13. Stage one is the preparatory stage. It comprises: the establishment of national structures; the sending out of the questionnaire by the APR Secretariat; the development of the country’s self-assessment and draft NPoA; and, finally, the submission of these to the APR Secretariat. 14. The country’s self-assessment entails a broad-based consultation and survey process conducted against the standard APRM questionnaire. The self-assessment is structured according to the objectives, standards and criteria document adopted by heads of state to guide APRM assessments. 15. In addition to the Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR), countries have to make clear, time-bound commitments in the form of an NPoA. According to the APRM Base Document, “[t]he primary purpose of the NPoA is to guide and mobilise the country’s effort in implementing the necessary changes to improve its state of governance and socioeconomic development. The NPoA is the key input delivered by the country into the peer review. It serves to present and clarify the country’s priorities; the activities undertaken to prepare and participate in the APRM; the nature of the national consultations; as well as to explicitly explain the responsibility of various stakeholders in government, civil society and private sector in implementing the programme”. 16. While the country prepares its CSAR and draft NPoA, the APR Secretariat prepares a comprehensive background document on the country. This latter document draws on up-to-date information from national, subregional, regional and international sources. 17. On the basis of the CSAR, draft NPoA and the background document, the APR Secretariat develops an Issues Paper outlining the key issues on which the review process will focus. This paper is informed by five main considerations: 18. 28 • Critical issues that are addressed in the CSAR, but which need reinforcement. • Issues that have been understated or have been inadequately addressed. • Issues identified in the past, but which continue to present serious problems as far as implementation is concerned. • Issues not dealt with at all by the CSAR. • Areas of discrepancy or divergence (as are evident from cross-checking against the background paper). In stage two, the CRM visits the country to interact with stakeholders. The CRM must engage in the broadest possible consultations with all stakeholders: the government, the judiciary, political parties, national assemblies, civil society organisations (CSOs), the media, women, the youth, people with disabilities, trade unions, religious bodies, professional bodies, corporate entities and organisations (i.e. private, public and informal), academia and research institutions.