152.Inintroducing theprogramme inprogramme planning andco-ordination, the Assistant Secretary-General forProgramme Planning andCo-ordination pointed out that o~lyonesubprogramme wascovered bythemedium-term planbecause ofthe phasedprocess ofapplying medium-term planning tocentral services. Inthelast revision oftheplan,central support services hadbeenplacedwithintheframework -29-I'j i tJ ~ i-; '\ 'I! II I, f·'·, ReservationProgramme judgement woulddire whicllcons consultant problems 0 reviewof cross-orga staff,it mightsome necessary required legislative therationa and7.2.S intheSecr shouldnot needfori shouldprod recognized shoulder if wereadvant knowledge a andselecti 157.Withr, expressed i element 2.1 element 3.1 the.justifil 158.Atits ofthepro Secretary-G incomesect paragraphs 159.TheDi Department showednom Henotedth functions i intergovern functions h subsidized since1982 Department. .'-30- ./153.Withregardtosubprogramme 1,itwasagreedthatprogramme element 1.5 (Co-ordination andimprovement ofprogramme planning andimplementation inthe economic andsocialsectors), shouldbegivenhighpriority, becauseitconsisted ofspecialized reporting toCPC.Similarly, itwasagreedthatprogramme element 2.1shouldbegivenhighestpriority. 156.Questions wereraisedabouttheuseofconsultants andexpertgroupsandthe earlier discussions oftheCommittee onthequestion ofindependence and objectivity andtheuseofoutside expertise wererecalled. Specifically, questions wereaskedaboutwhether mostoftheconsultants requested werereally necessary. Inreply,theAssistant Secretary-General pointed outthatconsultants andexpertgroupswereusedinthatprogramme asameansofenabling theOfficefor154.Questions were.askedabouttheextenttowhichprogramme element 3.3 (Assistance intheimplementation ofinter-agency co-operative projects and programmes), dealing, interalia,withtheinterrelationships between resources, environment, peopleanddevelopment, duplicated workbeingdoneelsewhere, asin theprogramme onpopulation. Inreply,theAssistant Secretary-General explained thattheprogramme element hadexisted forseveral biennia andthattheroleofthe OfficeforProgramme Planning andCo-ordination wasbasically thatofco-ordin~tor andproject developer forworkdoneinvarious substantive programmes relating to thesubject; thatworkincluded anumberofjointstudies. 155.Concerning subprogramne 6(Information systems andservices fortheOfficefor Programme Planning andCo-ordination), whichwasanewsubprogramme, several delegations askedquestions abouttheappropriate location oftheunitresponsible forcarrying outtheproposed activities, theservices currently provided by"the unit,theirusers,andthepossibility ofcharging forthoseservices. The Assistant Secretary-General statedthatafterathorough reviewofthelocation of theunit,theSecretary-General hadconcluded thattheexisting location ofthe unitintheOfficeforProgramme Planning andCo-ordination wasappropriate, in viewofthesupport thattheunitwouldlendtothedevelopment ofinformation systems tobemanaged bytheOfficeintheareaofmonitoring restricted substances andinviewofitsroleinthemaintenance ofastandard indexing vocabulary tobe usedintheanalysis ofprogramme activities oftheUnitedNations system. The mainservices currently provided included thedissemination ofdevelopment-related literature produced bytheUnitedNations (60,000 pages/images ayear),on-line data-base searches (1,000ayear),dissemination ofmachine-readable copiesofthe indexing vocabulary, andadvisory services (anaverage of3,000requests for services werereceived eachyear). TheAssistant Secretary-General addedthat usersoftheservices provided wereGovernments, whichaccounted fornearly 50percentofrequests, intergovernmental organizations (30percent)andacademic andresearch institutions (20percent);overtwothirdsoftheuserswerein developing countries. Onedelegation statedthattheunitshould belocated inthe DagHammarskj6ld Library, whileothersbelieved thatitslocation intheDepartment
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing administrative and organizational matters related to the United Nations, specifically the Office for Programme Planning and Coordination. It mentions various subprograms, including those related to economic and social sectors, information systems, and inter-agency cooperation. The text also touches on issues such as consultant use, budget allocation, and program planning. Given the focus on organizational and planning aspects, it is likely that the text is related to economic development or international cooperation.

**Category**
Economic development, International cooperation