When the country has completed the sign-up steps and wishes to be recognised as a FiTI Candidate, the government must – with the approval of the National MSG – submit a FiTI Candidate Application to the FiTI International Board.
The candidate application process
- The Country submits a Candidate Application to the FiTI International Board via the FiTI International Secretariat.
- The International Secretariat publishes the application and other supporting information on the FiTI International website.
- The FiTI International Board reviews the application and makes a decision on whether a country’s application should be accepted or not according to the requirements of the FiTI Standard.
Countries seeking to submit a Candidate application to the FiTI International Board must use the official application template.
The application must describe the rationales and objectives of the national FiTI process; the activities undertaken to date; and provide evidence demonstrating that each of the six sign-up steps has been completed in line with the FiTI Standard. It must also include contact details for government, business and civil society stakeholders involved in the sign-up process.
Application material will be disclosed on the website of the FiTI International Secretariat.
In assessing the Candidate Application, the FiTI International Secretariat will, on behalf of the FiTI International Board, review the application and make an initial assessment on whether the six sign-up steps have been met. For this, the FiTI International Secretariat will contact stakeholders at the national level to ascertain their views on the sign-up process, and may seek comments from partner governments, international civil society organisations, companies, supporting multilateral organisations and investors. The FiTI International Secretariat will work closely with the FiTI National Lead to clarify any outstanding issues.
Afterwards, the FiTI International Secretariat will convey the results of the assessments to the FiTI International Board, who will make the final decision about the applicant country’s status. The decision will be taken at a regular Board meeting or via circular if decided on by the Board.
The FiTI International Secretariat will communicate the Board’s decision to the applicant countries.