CHAPTER ONE: THE APR PROCESS AND ITS LAUNCH IN ALGERIA signing the Technical MOU on the APRM; evaluating procedures and mechanisms put in place by Algeria to conduct its self-assessment exercise and prepare an outline of its PoA; meeting with the NGC and the technical review institutions to explain the process and discuss the self-assessment questionnaire, agreeing on a road map to accelerate the various stages in the process. 16. Discussions on the role and quality of technical review institutions highlighted the need to involve other specialised research institutes so as to support the National Economic and Social Council (CNES), which had been proposed as a technical support partner in the self-assessment process. The CRM preferred having four institutions working on the self-assessment, thus reflecting the four areas of governance of the APRM as contained in the Base Documents (political governance; economic governance; corporate governance; and socioeconomic development). 17. In addition, the large number of NGC members (100) reflects the concern for effective stakeholder representation, which can be broken down as follows: 31 representatives of civil society organisations, seven private sector and business representatives, 15 representatives of specialised institutions and research centres, 19 parliamentarians and technical officers from both houses, and 28 representatives of ministries. It should be pointed out that the Focal Point is also a member of the NGC. 18. Once it was set up, the NGC, in collaboration with the Focal Point, began to prepare the draft self-assessment report. It also set up workshops designed to stimulate reflection on the fundamental components of the preliminary PoA. Working on a voluntary basis, the NGC was allocated a head office and the necessary logistical resources. In an annual general meeting, it constituted itself through the election of office-bearers consisting of the chairperson, four deputy chairpersons and a general rapporteur. The four thematic areas identified by the APRM (Democracy and Political Governance, Economic Governance, Corporate Governance, and Socio-Economic Development) were discussed in the working groups set up for this purpose. 19. To ensure the credibility and transparency of its work, the NGC called on the CNES to act as the strategic support body in conjunction with various expert units from research institutes – the National Institute for Global Studies (INESG), the National Centre for Studies and Planning Analysis (CENEAP), the Research Centre for Applied Economics (CREAD) and the National Bureau of Statistics (ONS) – universities (Algiers, Tlemcen, Oran, Constantine and Annaba) and independent research centres. 20. This inclusive and participative approach facilitated the establishment of consensus on the perceived strengths and weaknesses characterising the listed governance systems. These perceptions were then brought to the attention of the government. Clarifications provided by the latter contributed to further 33