All members of the Board are automatically members of both the PX and FA commissions.

The Board divides items between its commissions in accordance with the responsibilities implicit in their respective titles.

The Commissions meet simultaneously during the sessions of the Board.

The Chairpersons of the commissions are elected by the Board by secret ballot from among the representatives appointed by the Members elected to the Board.

Commissions can establish informal working groups to find consensus on DRs.

The PX Commission generally considers questions relating to the programme and external relations.

The FA Commission generally deals with financial and administrative questions.

Both commissions examine the following « shared items »:

- DG report on execution of programme adopted by the GC (Document C/3) - DG report on follow-up of decisions and resolutions adopted by EXB and GC at previous sessions - The Medium-term Strategy (6 year period)(Document C/4) - Programme and Budget for the biennium Document (C/5)

 In response to 33 C/Resolution 92 concerning relations between the three organs of UNESCO, the Executive Board recommended at its 179th session “that, while maintaining the present structure and division of functions between the Programme and External Relations Commission (PX) and the Finance and Administrative Commission (FA), the Executive Board should pursue greater harmonization between the PX and FA Commissions and a more rational, efficient and less costly division of functions, leading to a more orderly, rule-based and transparent form of decision-making” (recommendation R.18 of the 179 EX/18)