Roles and responsibilities during the assessment

Since the assessment will engage a wide range of people, defining roles and responsibilities up front is critical. There are four main roles:

The first step is to decide who will convene the assessment and establish the assessment team. The role of convenor is normally taken on by the main organization or group responsible for managing the World Heritage All inherited assets which people value for reasons beyond mere utility. Heritage is a broad concept and includes shared legacies from the natural environment, the creations of humans and the creations and interactions between humans and nature. It encompasses built, terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, landscapes and seascapes, biodiversity, geodiversity, collections, cultural practices, knowledge, living experiences, etc.   property or other heritage place. If there is more than one responsible organization or group for the management of the property, and it is unclear who should assume the role of convenor, you must decide who is in the best position to lead the assessment and to build and retain trust throughout the whole process. The convenor should be largely accepted and respected by the other actors and have the capacity and institutional resources to coordinate the different phases of the assessment.

The convenor will also be responsible for inviting people to participate in the assessment and, in principle, host meetings and workshops during the assessment process. Alternatively, there can be several hosts, with different institutions hosting different activities.

The convenor will also establish the implementation team, who will be responsible for leading the assessment process, collecting and managing information, compiling the findings of the assessment and representing the wider group of people involved in the assessment. It is preferable to make this team a small, carefully selected group. There are two important elements to consider: representation and appropriate skills. The team should include people from the convenor organization and from other organizations or groups to ensure that diverse actors involved in the management system are represented. You will need individuals who can work collaboratively as part of a team, are well organized, and who have good communication and problem-solving skills.

Within this team, it is important to identify who will lead the discussions (the facilitators) and who will record the discussions and findings of the implementation team (the notetakers). Facilitators should be selected based on their facilitation skills and abilities to: maintain a neutral position; ensure a fair and equitable process that is unbiased towards the interests of any one actor; and mediate and redirect discussion when challenges arise. In certain circumstances, it may help to engage an impartial external facilitator(s) with expertise in assessment procedures and knowledge of heritage management. Notetakers will work closely with the facilitators to capture information presented during discussions and help complete the EoH 2.0 worksheets. They should, therefore, have good listening, writing, analytical and reporting skills.