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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DG Interpretation Management Plan
2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. MISSION STATEMENT............................................................................................ 3
2. THIS YEAR'S CHALLENGES.................................................................................. 3
3. MULTI-ANNUAL OBJECTIVES ............................................................................. 6
4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES .............................. 7
4.1. Quality Interpretation Services.......................................................................... 7
4.2. Training and support to the multilingualism policy ........................................ 10
4.3. Technical and logistic support for multilingual events ................................... 14
4.3.1. Meeting Room Infrastructure Management ...................................... 14
4.3.2. Conference management systems ..................................................... 14
4.4. Conference organisation.................................................................................. 15
5. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR HORIZONTAL ACTIVITIES............................... 17
5.1. Policy Strategy and Coordination ................................................................... 17
5.1.1. Sub-Activity 'Strategic Planning' ...................................................... 17
5.1.2. Sub-Activity 'Internal Communication'............................................. 17
5.2. Administrative support .................................................................................... 19
5.2.1. Sub-Activity 'Financial Management' ............................................... 20
5.2.2. Sub-Activity ' Human resources management'.................................. 21
ANNEX 1 – RESTRICTED DOCUMENT...................................................................... 23
ANNEX 2 – RESTRICTED DOCUMENT...................................................................... 25
ANNEX 3 – PRIORITISED INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT................................................................................ 27
ANNEX 4 – PLANNING OF EVALUATION AND OTHER STUDIES....................... 28
ANNEX 5 – RESTRICTED DOCUMENT...................................................................... 29
ANNEX 6 - ACTIONS STEMMING FROM AARS AND THE SYNTHESIS REPORT ................................................................................................................... 30
ANNEX 7 – EXECUTIVE AGENCIES' ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME ................ 31
ANNEX 8 – COMMUNICATION STRATEGY ............................................................. 32
MP 2013 for DG Interpretation (SCIC)
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1. MISSION STATEMENT
DG Interpretation (SCIC) is the European Commission’s interpreting service and
conference organiser. The interpretation provided goes well beyond the needs of the
Commission, satisfying the requests of the Council, the European Economic and Social
Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Investment Bank, as well as
a number of European offices and agencies in the Member States.
SCIC's key mission is to support multilingual communication and consequently to
facilitate transparent, efficient and democratic EU decision-making by providing:
- quality conference interpretation services;
- support to interpretation training programmes targeted at interpreters,
universities and students;
- an effective conference organisation capability for Directorates General and
departments of the Commission;
- technological solutions for multilingual communication and daily technical
support to the Commission's meetings and conference facilities.
2. THIS YEAR'S CHALLENGES
For the European Union, 2013 is a pivotal year. The Union is facing new challenges on
a global scale, the need to contribute more effectively to growth and job creation,
improve EU short and long term competitiveness, foster genuine economic and
monetary union, build tomorrow's networks (telecommunications, energy, transport,
digital networks), build a safe and secure Europe and promote Europe as a global
actor.
Quality interpretation is essential for an effective decision-making process. DG
Interpretation remains fully committed to support as best it can the work of the
European Institutions in order to face the above challenges.
For DG Interpretation, providing quality interpretation means focusing specifically on
a number of priorities.
First and foremost, we must consider the impact of new technologies on
interpretation. Whilst the continuing growth in modes of communication such as
video conferencing has created new expectations amongst conference delegates, the
technology is not always available to deliver results of the desired quality. DG
Interpretation has a long tradition of identifying and helping to develop the best
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solutions for the needs of its partner Institutions. In this spirit, the Director General
proposes to look at new or expanding demand (e.g. videoconferences with
interpretation, interpretation of telephone calls during meetings, remote
interpretation) and explore the most suitable technical solutions, as well as discussing
the associated working agreements with the various stakeholders.
At the same time, the emergence of new generations of technological tools such as
tablets and smartphones has raised expectations of ease of data accessibility and
interaction. DG Interpretation is also looking to update its own communication
technologies so as to improve the capacity for information exchange with its mobile
workforce of interpreters.
Succession planning and the attainment of the correct staffing levels are key
to ensuring DG Interpretation's ability to achieve its mission in the longer term.
Succession planning means preparing new generations of interpreters to meet ever
more demanding conference interpreting needs. Ensuring the correct staffing levels is
necessary in the case of some 'younger' language units from the last two
enlargements. After intense efforts focused on German, English and French, the acute
shortage for these languages has been somewhat attenuated. Although we need to
continue this good work, we must now prioritise fully staffing the Czech, Estonian,
Lithuanian, Maltese, Slovak, Slovene and Bulgarian units where there is still a
shortage.
