However, the meeting's objectives go beyond just going through action items and progress updates. According to Norman Eisen, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former top ethics and government affairs attorney in the Obama White House, it may offer a venue for discussing goals and best practises. In meetings, senior officials, according to Eisen, often discuss their intended course of action before either endorsing them or criticising them if they are not carried through. Meetings provide individuals the chance to communicate with their neighbours and coworkers and comprehend and make decisions, according to Mark Malloch-Brown, a former minister and the UK's ambassador to the UN.