The Mini-Retreat is designed to be a simple but relaxed exercise for the NEPC to focus internally on itself, rather than externally on the environmental issues of the nation. However, the Mini-Retreat must:
- Include Team Building Exercises
- Result in the dividing up of National Priorities that form the basis for the Joint Strategic Plan
- Select a new Vice Chair (or confirm extension of the current Vice Chair)
- Include a Rapid review of the performance of the Secretariat and any needed revisions to the Secretariat Staff’s TORs; these should be captured in writing as a MOU between the Officers and the Secretariat’s Hosting Agency (Bureau of Budget and Planning)
- Include a Rapid review and self-evaluation of the NEPC and recommendations for change in the following year; these should be captured in writing and incorporated into the Joint Strategic Plan
- The NEPC may choose to keep minutes of the retreat, but aside from the required products, no official Meeting Minutes need be produced (e.g. discussions during the Mini-Retreat may be kept private as long as the official documents are released following the Mini-Retreat).
The Mini-Retreat may follow directly upon the second annual Full NEPC Meeting, or be closely aligned. It can be a simple meeting style activity or, if funding allows, an excursion to a different location.