Given that conference interpreter training is only available in a few universities (in
some countries only one), it remains essential to continue with the current support
activities, which are key to maintaining a multilingual EU.
A third priority will be the integration of Croatian as an official language. As
Croatia will join the European Union on 1st July 2013, DG Interpretation must be able
to provide interpretation from and into Croatian. We have prepared Croatia's
accession well in advance in terms of support to interpreter training, accreditation of
freelance interpreters and scheduling interpreter competitions. Thanks to that careful
preparation, we are thus fully prepared to meet the demand in the initial stages of
accession and we have already asked for the creation of the Croatian Unit, which will
be integrated into Directorate A.
As has been the case for a number of years, the shortage of meeting rooms and the
absence of a suitable conference centre adversely affects the Commission services'
ability to organise meetings and jeopardises the smooth running of the decision-
making process. A number of solutions have already been explored, and an additional
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meeting room has been equipped by making available some of DG Interpretation's
office space in CCAB, but these measures clearly do not fully address the issue which
should be further considered at inter-service level.
As a service-provider, DG Interpretation is naturally demand-driven, so we should not
underestimate the difficulties a period of uncertainty about the evolution of demand
for interpretation will bring, nor the likely impact of the adoption of the 2014-2020
Multiannual Financial Framework and the resulting cuts in funds and human resources
(-10% of allocated posts between 2012 and 2017). 2013 will be a transition year
towards inevitable changes in the allocation of resources.
I therefore invite all services to reconsider their plans and forecasts and to look closely
at their activities and working methods, so as to be ready to adapt to new constraints.
Against this background of shrinking human and financial resources, we must focus on
being even more cost-effective in each and every sector of our activities.
However, based on my long experience of both the competence and the commitment
of our staff, I am fully confident that our preparatory work will enable DG
Interpretation to rise to these challenges and continue to facilitate multilingual
communication in the institutions we serve and thus contribute to the achievements of
the Commission and of the European Union as a whole.
[signed] Marco Benedetti
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3. MULTI-ANNUAL OBJECTIVES
SCIC's principal role is that of an "enabler" or "facilitator" contributing to the smooth
running of institutional meetings. We do this not only by providing quality
interpretation services, but also by organising high-end multilingual conferences for
the Commission.
SCIC's operational activities are designed to ensure that
(i) Quality interpretation services are at the disposal of the Commission, other
institutions and bodies; and that
(ii) Commission services are in the position to organise and/or host advanced
multilingual events.
Alongside these objectives, SCIC pursues pro-active awareness-raising to attract the
best talents to interpreter training and it continues to work towards a seamless
transition between classroom and interpreting booth by offering appropriate in-house
bridging measures and through continuing cooperation between the EU, the
International Organisations and the training Universities.
In this respect, SCIC is actively involved in HINTS, a worldwide network of Heads of
Interpreting Services that meet twice a year to discuss interpreting-related issues and
examine possible cooperation. Also, SCIC is actively involved in IAMLADP activities
(International Annual Meeting on Language Arrangements, Documentation and
Publications) organised under the auspices of the UN.
Apart from supporting training at Universities in the EU, SCIC also cooperates with
Universities outside the EU that offer EU or non-EU languages which are relevant for
SCIC needs. Such cooperation can be bilateral, can result from Commission policy or
strategy or can be carried out in the framework of international projects.
Besides, SCIC must propose new services to satisfy the institutions' needs for
interactive multilingual communication in view of the Commission's normal business as
well as for ensuring its continuity in difficult and/or crisis situations.
The translation of these multi-annual goals into specific operational objectives is
presented below under the Activity Headings 'quality interpretation services',
'enhanced training and support to the multilingualism policy', 'technical and logistic
support for multilingual events' and 'conference organisation'.
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4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
4.1. Quality Interpretation Services
Consolidating the overall quality of interpretation is at the heart of SCIC's
mission. One of the many measures taken to achieve this is the systematic collection
of and response to customer feedback on the quality of our services. In line with the
3-year rhythm of previous surveys (2007 and 2010) the next customer satisfaction
survey is planned for 2013.
After the 2011 revision of the Online Quality Reporting System for freelance
interpreters, we envisage in 2013 the introduction of a quality rating for additional full
active languages ("second active booth"). With this complement, the continuous
professional assessment process is broadened with a view to building a more
comprehensive and efficient quality driven ACI management tool.
From a more general perspective, there is another on-going reflection which should
bear fruit in 2013. It concerns an in-house assessment of the overall quality of
interpretation with the development of a global quality indicator as well as guidance on
how to address quality issues.
