The Global Alliance will form Thematic Groups with a view to creating a flexible mechanism to bring together motivated actors to address well-defined tasks in a results-oriented manner.
The Thematic Groups will be the Global Alliance’s mechanism to undertake substantive work and implement its strategy. They will be initiated either directly by the Steering Committee to address a specific gap or issue, or by a group of existing organizations or entities with recognized expertise. In both cases, each Thematic Group will be responsible for mobilizing its own operational resources and for establishing the terms of reference for its organization.
The Thematic Groups can take a number of organizational forms: they may be built upon existing networks, hosted and led by an established organization within the UN system, by a recognized public body with a development mission, by an academic/ research institution or a private organization; they may be launched as a “green field” initiative by partners on mutually agreed terms. In all cases, they will seek to leverage the existing and on-going work within the relevant domain, and will seek to identify and address gaps in existing work rather than duplicate it.
All Members of the Global Alliance may participate in any given Thematic Group. Each Thematic Group will identify a lead organization or individual, and determine its working mode and meeting schedule in conjunction with the Coordinating Team. The Thematic Groups will also be supported by dedicated resources from the Coordinating Team. They will submit progress reports to the Alliance Assembly every two years and interim reports to the Steering Committee on a regular basis.
The Steering Committee members and the Coordinating Team will act as advocates for the work of the Thematic Groups in order to coordinate and disseminate the results and will seek to assist in the resource mobilization as appropriate.
Some of the potential disciplines of the thematic groups include: