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Memorandum of Understanding
Please click here to download the Memorandum of Understanding.
| Vision, Mission, Values | Membership | Core Benefits | Core Services | Projects | GBN Structure |
| Receipts | Annual Meeting | Voting | Termination | Dissolution |
Revised October/ November 2002
Benchmarking organizations have a mutual interest in promoting benchmarking as an improvement process. As separate entities these organizations may have independent memberships, suites of activities and geographic coverage. Nonetheless, it is in the mutual interest of the respective organizations to promote open communications and pursue certain cooperative efforts. Hence they have agreed to an affiliation known as the Global Benchmarking Network, herein referred to as the GBN. This memorandum to affiliate includes and is limited to the following:
1. VISION, MISSION AND VALUES, top
GBN Vision (What do we want to become, look like in the future?)
A global network sharing best practice knowledge to help public and private organisations achieve performance improvement.
GBN Mission (Who are we, what do we do, for whom and why?)
A network of benchmarking competency centres, which promotes and applies that knowledge, enhances its communication, offers expert support, establishes ethical and protocol expectations, for affiliates and their members, to demonstrate significant business results.
GBN Values (What do we believe in, want members do abide by?)
- Professionalism – as evidenced by handling all relations between GBN members in a professional way equally like relations to our members and customers.
- Working Together – as evidenced by a willingness to share and assist other members, participation in team or group activities and projects as appropriate and attendance at the annual meeting.
- Excellence – as evidenced by developing expertise in benchmarking, leading or managing benchmarking initiatives and, promoting the role of benchmarking in performance improvement.
- Ethical Behaviour – as evidenced by following the Benchmarking Code of Conduct and respect for confidentiality.
2. MEMBERSHIP, top
New affiliates can be nominated or apply for membership at any time. To apply for membership, applicants need to provide a written statement that if accepted they will agree to abide by the GBN Memorandum of Understanding, and the Benchmarking Code of Conduct.
Potential members need to provide evidence that there is alignment between their present and future benchmarking activities with that of the GBN’s vision. They are expected to provide evidence in the following three areas, now and in the future:
- Level of expertise and activities in benchmarking by reporting their benchmarking activities yearly to the GBN.
- Types of ethical practices used.
- Examples of business benefits achieved through their benchmarking activities.
A GBN membership sub-group will undertake an assessment of new members. If there are no objections to the recommendation then its decision will stand. If there are objections they will be reassessed by the sub-group and its decision will be final.
New affiliates will pay an initial entry fee. All affiliates will pay an annual fee for the core services. All fees are established at the annual meeting.
If affiliates provide non-benchmarking consulting services to third parties GBN materials will not be used to market those services.
Appointments of honorary associates proposed by a GBN member will be considered on their individual merits. GBN “honorary association” is for individuals who have helped the GBN to prosper or who are recognized Benchmarking expert. GBN “honorary associates” have the right to participate in the GBN sharing activities.
The GBN has been formed to promote and support the following core benefits for its affiliates:
- To share experience of Member organisation’s benchmarking operations.
- To promote and assist in international exchange of best practice knowledge.
- To enhance Member organisations in support of their marketing and other efforts to promote benchmarking.
- Publications – Exchange of selected publications and current promotional literature between affiliates including newsletters and promotional material with the understanding that they may be further distributed to Centre members.
- Benchmarking Partner Search – In the spirit of co-operation, affiliates will assist each other on partner searches to the extent this does not entail significant resource commitments. Searches beyond this scope will be on a negotiated basis.
- Meetings – The affiliates will provide notification to each other of upcoming meetings, activities and events for further communication to their respective members.
- Publicity – In the GBN each affiliate is hereby granted permission to cite and publicise their affiliation for information and promotional purposes. This includes mention of the GBN services and the use of the GBN logo.
- Bypass – As a matter of courtesy, affiliates mutually agree not to bypass the respective Centre in making contact with that Centre’s individual members, either for seeking engagements, meeting promotion, or other benchmarking related activity.