To consolidate and wherever possible improve the overall quality of interpretation
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Delegates' perception of quality of interpretation (satisfaction surveys)
Stay above 85% 85% 85%
Recruitment policy of ACI quality rating >2 (SO)
Keep at same level 85% 85%
In a context where the supply of "new interpreters" is still insufficient the main challenge
in ensuring high quality interpretation is to pursue an effective succession planning
and staff completion. SCIC will continue its efforts in that respect, focusing in
particular on the German, French, English, Czech, Estonian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Slovak,
Slovene and Bulgarian booths.
Aware of the shortage of freelance resources in certain language booths and the
budgetary cuts, SCIC is pursuing its efforts to streamline the organisation of ACI
accreditation tests which aims at saving costs and producing a higher number of
successful candidates. The project started in 2012 and focuses at different stages of the
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accreditation test. It introduces a pre-selection phase organised by a contractor in
different Member States to pick out the most promising candidates for the accreditation
test in Brussels at minimum cost. It is complemented by a new formula of streamlined
test that promises savings in interpretation resources. Pending the evaluation of this
pilot project, SCIC will also investigate other measures to simplify the existing
procedures like improving the screening of applications or recourse to recorded
speeches.
To ensure the supply of interpreting resources in the medium and long term
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Number of interpreters
(1) recruited or
(2) accredited (ACI's)
(1) 15-20 staff
(2) 100 ACI
(1) 28 staff**
(2) 100 ACI
(1) 17 staff*
(2) 88 ACI*
Number of new ACI interpreters enrolled in Newcomers Recruitment Facility
maximum 60 /year Maximum 60 34
* Situation at 30/11/2012
** including staff of Croatian nationality
DE, EN, DA, SK and CR competitions are running. 2013 competitions are under discussion at the time of
drafting the MP 2013.
The attainment of the result indicators fluctuates and largely depends on cycles of competitions and the
organisation of tests. Opportunities for recruitment are further affected by yearly screenings and possible
resulting reallocation of Commission staff to other DGs.
The effective programming of interpretation resources is another prime objective
under this activity. This includes increasing the availability of qualified interpreters for
interpretation assignments - by clearly motivating and prioritising the use of resources
for non-interpretation activities and by scheduling them as much as possible during less
busy periods; maintaining stability of the interpreters' programme at an acceptable
level, while minimising interpreters' standby (i.e. Interpreters without a meeting
assignment) and keeping tight control of ACI expenditure.
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To maximise the availability of staff interpreters for interpreting assignments
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
% of time spent on 'interpretation' (SO) 62% 62% 58%
% of time spent on 'standby' by staff interpreters (SO) 16% 18% 20%
To maintain stability of the programme (i.e. interpreters' assignments) at an
acceptable level
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
% of interpreting assignments which remained stable (SO)
keep at same level 80% 81%
To keep tight control of average cost of ACI recruitment
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Average cost of ACI contract (SO) keep at same level 725 € 715 €*
*provisional figure at 30/10/2012, which does not include all final costs.
SCIC is also committed to better satisfying the client demand for interpretation
services, which includes responding to clients' meeting requests and providing the
language regimes requested for meetings. To this end SCIC aims at increasing the
pool of locally available ACIs, in order to allow for efficient recruitment of ACIs and
effective programming of interpretation resources, whilst at the same time controlling
expenditure.
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To better satisfy the demand for interpretation services for fee-paying clients
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Percentage of external clients requests for active interpretation that SCIC was able to satisfy (SO)
95% 95% 96%
Finally, a specific constraint on SCIC's ability to meet the Commission DGs' requests
for meetings is the general shortage of meeting room facilities. SCIC monitors the
number of meeting requests refused at arbitrage, and is developing indicators to
better identify the cause of refusal: shortage of rooms, shortage of interpreters and
shortage of financial resources.
Shortage of meeting rooms is now considered as a cross-cutting risk at Commission
level. While not responsible for the building policy, SCIC remains committed to provide
support to the services responsible for addressing this issue, limit the impact of
necessary maintenance work on room availability and make DGs aware of the need to
use the limited resources available in a cost-effective way.
4.2. Training and support to the multilingualism policy
SCIC has an ambitious internal and external training policy in order to broaden
continuously the professional competence of interpreters and to maximise
interpretation expertise, which is available for the EU-institutions.
Concerning internal training, it is SCIC's objective to enhance the effectiveness of
established interpreters by offering them a number of possibilities for learning
languages in line with the priorities set (to add a passive language or a retour), and by
organizing other forms of professional training such as thematic training. These
training activities are designed to meet longer term needs, by enhancing interpreters'
language profile.
As it did in 2012, SCIC will also grant financial support to up to 20 ACIs finalising the
addition of a priority language
Finally, SCIC contributes to enhancing interpretation quality by actions in the field of
meeting preparation, such as providing meeting documentation, terminology and other
relevant material to interpreters.
