WT/COMTD/W/197  
 
2 July 2013  
(13-3429)  Page: 1/25  
Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation    
 
ANNUAL REPORT ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING 
 
2012 
 
TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT .......................................................................................................... 1
 
ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................... 3  
1   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 4  
1.2   Main evolutions in 2012 compared to 2011 .................................................................... 4  
1.3   Implementation of TA Plan and main features of the WTO Technical Assistance in 
2012 ...............................................................................................................................  5 
1.4   Performance in 2012 and lessons learned ...................................................................... 5  
2   INTROD UCTION  .......................................................................................................... 6  
3   MAIN EVOLUTIONS IN  2012 COMPARED TO 2011 ....................................................... 6  
3.1   Tighter management of the TA re sources ...................................................................... 6  
3.1.1   Reduced resources for TA ......................................................................................... 7  
3.1.2   Stable volume of TA activities at a lower cost .............................................................. 7  
3.2   Expanding the coverage of the intermediate and advanced training levels .......................... 9  
3.2.1   Complementing the E-Learning offer .......................................................................... 9  
3.2.2   Refo rming RTPCs ................................................................................................... 10 
3.2.3   Enriching the advanc ed-level training offer ................................................................ 11 
3.2.4   A more rigorous se lection of pa rticipants ................................................................... 12 
3.3   Making WTO cour ses more in teractive ......................................................................... 12 
3.3.1   Advanced thematic course s ..................................................................................... 13 
3.3.2   Activities on Market Access for Goods ....................................................................... 13 
3.3.3   E- Learning ............................................................................................................  14 
3.3.4   Ot her ar eas .......................................................................................................... 14 
3.4   Introduction of Re sults-Based Ma nagement .................................................................. 15 
3.5   Changes in the Academic Pr ogramme .......................................................................... 15 
3.6   Review of partners hips for TRTA delivery ..................................................................... 15 
4   IMPLEMENTATION OF TA PLAN AND MAIN FEATURES OF THE TA PROVIDED 
IN 2012 .......................................................................................................................... 16  
4.1   Participation of least- developed countri es (LDCs) .......................................................... 16 
4.2   Geographical  distribution ........................................................................................... 18 WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  4.3   Product mix .............................................................................................................  19 
4.4   Distributi on by subject .............................................................................................. 20 
4.5   Language mix .......................................................................................................... 22 
4.6   Progressivity of training ............................................................................................. 23 
4.7   Gender Mix .............................................................................................................. 24 
5   PERFORMANCE IN 2012 AND LESSONS LEARNED ...................................................... 25  
 WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  ACRONYMS 
ACP  African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states 
ACWL  Advisory Centre on WTO Law ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
ATPC  Advanced Trade Policy Course 
BTOR  Back-to-Office Report CEECAC Central and Eastern European, Central Asian and Caucasus Countries 
CHF  Swiss franc 
CRTA  Committee on Regional Trade Agreements DDA  Doha Development Agenda DDAGTF Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund 
DSU  Dispute Settlement Understanding 
EU  European Union ICTSD International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development  
IDB/INTAL Inter-American Development Bank / Institute for the Integration of Latin America and 
the Caribbean  
IMF  International Monetary Fund 
ITTC  Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation 
LDC  Least-developed country MA  Market Access MTS  Multilateral Trading System 
NAMA  Non-Agricultural Market Access 
PEF  Participant's Evaluation Form PIF  Pacific Islands Forum 
PIFS  Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat 
PLS  Progressive Learning Strategy PTA  Preferential Trade Agreement 
Q&A  Questions & Answers 
RBM  Results-Based Management RTA  Regional Trade Agreement RTPC  Regional Trade Policy Course 
SPS  Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
TA  Technical Assistance TAME  Technical Assistance Monitoring and Evaluation Unit 
TBT  Technical Barriers to Trade 
TCA  Technical Cooperation Audit Unit TPC  Trade Policy Course 
TPR  Trade Policy Review 
TRIPS  Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights TRTA  Trade-Related Technical Assistance UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Soci al Commission for Asia and the Pacific 
WCP  WTO Chairs Programme 
WTO  World Trade Organization WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  1  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
