Chapter one: The African Peer Review Mechanism and its implementation in Lesotho • Early signs of impeding political or economic crisis in a country would also be sufficient cause for instituting a review. Such a review can be called for by participating heads of state and government in a spirit of helpfulness to the government concerned. Stage one 16. Stage one is the preparatory stage and involves the country putting in place the requisite structures for participation in the mechanism (the designation of a focal point, the setting up of a national commission and a secretariat, and the selection of Technical Research Institutes (TRIs) to lead the self-assessment process). In stage one, the country is also expected to undertake broad sensitisation regarding the APRM. 17. The APR Secretariat, for its part, prepares a background paper on the political, economic and corporate governance and development environment in the country to be reviewed, based principally on up-to-date desk research and material provided by national, subregional, regional and international institutions. 18. There are also some preparatory missions that may be fielded in stage one. Country advance missions are normally undertaken by the APR Secretariat and consist of bilateral meetings with relevant technical officials of the country to assist such officials to prepare for the onset of the review process in the country. 19. The deliberations of the Country Advance Mission focus on the following: 20. 22 • The establishment of national structures to manage APRM activities, including the designation of a focal point and the establishment of a national commission/council and national secretariat to support the implementation of the APRM in the country. • The sensitisation of stakeholders regarding the APRM. • The allocation of a budget for the review activities. • The time frame and programme of the support mission. • The introduction of the MoU for Technical Assessments and Country Review Missions. The second mission that is fielded in the preparatory stage is the Country Support Mission (CSM), whose purpose is to assess the state of preparedness of the country to begin the review process. This mission culminates in the official launch of the APRM process. The CSM usually lasts for three to four days and is led by a member of the APR Panel, accompanied by APR Secretariat staff and representatives of the APRM’s three strategic partners (the AfDB, the UNDP and UNECA). In addition to assessing the state of preparedness of the country based on the prerequisites discussed during the Country Advance Mission, the CSM will also elaborate a road map or timeline for countries to participate in the APRM process. Matters to be considered at this point include the process for selecting the TRIs, the writing, consolidation and validation of the Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR), and establishing base criteria for the research methodologies to be used. The CSM should also hold more detailed discussions on the questionnaire for country self-assessment and on the budget to support the agreed road map. The CSM is a major event which should culminate in the inauguration of the National Governing Council (NGC) and the signing of the MoU to officially launch the country review process.