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To enhance the effectiveness of interpreters, both staff and ACIs
Result indicator
Target Target Current situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Number of staff and ACI interpreters per year adding passive or "retour" languages
50 50 30
Number of ACI having added a language thanks to SCIC support 20 20 7
Number of interpreters having followed thematic training 800 800 633
The attainment of the result indicators fluctuates and depends on the completion of language courses or the
learning cycle of individual interpreters. For 2012, figures are provided at 31/10/2012.
Concerning external training, SCIC provides support to postgraduate interpreter
training courses in Member states and candidate countries. This Activity is
implemented through the following sub-activities:
Bursaries which provide incentives to graduates to take up conference
interpreter training or to support supplementary training actions.
Support and assistance to universities offering post-graduate interpreting
courses in the EU, by providing pedagogical assistance, guidance at entrance
and final exams, financial support through grants and by disseminating best
practice both through training for trainers seminars and the regular recruitment
of key trainers. SCIC also puts considerable efforts into stimulating the use of
new technologies in interpreter training, such as the unique e-learning tool
Speech Repository and bilateral and multi-point virtual classes which are run in
cooperation with the other Institutions.
SCIC will also pursue its efforts of cooperating with selected Universities in
candidate countries as well as with training institutes in the US, Asia, Africa and
Russia. Furthermore SCIC will continue to support diversification of courses on
offer and in general encourage dissemination of best practices and
benchmarking.
SCIC is also automating the provision of raw data on the impact of the various
forms of support to universities and students on the recruitment of conference
interpreters, so as to better fine tune its actions in this area.
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The professional integration scheme for promising young graduates
launched in January 2010 will continue in 2013.
In order to improve the number and quality of applicants to interpretation
schools, SCIC launched a comprehensive communication plan. It includes
targeted actions such as SCIC's presence in career days, job fairs and employer
presentations and by stepping up promotion of the profession across diverse
media in the relevant Member States and worldwide. This strategy has already
proved to be an effective way of increasing the number of applications to post-
graduate interpretation courses in universities. Efforts in this direction will
therefore be maintained and, whenever appropriate, adapted or increased for
specific languages (cfr. communication plan in annex 8).
To increase the number of qualified interpreters
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation
Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
(1) Total success rate of graduates who apply for an accreditation test (2) Success rate of test applicants having been granted a SCIC scholarship
(1) 30%
(2) 35%
(1) 28%
(2) 30%
(1) 23,6%*
(2) 23,9%*
Proportion of participants in the Professional Integration Scheme who successfully pass the accreditation test
50% 50% 38,5%*
* Situation at 31/10/2012.
-To provide terminological support to interpreters
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation
Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Number of new and revised glossaries
400 415 400
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To facilitate multilingual communication by organising awareness raising actions for
delegates
In pursuing its objective of providing quality multilingual interpretation SCIC has an
active awareness raising policy, including the training of key users of interpretation
(Commissioners, Commission officials, chairmen of working groups etc.) to make the
best use of it and improve their communication. When speakers communicate better
(no read out interventions, appropriate use of power point presentations, use of
mother tongue) the quality of interpretation is higher.
Result indicators
Target Target Current situation
Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Number of participants in awareness raising actions 500 450 500
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4.3. Technical and logistic support for multilingual events
The restructuring of technical management of meeting rooms was completed in 2012.
Three different units operate technical developments, end-user support and
infrastructures for meeting rooms. Responsibilities in the same area are grouped as
much as possible in one unit allowing for a more efficient allocation of resources; e.g
one single unit is responsible for the financial management of all technical budget
lines. Technical governance is enforced through a technical committee of the 3 units
involved in all major projects and decisions.
4.3.1. Meeting Room Infrastructure Management
SCIC will continue its efforts to build a "Single Help-Desk" aiming at improving the
support service provided to end-users (interpreters and participants in meetings)
To deliver an efficient and reliable service to end-users
Result indicators (Unit S4)
Target Target Current
situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
End-users' satisfaction towards help desk services 90% 80% 75%
Source: Satisfaction surveys – Percentage shows share of "very satisfied" and "satisfied"
4.3.2. Conference management systems
In addition to providing interpretation, SCIC is responsible for the equipment,
maintenance, operation and allocation of 27 meeting rooms put at the disposal of the
whole Commission, among which 26 with simultaneous interpreting equipment. Some
of them have also been equipped to hold multimedia events.