Projects may from time to time be proposed by GBN affiliates, the Secretary General and/or Chairman. These projects shall support the vision and mission of the GBN and other provisions of this agreement. They may be subscribed to by all or some of the affiliates who will in turn fund such efforts and enjoy the benefits of the results. Non-participating affiliates shall have no obligation or expectation of benefits of the results. Formal GBN projects will be conducted in accordance with an agreed procedure.
The GBN will have a President who shall have the right to represent himself as such and agrees to promote and support the GBN vision and mission and affiliation agreement.
A Chairman who shall assure that the annual meeting requirement is fulfilled and the affiliation agreement is adhered to by all affiliates shall oversee the GBN. The Chairman shall be elected from the affiliate Centre’s GBN representatives. In addition the Chairman shall:
- Assure that the duties of the Secretariat are fulfilled.
- Co-ordinate an agenda for the annual meeting.
- Retain the authority and accountability for the disbursement and receipt of funds. This authority, but not accountability, may be delegated to the Secretariat.
- Marketing and recruitment of new affiliates.
- Financial records, budget and transactions.
7. RECEIPT AND DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS, top
- Funds are derived by an annual fee and a one time entry fee paid by each affiliate and other sources as approved at the annual meeting.
- Funds will be received and disbursed by the Secretariat with oversight from the Chairman.
- All financial transactions and records shall be made in accordance with general accepted accounting principles.
- The Secretariat and Chairman are responsible for assuring jointly and individually, that the GBN does not operate in a deficit condition.
All GBN affiliates agree to attend or be represented by proxy at the annual meeting where the business of the GBN shall be conducted. The GBN Chairman will chair the meeting and business shall include, but not limited to, the following:
- Nomination and affirmation of a President for the coming year.
- Nomination and affirmation of a Chairman for the coming year from among the affiliate Centre representatives.
- Nomination and affirmation of a Secretariat for the coming year.
- Ratification of an annual report of expense and forward budget prepared by the Secretariat.
- Setting of time and place of next meeting.
- Such other business as may come before the group.
Each affiliate in good standing shall have one vote on all issues brought before the annual meeting or in a postal ballot. Such issues (not concerning projects) shall require the following:
- In all matters a simple majority.
An affiliate’s membership may be terminated following 30 days written notice to the other affiliates, upon a two-thirds majority vote of the other affiliates or upon failure to pay annual fees within 30 day of the due date. If such termination is made, it is further agreed that activities currently underway (i.e. a joint event) will continue to run their normal course to completion and that any promotional material (i.e. publicity) may be used until exhausted. Thereafter, use of the GBN logo or affiliate status will cease and desist. Remaining GBN Centres will cease referring to the terminating affiliate as affiliated with the GBN.
The GBN affiliates may at any time or for any reason by giving written notice propose the dissolution of the GBN to be considered at the next meeting or by postal ballot upon two-thirds majority vote. In the event of dissolution of the GBN any surplus funds will be returned to the affiliates in the proportion to the original contribution. GBN Affiliates agree to this document in the spirit of co-operation and for the benefit of the affiliated organisations. This Memorandum of Understanding is not signed nor is it considered legally binding in any jurisdiction.
GBN President
Dr. Robert C. Camp, Best Practice Institute, USA
rcampbpi@att.net
GBN Chairman
Dr. Robin Mann, Centre for Organisational Excellence Research, Institute of Technology and Engineering, Massey University, New Zealand
R.S.Mann@massey.ac.nz
GBN Vice-Chairman
Karolina Sugar, Hungarian Association for Excellene, Hungary
info@kivalosag.hu
GBN Secretary
c/o Informationszentrum Benchmarking (IZB) at
Fraunhofer IPK
Pascalstrasse 8-9
10587 Berlin
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 30 39 006 – 171
Fax: +49 (0) 30 393 25 03
e-mail: gbn@ipk.fhg.de
www.globalbenchmarking.org