S04: National agencies  
 

7. About a board

 

Legal aspects
  • A board should be established by law, act, etc.
  • A board should have terms of reference, mandate, responsibilities, members, Chair, Secretariat
  • Keep the documentation up to date
  • Is board advisory or has it ultimate decision-making role?
  • Are names legally binding?
Who should sit on the board?
  • Representatives of leading government department involved in names
  • Other government departments - users
  • Regional representation
  • Non-government ... from interest group, qualified individuals
  • Individual experts (local history, archives, linguistics, cartography)
  • How long should they sit there?
  • How many members? Financial factors? Frequency of meetings?
Secretariat support
  • Technical/professional support
  • Focal point for national toponymic activity
  • Leadership; organization; communication
  • How many people?
  •  It depends on whether other staff is available for creating the data base, for establishing media contacts, and for preparing committee meetings
More...
  • Other principles?
  • Board looked to for unbiased judgement
  • Decisions are important to future generations
  • Integrity and effectiveness of board at stake
  • Slow and sure!
  • Try to refrain from political interference

 

 
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Copyright United Nations Statistics Division and International Cartographic Association, July 2012