The priorities set for 2013 are:
• to draw up an action plan based on the 2012 report on videoconference services
with interpretation;
• to determine the degree of financial and operational involvement of SCIC in
servicing meeting rooms that are not put at the disposal of all Commission
services through Webdor;
• to create data transfer between WEBdor and the technical systems in meeting
rooms;
MP 2013 for DG Interpretation (SCIC) 15
• to build a capacity to meet more requests for multimedia events;
• to prepare an updated technical and ergonomic ISO standard for interpretation
booths and events with interpretation in cooperation with DG Enterprise.
To provide client services with well-functioning conference facilities and services
Result indicators (Unit S4)
Target Target Current
situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
Percentage of unavailability of meeting rooms on a yearly basis due to SCIC's maintenance (OIB Maintenance)
No more than 2% due to SCIC
maintenance work
2%
(OIB)
1,63% *
(3,63%)*
*Provided figures are dated 15/11/2012 and exclude maintenance in August.
To deliver reliable streaming services to Commission services
Result indicators (Unit S5)
Target Target Current
situation Indicator
Multi-annual 2013 2012
% of minutes of streaming without incidents
> 98% 98% 98%
4.4. Conference organisation
SCIC hosts a unit dedicated to the organisation of major events by the European
Commission ranging from high level encounters to specialised policy making
consultations and broad audience conferences.
The services offered by the unit, through its own resources or via framework and ad
hoc contracts, include the research of appropriate venues, planning of the whole event,
registration of conference participants, production of brochures and promotional
material, catering, technical assistance and travel and accommodation for participants.
The unit also provides logistical support and conference room assistance to
Commission services who organise meetings or events in the Berlaymont,
Charlemagne, Borschette and Loi 130 buildings.
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Whenever the unit is not in a position to offer the full-service package for conference
support, it can provide consultancy services which include advice on the choice of
venue, registration options and framework contract guidance.
The Conference Organisation unit can also manage all financial aspects of events with
those DGs who have signed a Service Level Agreement allowing the transfer of funds
to SCIC who takes over, on a co-delegated basis, the signing of legal commitments
and the payment of all ensuing invoices.
While keeping the same strategic objective, the performance and customer satisfaction
surveys, which are sent to each and every DG immediately after the realisation of their
events, have been reviewed in terms of content and format.
The results obtained are illustrated below and they are expressed in terms of average
ratings collected from the 55 responses received during 2012. The bar charts display
average marks obtained for the various subcategories of the five main indicators.
MP 2013 for DG Interpretation (SCIC) 17
High quality support to the Commission's multilingual communication activities
through enhanced conference organisation and advice for all DGs.
5. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR HORIZONTAL ACTIVITIES
As for the four operational activities, SCIC's two 'horizontal' activities are framed in a
multi annual perspective, and aim at providing enhanced support to SCIC's core
business.
5.1. Policy Strategy and Coordination
The Activity “Policy Strategy and Coordination” gives the necessary impulse to the
policy definition, preparation and implementation of SCIC’s overall mission within the
time-scales laid out. To this end, the Activity promotes the development of a strategic
planning and administrative culture within the DG, and it supports different means of
information, communication, awareness raising and dialogue with decision-makers and
other key stakeholders.
Two major sub-activities are concerned, namely 'Strategic Planning' and 'Internal
Communication':
Result indicators (Scale 0-10)
Indicator Target Multi-annual
Target 2013
Current situation
Satisfaction on event preparation (incl. advise on planning, technical and logistical issues, budget and cost estimates, guidance on event options, coordination and ability to meet
deadlines)
8 to 10 9.0 8.9
Satisfaction on the day of the event (incl. logistics and technical support, registration,
travel and accommodation, streaming, interpretation, catering, participants kits)
8 to 10 8.5 8.7
Satisfaction on welcome and response (incl. sign posting, badge distribution, staff courtesy)
8 to 10 9.0 8.9
Satisfaction on SCIC's staff (incl. solutions proposed, promptness, flexibility, adaptability, availability, coordination and post
conference follow up)
8 to 10 9.0 9.0
Satisfaction on financial management (incl. budget, savings, feedback on contract
signature and execution, timely de-commitment)8 to 10 8.5 8.2
Overall satisfaction 8 to 10 9.0 8.9
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5.1.1. Sub-Activity 'Strategic Planning'
The strategic planning function is designed to ensure that SCIC’s activities are aligned
to Commission priorities, well prepared, and allocated with sufficient resources. It
consists in the translation of the Commission work programme into operational
objectives and resource allocation in the Annual Management Plan.
To complement and support strategic planning, the DG's Evaluation function is reports
covering its main activities and stakeholders. It has also developed a comprehensive
reporting system (SCICView) which allows for real-time monitoring at all relevant
levels of the DG, from operational statistics to key performance indicators geared
towards senior management.
