The Global Monitoring Institute: Operationalizing Monitoring Standards

March-June 2010 Update

It has been over 3 months since the initial GMI Stakeholder Council Meeting.  Since that time, the Global Monitoring Institute (GMI) has continued to pursue our key priorities and address new challenges. We would like to provide an update on our activities, accomplishments and challenges.  

  • March: GMI invited 18 various stakeholders to be involved in the first Stakeholder Council meeting held on March 17.  
  • April: GMI continued outreach to Intertek and the China Compliance Professional Association (CCPA).
  • May: GMI began to schedule the second Stakeholder Council Meeting, but due to scheduling conflicts and lack of defined responsibilities for stakeholders, the meeting has been postponed.
  • June: GMI representatives met with CCPA representatives, Jim Leung (Disney) and Stephen Frost (CSR Asia) to discuss possible coordination and collaboration.   

GMI still struggles with challenges of gaining funding during the financial downturn, maintaining momentum without a full-time staff, and addressing competing groups to avoid duplication and making the same mistakes. Despite these challenges, GMI is confident that a professional association for workplace monitoring is absolutely essential and that persistant efforts to move ahead will result in an effective and efficient mode of increasing the standard and credibility of the industry. The participating members are committed to the process and invite others to join in the effort.  

See News and Progress pages for additional updates and communications.  

Purpose & Objective

The Mission of the Global Monitoring Institute is to enhance the credibility and professionalism of the individuals and organizations performing corporate social responsibility (CSR) monitoring. 

The organization aspires to advance workplace conditions for workers globally, improve services for the companies engaging CSR monitors, and support the individuals and organizations carrying out these services. 

The Global Monitoring Institute (GMI) has been created with the initial goal of establishing of a comprehensive framework for standards governing the performance of CSR monitoring services.  The framework will encompass key elements:

  • Individual monitor competencies
  • Organization/Firm requirements 
  • Scope of monitoring  

GMI looks to collaborate and coordinate with industry stakeholders on the development of this framework in an effort to efficiently and effectively incorporate relevant information and practices of existing initiatives and research.

Ultimately, GMI looks to serve as industry oversight body and will create the platform (from an administrative, oversight and information management perspective) to support the on-going management of the profession. The format and techical and compatibility requirements of this platform and the role of GMI oversight has yet to be determined.

See Progress page for details on the proposed next steps of developing the framework.

 

 

 

Benefits of GMI

GMI offers individual auditors and monitoring organizations a consolidated source of information which influences monitoring activities:

  • Provide information and updates on auditor standards and training opportunities
  • Provide a Cost/Benefit breakdown of training programs offerings vs. the demands of current initiatives, standards and programs
  • Provide a source to access or report auditor ethics issues (bribery)
  • Represent auditors/service providers in working groups where previously service providers did not have a voice

GMI offers brands, retailers and initiatives:

  • One entity to communicate and negotiate a single standard on competency and scope of audits.
  • One source for checking auditor ethical backgrounds and reporting bribery and corruption
  • One organization that can represent auditors in working groups and initiatives
  • One entity to post employment opportunities, RFPs, and communicate with service providers and individual auditors

See Members and Governance pages for more details on current and future participation and management.  

Global Monitoring Institute

1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 1000

Washington, D.C. 20006
admin@globalmonitoringinstitute.org

 

 

 

 

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