NEPAD/HGSIC-3-2003/APRM/Guideline/O&P 9 March 2003 c. Agreement to abide by their respective codes of conduct in the countries being reviewed and observe the APRM code of conduct; d. Protection of African ownership in the conduct of technical assessments; e. Financial arrangements in respect of the technical assessments and ownership of technical assessment report; f. Collaboration in technical assistance, both in supporting the country planning process and in the implementation of the Programme of Action (paragraph 13 of APRM Base Document); g. Facilitating sharing of experiences and identifying best practice through regional networks and workshops at a technical level; h. Protocol for invitation of the Partner Institutions to sessions of the APR Panel or the APR Forum when considering the Country Review Report; i. Arrangements for the participation of a Partner Institution in the Country Review Visit and Team; j. Consistency of the assessment instruments of the Partner Institutions with the APRM objectives, standards, criteria and indicators; and k. Sharing of the Partner Institution technical assessment reports and APR country review reports. 6.10 The APR Panel may recommend to the APRM Forum the making of similar partner agreements with other competent institutions that wish to strengthen the APR process at country, regional or continental levels. One nontechnical criterion for the selection of such institutions would be the protection of African ownership of the APRM. 7 The Stages of the APR Process 7.1 The APRM base document identifies five stages in the APR process. Once a country has acceded to the APRM, the APR Secretariat will arrange a mission to the country with a view to negotiate the exact terms of the Page 10 of 17