To automate the monitoring of indicators set out in the Management Plan
Performance indicator Multiannual target 2013 target Current situation
(2012)
% of indicators regularly monitored*
80% 55% 43%
* Via SCICView, excluding indicators resulting from yearly surveys, one shot projects and action plans.
5.1.2. Sub-Activity 'Internal Communication'
Internal Communication plays a prominent role in SCIC’s activities.
As the majority of the staff (the interpreters) have no office and change work location
on a daily basis, their sole regular contact with the administrative structure is via
electronic media and in particular, SCICnet, the SCIC intranet, which not only delivers
information but also gives access to a number of IT tools and applications vital for
interpreters' daily work. In addition, SCICnet is the main channel for communicating
with the large and geographically dispersed population of freelance interpreters. In line
with one of the DG's three strategic internal communication objectives "Better
Communication tools", a project to migrate SCICnet to the newest release of the
software platform was launched in November 2012. After the migration is completed in
March 2013 there will be a focus on incremental improvement of SCICnet.
Beside the focus on the key tool of SCICnet, in 2013 SCIC will continue to prioritise
actions which further the other 2 strategic objectives of the DG "One Service" and
"Improving information exchange". An action plan elaborated by the SCIC Internal
Communication Network in 2012 will continue to be followed through, drawing also
from ideas from the follow up of the Internal Communication seminar for SCIC
managers held in 2012. Events and initiatives that bring staff from all parts of the DG
together will be favoured and improvements to communication and feedback
mechanisms about key information and decisions in the DG will be implemented with
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the aim of engaging staff in helping to face the challenges of 2013 as outlined in the
introduction to this plan.
In order to measure the effectiveness of these actions we have established a new
measure for 2013 which is to monitor the access frequency on the home page of
SCICnet, where key information on the DG is published. We are looking in particular
for an increase in access by administrative staff as unlike interpreters many of them
are not required to go on SCICnet for their daily work and therefore an increase in
access could be one indicator of improved staff engagement.
Performance indicator
Multiannual target
2013 target
Current situation (2012)
Main related actions in 2013 Responsible
SCIC service
% of the total number of
1) administrative and
2) interpreter staff visiting the home page of SCICnet at least 10 times per month.
1) 80%
2) 98%
1) 60%
2) 95%
1) 55%
2) 90%
Improve SCICnet in line with SCICnet survey 2012 via migration of software, addition of new functions and tools to foster cooperation within the service.
S1
MP 2013 for DG Interpretation (SCIC) 20
5.2. Administrative support
The “Administrative support” Activity covers a set of horizontal functions within the DG
designed to provide high quality administrative support, advice, assistance, control and
monitoring of resources use by SCIC.
Sub-Activity 'ICT Management'
The restructuring of IT operations completed in 2012 improves IT Governance by
creating a unit responsible for steering IT governance in the DG and by steering
systems owners, correspondents and IT management committees and meetings.
ICT management accounts for 3 key activities:
• Advising management on the IT strategy and IT-related decisions, in line with
Commission policy and orientations;
• Ensuring that the DG's Information systems and infrastructure are reliable,
resilient and in line with business requirements;
• Developing and maintaining the information systems that support the provision
of interpretation and the organisation of meetings.
Priorities set for 2013 are:
• Continuing with the streamlining and rationalisation of the DG's application
portfolio, in line with the Commission guidelines, including a the definition of a
new system architecture and the related roles and responsibilities of system
owners;
• Preparing the implementation of ITIC, due for the end of 2013;
• Preparing a "mobile web" strategy and launching the first application fit for the
"mobile Web" (WebCalendar);
• Improving the corporate system used for the management of meeting bookings
(WebDOR)
Indicator: Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery history of data are in line
with the business requirements (Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption of SCIC
critical activities)
Performance indicator
Multiannual target
2013 target
Current situation (2012)
Unit S5 RPO delay (hours)
Recovery history period (months)
12 hours
3 months
12 hours
3 months
18 hours
2 months
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Indicator: SCIC applications portfolio is streamlined ("Rationalisation")
Performance indicator
Multiannual target 2013 target Current situation (2012)
Unit S3 Number of active applications in GOVIS database
15 25 30
5.2.1. Sub-Activity 'Financial Management'
The activity covers planning, monitoring and reporting on the level of utilisation of
financial resources as well as verifying the regularity of all the financial transactions. It
includes a continuous enhancement and update of the procedures and tools available
for managing income and expenditure operations.
To implement and maintain an effective control system so that reasonable assurance
can be given that resources assigned to the activities are used according to the
principles of sound financial management and that the control procedures put in place
give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of underlying
transactions.
