDAG provides guidelines for the work of study groups and recommends measures to foster cooperation and coordination with ITU-R, ITU-T and the General Secretariat, as well as with other relevant development and financial institutions.
Aims and goals
The role of TDAG is as follows:
- continue to maintain efficient and flexible working guidelines, and update them as necessary, including to provide opportunities for cross-regional sharing of experiences on the implementation of regional actions, initiatives and projects;
- review, on an ongoing basis, the relationship between the ITU‑D objectives outlined in the strategic plan for the Union and the budgetary appropriations available for activities, particularly programmes and regional initiatives, with a view to recommending any measures necessary to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the principal products and services (outputs) of the Sector;
- review, on an ongoing basis and in accordance with No. 223A of the Convention, the implementation of the rolling four-year operational plan for ITU‑D and provide guidance to BDT on the elaboration of the draft ITU‑D operational plan to be approved by the following ITU Council session;
- evaluate, and update as necessary, working methods and guidelines to ensure the most efficient and flexible implementation of the key elements of the WTDC Action Plan;
- evaluate periodically the working methods and functioning of the ITU‑D study groups, to identify options for maximizing programme delivery and to approve appropriate changes thereto following an assessment of their work programme, including strengthening of the synergy between Questions, programmes and regional initiatives;
- conduct the assessment pursuant to v) above, taking into account the following actions in relation to the current work programme of the study groups, if needed:
- redefinition of the terms of reference of Questions in order to provide focus and eliminate overlap;
- deletion or merging of Questions as appropriate; and
- evaluation of criteria to measure the effectiveness of Questions, both in qualitative and quantitative terms, including a periodical review based on the ITU‑D strategic plan with a view to further exploring performance measures in order to more effectively implement actions referred to in v) above;
- restructure ITU‑D study groups, if required, and, as a result of a restructuring or creation of ITU‑D study groups, appoint chairmen and vice‑chairmen to act until the next WTDC in response to the needs and concerns of the Member States, within the agreed budgetary limits;
- issue advice on study group schedules that meet development priorities;
- advise the Director of BDT on relevant financial and other matters;
- approve the programme of work arising from the review of existing and new Questions and determine the priority, urgency, estimated financial implications and time-scale for the completion of their study;
- in order to promote flexibility in responding rapidly to high-priority matters, if required, create, terminate or maintain other groups, appoint their chairmen and vice-chairmen, and establish their terms of reference with a defined duration, in accordance with Nos 209A and 209B of the Convention and taking into account the leading role of the study groups in carrying out the studies on such matters; such other groups shall not adopt Questions or Recommendations;
- consult the Director of BDT on the development and implementation of an action plan on electronic working methods and, going forward, procedures and rules for electronic meetings, including legal aspects, taking into account the needs and the means of developing countries and in particular the least developed countries.
In line with the Buenos Aires Action Plan, TDAG may update or modify the mandate of ITU-D for the period 2018-2021 to reflect changes in the telecommunication/ICT environment and/or as a result of the performance evaluation to be conducted each year.
Participation in meetings
TDAG is open to representatives of administrations of Member States, representatives of ITU-D Sector Members, and to chairmen and vice-chairmen of study groups and other groups. Academia may participate in accordance with Resolution 169 (Rev. Dubai, 2018) of the Plenipotentiary Conference. The Director of BDT can also invite representatives of bilateral cooperation and development aid agencies and multilateral development institutions to participate in TDAG's meetings.
Access to documentation
All documents for TDAG are available to those eligible to participate in its meetings. Some of them are accessible publicly, others are restricted to TIES users. To request TIES access rights, log on to your ITU user account and request the access from the menu.
Submitting contributions
Any eligible ITU-D member who can participate in TDAG can submit contributions. Submission by electronic means is the normal and preferred method. Appropriate links are made available on the TDAG website.
TDAG bureau
The TDAG Bureau is comprised of 15 members, including the TDAG Chairman, the ITU-D Study Groups 1 and 2 Chairmen, as well as 12 other Vice-Chairmen. You can see the list of TDAG Bureau members at this page.