1.1.  This report on the Technical Assistance (T A) provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO) 
in 2012 has been entirely recast.  Instead of listing the activities implemented in 2012 and presenting them again as in the TA Plan, it focuse s on three types of analysis: the main evolutions 
of the TA in 2012 compared to the previous year; the analysis by region, subject, language, level 
of training of the TA activities implemented an d performance in 2012, while the evaluation of the 
delivery of the TA activities is covered in a separate report on monitoring and evaluation of TA in 
2012. 
1.2  Main evolutions in 2012 compared to 2011 1.2.  The year under review was characterized by a tighter management of TA activities due to 
shrinking TA resources and need to ensure cost e fficiency.  Despite the shrinking TA resources, the 
Secretariat was able to do just as much in 2012 as in the previous year, and at a lower overall 
cost.  A few activities were cancelled due to changing needs of the beneficiaries. The year also recorded a notable growth in the value of earmarked voluntary contributions. 
1.3.  The implementation of the Progressive Lear ning Strategy (PLS) led to further changes, but 
their effectiveness was difficult to assess in the absence of clear benchmarks defining the substantive content of each training level subjec t by subject.  The PLS aims to promote higher 
levels of learning and to encourage the development of participants’ autonomy, with a view to 
building and sustaining the enhanced human and institutional capacity of beneficiary Members to participate most effectively in the multilateral trading system (MTS).  
1.4.  The E-Learning offer was complemented wi th four new intermediate-level courses (Trade 
Economics, Trade & Development, Market Access (MA) Databases and My Course).  The Regional 
Trade Policy Courses (RTPCs) (intermediate courses for generalists) were profoundly reformed to make them cheaper, shorter and more compact.  The shortening of the RTPC from 12 to 8 weeks 
made it possible to increase their geographical reach by covering all seven WTO regions.  The offer 
of advanced training activities was enriched with three new courses (Trade & Environment, Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and the Least-developed countries' (LDCs) interests & 
priorities).  The Advanced Course on Dispute Settlement was also reformed and an advanced 
workshop on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures and its follow-up were organized for the first time at a regional level (Africa). 
1.5.  Making the TA activities more interactive remained a challenge in 2012, as lectures kept 
taking up half of the time on average.  However, there were significant differences between 
activities: advanced ones, for example, tended to use more interactive training methods; the programme of activities on Market Access for goods was now largely based on case studies and 
field visits.  Improvements could also be noted in E-Learning, in the workshops on agricultural 
notifications, to name but a few. 
1.6.  The TA Plan for 2012 had anticipated a lower level of resources available from donors but did 
not modify the objectives assigned to the WTO in  this domain.  A total of 343 activities were 
implemented during 2012 slightly higher than th e number in 2011. Achieving as much with less 
could only be possible with a tighter management of the resources available complemented with the involvement of partners for delivery of training activities based both on shared workload and 
costs. To this end existing partnerships were reviewed and new ones established in almost all the 
regions and for activities in Geneva.  
1.7.  The introduction of Results-Based Mana gement (RBM) for TA activities led to the 
establishment of a monitoring and evaluation team within the Institute for Training and Technical 
Cooperation (ITTC).  In addition, the Institute continued to explore measures to improve its own institutional capacity.  The existing evaluation  system was reviewed and some new elements 
introduced to have a complete RBM Monitoring &E valuation (M&E) system.  Implementation of the 
system is on-going.  The system will keep re lying on self-evaluation by the trainers and 
programme managers, for reasons of cost efficiency, until such a time when the on-line RBM M&E system is fully operational.   WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  1.3  Implementation of TA Plan and main fe atures of the WTO Technical Assistance in 
2012 
1.8.  The WTO Secretariat undertook 343 technical assistance activities, both in Geneva and in 
various WTO member countries.  The majority of these activities were organized in partnership 
with other international organizations and regional and sub-regional organizations.  At the national 
level, the activities most in demand were multi-topic briefing sessions on many issues under the WTO Agreements or the Doha negotiations, such  as Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), 
Rules, Trade in Services, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. 
1.9.  Subject-specific regional seminars were cond ucted in all regions. Africa and LDCs remained a 
priority in 2012, as in previous years.  Overall, the WTO organized approximately the same volume 
of national and regional/global activities, but the fo rmer tended to gather larger publics for shorter 
durations.  As regional/global activities were comparatively more expensive than national ones, and as face-to-face activities were significantly more expensive than E-Learning ones (trained 40% 
of the participants in 2012 at 4% of the TA costs), a reflection on the most appropriate balance in 
the WTO TA offer between these various components should be conducted. 
1.10.  In 2012, one third of the activities had a general scope (i.e. covered several if not most 
WTO Agreements and subjects), the other two thirds being spread across most other subjects.  
The concentration on general activities was higher for E-Learning courses, as a consequence of the prerequisites imposed to register for many inte rmediate and advanced fa ce-to-face activities. 
1.11.  Around 60% of the TA was provided in En glish, 20% in Spanish and 15% in French.  With 
the continued implementation of the PLS, we star ted to see some balance between the three levels 
of training - introduction, intermediate, advanc ed. The bulk of the TA was provided at an 
