The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), an intergovernmental organization, was set up by the Metre Convention and has its headquarters near Paris, France. It is financed jointly by its Member States and operates under the exclusive supervision of the CIPM. Its mandate is to provide the basis for a single, coherent system of measurements throughout the world, traceable to the International System of Units (SI). This task takes many forms, from direct dissemination of units (as in the case of mass and time) to coordination through international comparisons of national measurement standards (as in electricity and ionizing radiation). The BIPM has an international staff of over 70 and its status vis-à-vis the French government is similar to that of other intergovernmental organisations based in Paris.