Performance indicator Multiannual target 2013 target Current situation
(2012) Main related actions in 2013
Unit S2
Average payment delay – SCIC budget lines*
16 16 16
Adapt to FR 2012
Improve understanding of the rules
Monitor payment delays by budget line
Average payment delay – co-delegated budget lines*
16 16 14
Simplify contracts clauses
Clarify respective roles of SCIC and organising DG
Improve understanding of the rules
*Excluding periods during which payment term is suspended – article 111.3 of Rules of application of the
Financial Regulation and payments to non EU countries.
To ensure that the revenue deriving from the interpretation delivered to SLA clients
is collected within a reasonable delay.
Performance indicator Multiannual target
2013 target
Current situation (2012) Main related actions in 2013
Unit S2
Average number of days between the end of the invoiced period and collection of revenue.
<60 60 66
Suppression of liaison accounts
Increasing use of websites for invoicing process
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To improve the support to the management of ACIs by enhancing the correctness of
ACI payments
Performance indicator Multiannual target 2013 target
Current situation (2012)
Main related actions in 2013
Units C4/S2
% of errors (in value) detected by ex post controls
<2% <2% 0,235%* implementation of updated SLA with EP and CoJ
* on payments made during first semester 2012.
NB: these ex-post controls are limited to the final settlements for non-local freelance interpreters because
these are the only non-automated transactions for which the possibility of individual human errors exists.
5.2.2. Sub-Activity ' Human resources management'
The general objective of the human resources management function is to provide a
service of high quality and efficiency to the DG, its management and its staff, by
ensuring effective and correct implementation of Commission human resources
programmes relating to conditions of employment, career and personal development
and motivation, and by taking all the actions necessary to ensure that the right
resources are available in the right place and at the right time.
In that respect, SCIC has set up a working group to produce a multiannual interpreter
recruitment strategy, taking into account the expected evolution of demand, the need
for succession planning as well as the 5% cuts in staffing levels and the 5%
redeployment tax expected from the future reform of the Staff regulations. Conclusions
of this working group will be updated taking into account the reduced number of posts.
As in previous year, a consolidated multiannual HR strategy will serve as basis for
future decisions regarding all aspects of HR management. A Croatian interpretation
unit is to be created during the first half of 2013 in order to host the colleagues of the
new official language. As additional posts have been allocated to SCIC for this purpose,
no internal redeployment of posts is needed.
In 2013, the HR unit will continue managing a number of horizontal HR processes
among them the Eco-Management Audit Scheme (EMAS), Equal opportunities and
implementation of the Staff regulations. The new Staff Regulations are likely to impose
new working time arrangements for all staff, including interpreters.
In 2012 DG HR included SCIC in the external EMAS audit. The auditor "AENOR"
highlighted two strong points for the DG (the EMAS communication and the SCIC
Green forum) which we are invited to further promote. In 2013 SCIC represented by
the Green SCIC Committee will continue to establish and implement an annual EMAS
action plan, engage in awareness raising activities and involve staff in EMAS actions.
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The Commission 2010-2014 Equal opportunities strategy defines for SCIC a target of
41,9% of middle management posts to be occupied by females. This is translated in
the following objective and performance indicator:
To ensure a stable and balanced gender representation at middle management
level.
Performance indicator Multiannual target 2013 target Current situation
(2012) Main related actions in 2013
Unit S1
Gender representation at middle management level
41,9% F
58,1% M
41,9% (14 F)
58,1% (20 M)
47,05% (16 F)
52,95% (18 M)
Implement an Equal opportunities Action Plan for SCIC in line with the 2010-2014 Equal opportunities strategy.
*The calculation includes Heads of Units but not Heads of Department.
In line with the Internal Control Standards, the HR unit will continue to deliver actions
aiming at raising the awareness of staff and management on ethics. An ongoing action
is the follow up on attendance of ethics training.
To ensure that new officials are aware of their obligations in the field of ethics
Performance indicator Multiannual target 2013 target Current situation
(2012) Main related actions in 2013
Unit S1
% of new officials who have attended an ethics training by the end of their probation period
75% 70% 66%(25 out of a total of 38)
Continuous monitoring of completion of compulsory training, officials who have not followed the training by the end of their probation periods are sent reminders.
Any ethics training or internal workshop qualifies. The formal DG HR ethics training for newcomers needs to
be followed at least 5 months after recruitment but before the end of probation.
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ANNEX 1 – RESTRICTED DOCUMENT
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ANNEX 2 – RESTRICTED DOCUMENT
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ANNEX 3 – PRIORITISED INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT
STANDARD BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REASONS FOR PRIORITISATION
ICS 8 – PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES
AS STATED IN THE PART 2 'THIS YEAR'S CHALLENGES' OF THE MP, 2013 WILL BE A TRANSITION YEAR TOWARDS INEVITABLE CHANGES IN THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES. THIS WILL IMPLY THE NEED TO STREAMLINE KEY PROCESSES IN LINE WITH AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND FURTHER IMPROVE THEIR DOCUMENTATION.
