The position of National Authorising Officer (NAO) is outlined in Article 35, Chapter 6 "Management and Executing Agencies", Annex IV Implementation and Management Procedures of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States.

The Article provides for the appointment by each ACP State of an NAO Officer to represent it in all operations financed by the resources of the European Development Fund (EDF), managed by the European Commission (EC).

The NAO of the Commonwealth of Dominica is Mr. Edward Lambert. The NAO is the official signatory to all the EC funding instruments available to the Government of Dominica and is by implication legally responsible for overseeing all co-operation agreements and projects that arise from these instruments.

The NAO in close co-operation with the Head of Delegation, Delegation of the European Commission In Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, is responsible for:

- the preparation, submission and appraisal of project dossiers;
- preparation and appraisal of tender dossiers;
- award and signature of contracts and riders thereto;
- approval of expenditure and initiation of payment orders;
- making technical and economic adjustments necessary for ensuring the proper execution      of projects.
- Monitoring and evaluation of projects

Currently, the NAO is responsible for the management of the following portfolio of instruments and projects amounting to approximately Two hundred and thirty-four million Eastern Caribbean Dollars [EC$234,000,000] or Seventy-eight million EURO Dollars [~€78,000,000].

The Commonwealth of Dominica has established a dedicated NAO Office in October 2000, with Technical/Programming and Administrative staff. The overall objective of the NAO Office is to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of EU funded activities. This is especially critical in light of the Post Lomé "Cotonou" arrangements, the recipient state must ensure funds are effectively committed, disbursed and implemented at the risk of losing allocations to other more 'efficient' ACP countries.