THE REVISED FINANCIAL REGULATION AND THE INCOMING REVISION OF THE STAFF REGULATION WILL ALSO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE WORKING PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES.
ICS 11 – DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT WITH REGARDS TO DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AND IN PARTICULAR THE RELEVANT SECURITY MEASURES IN PLACE, THERE IS A NEED TO ENSURE THAT ACCESS RIGHTS TO SYSTEMS THAT MAY CONTAIN SENSITIVE OR PERSONAL INFORMATION ARE GIVEN ON A NEED TO KNOW BASIS AND THIS IS CLEARLY DOCUMENTED.
ICS 12 – INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
AS OUTLINED IN THE 2012-2014 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY DOCUMENT AND DEVELOPED FURTHER IN THE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION SEMINAR 2012, THE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF THE DG OVER THE COMING 2 YEARS ARE: IMPROVED INFORMATION EXCHANGE (IMPROVING THE FLOW OF INFORMATION VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY); ONE SERVICE (I.E. THE STRENGTHENING OF THE FEELING OF ALL BELONGING TO ONE SERVICE); AND BETTER COMMUNICATION TOOLS (I.E. THE CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT OF SCICNET).
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ANNEX 4 – PLANNING OF EVALUATION AND OTHER STUDIES
CWP initiative/expenditure instrument that the evaluation or study
will support
Prospective** (P) or
retrospective (R)
1 3rd Customer Satisfaction Survey
Interpretation-related expenditures R na
2 3rd IT Help-Desk survey R na
III. Other ongoing or planned studies ***
IIT expenditure (users support) Jun-13Jan-13
II. Evaluations planned to start in 2013 or later
Jan-13 Dec-13I&E
Other purpose*
External (E), internal (I), internal with
external support (I&E)
Start (month/ year) End (month/ year)
I. Ongoing evaluations (work having started in previous years)
N°Title of evaluation or
study (possibly working title)
Intended use of the evaluation or study Type of evaluation or study Timing Associated services
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ANNEX 5 – RESTRICTED DOCUMENT
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ANNEX 6 - ACTIONS STEMMING FROM AARS AND THE SYNTHESIS REPORT
DG Interpretation made no reservations in the most recent AAR and there are no pending actions, under SCIC's responsibility, referred to
in the last Synthesis Report.
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ANNEX 7 – EXECUTIVE AGENCIES' ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME
Not applicable.
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ANNEX 8 – COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
No
Communication Objective(s)
Message Audience Proposed actions/
type of activity
Date/ location DG COMM Services Ex-ante evaluation
Budget
Policy objective/Policy output
Ensure succession and staffing completion of conference interpreters to maintain excellent and effective interpreting services to the EU institutions in the perspective of 2020 and beyond
Social media campaigns
TBC – country dependent; including short videos
No Positive Administrative credits
1
Press exposure if necessary
TBC – country dependent
No, except help from Representations in MS
Positive Administrative credits
Raise awareness among young people of the usefulness of language learning and the attractiveness of the conference interpreter profession
Leaning languages is good for you, is good for business.
The European Institutions need you to interpret in meetings (in some markets)
Depending on the country, students 14-30 or students 20-27, in particular in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and (to a lesser extent) the UK and France.
Video production for general and specific purposes
Planned productions 2013: on the Latvian Presidency preparations; on What it takes to prepare a country for accession in interpreting and language terms (premiere in Vilnius 9/13); SCIC technical services behind the scenes; more chapters of
No, but sometimes assistance from AV library is essential
Positive Administrative credits
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Living memory
Video conferences with selected schools, in particular in the UK, in order to encourage language learning
Throughout the year
No Positive
Administrative credits
Podcasts with technical tips for interpreting students
Training ongoing; production throughout 2013
No Positive Administrative credits
Policy objective/Policy output Contribute to the success of an effective decision-making process by providing quality interpretation
2 Ensure effective use of interpretation
If you are a better speaker, people will understand you better – including the interpreters
Commission and MS officials
Video production How to speak in meetings – launch in January 2013
No Positive Administrative credits
Policy objective/Policy output
Connect to citizens and explain EU-activities 3 Communication and
outreach to the general public
The EU is working for you
General public and specialised audience
Video production SCIC technical services behind the scenes
Open Doors 4 May Berlaymont
Yes Positive Administrative credits
Back to School Irish and Yes Positive Administrative
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Lithuanian Presidencies
credits