intermediate level, in spite of a recent reinforcement of the advanced training offer.  Many 
activities were still without a clear level for a variety of reasons including the fact that it is not 
feasible to allocate a level to all activities e.g.  reference centres, outrea ch and academic support 
related activities. Efforts continued to introduce benchmarks on the substantive content of each 
level, subject by subject where feasible. 
1.4  Performance in 2012 and lessons learned 1.12.  The performance of E-Learning courses was very successful in 2012, with an average 
success rate of 81%.  E-Learning courses on SPS and Trade & Environment have traditionally been 
the most successful amongst them, whilst some others (e.g. Multilateral Trade Agreements, 
Services or MA for Goods) were more challenging for participants.  French language E-Learning courses used to have a lower success rate, but ha d been catching up with English and Spanish 
courses in 2012. With face-to-face TA activities, where there were fewer objective performance 
indicators, it was not easy to measure their immediate results however a pilot on the use of a final exam in two RTPCs confirmed that more objective indicators could also be used in face-to-face 
activities. 
1.13.  The mid-term review of the WTO Chairs  Programme (WCP) showed that this programme 
had been successful in stimulating the academic ac tivity on trade-related issues, but less so in 
monitoring the quality of this production and reaching out business communities or policy makers.  
The current WCP will reach its end in 2013.  A decisi on is needed on the form and substance of the 
future involvement of the WTO with the academic world.  
1.14.  Based on lessons drawn during 2012, the WTO Secretariat will continue to have contingency 
plans to deal with the current human and financial challenges and strive to do more with less; 
benchmark each of the three levels of progressive learning to ensure progressivity in the training 
activities; improve needs assessment to ensure that TA activities are designed to better respond to 
the identified needs, while also promoting quality instead of quantity.  Best practices drawn over 
the year will be extended and applied to those ar eas where there is a need.  Partnerships will 
continue to be strengthened in those areas where there is still need for additional partners to leverage resources, both human and financial. WTO should continue to ensure that effective 
modes of delivery of TA are employed and that the Organization moves from measuring outputs to WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  measuring outcomes in the next three years, with the full participation and support of the 
stakeholders. 
2  INTRODUCTION 2.1.  The Secretariat has recast the report to go beyond a quantitative account of the volume of TA 
provided during the year by presenting the activiti es of the Secretariat in a more analytical way, 
and to avoid repeating the description of the various programmes and activities implemented 
during the year, since these have already been presented to Members as part of the TA Plan.
1  
This new presentation of TA in 2012 will give Members a better understanding of the rationale 
guiding the WTO action in this field during the year. 
2.2.  The WTO is currently developing the tools and methodology to better measure the results 
produced by its TA activities in the beneficiary countries, with a view to give priority to those 
activities that generate the highest returns.  One important element of this equation is the costs of 
each activity.  Whilst information on costs has traditionally been presented to Members as part of the WTO annual financial report, this report also includes for the first time an analysis of the costs 
of the TA activities.  This additional informat ion will provide Members with a more comprehensive 
picture of the TA provided by the WTO in 2012. 
2.3.  The report is divided into two parts of eq ual importance.  The first one presents the main 
evolutions seen in the TA provided in 2012 compar ed to the previous year, and their rationale.  
This required a certain selection amongst the many activities and programmes implemented during the year to focus on the most significant ones.  The following chapter analyses the TA provided 
during the year by region and level of developm ent of the beneficiaries, by subject covered, 
language used and level of training offered.  For 2012, immediate and long-term results are 
analysed in detail in a separate report that evaluates the performance of the delivery of TA (Annual Report on Monitoring and Evaluation of TA in 2012). 
3  MAIN EVOLUTIONS IN 2012 COMPARED TO 2011 
3.1.  During the year under review, a number of changes were introduced in five main domains.  
They were designed to deal with the shrinking level of financial resources for Trade-Related 
Technical Assistance (TRTA), the need to expand  the coverage and scope of intermediate and 
advanced levels of training, and the need to introd uce progressivity in the training on offer. With a 
view to ensuring that the TA delivered by the WTO was better coordinated, a number of partnerships were reviewed or new ones concluded, building on existing synergies and leveraging 
resources.  A mid-term review of the WTO Chairs Programme was undertaken.  These main 
changes are elaborated in more detail below. 
3.1  Tighter management of the TA resources 
3.2.  The TA Plan for 2012 had anticipated a lower level of resources available from donors but did 
not modify the objectives assigned to the WTO in this domain.  Achieving as much with less could only be possible with a tighter management of the resources available. 
                                               
1  See document WT/COMTD/W/180/Rev.1 WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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3.1.1  Reduced resources for TA 
3.3.  In terms of resources, a 25% 
reduction of extra-budgetary funding had been anticipated in the TA Plan for 2012, 
the first such cut since 2002.  It came on 
top of the overall 16% cut in the regular budget for TA implemented between 
2009 and 2012 according to Members' 
decision. 
3.4.  The amount of voluntary 
contributions received by WTO in 2012 
went down for the third consecutive 
year, but only by 20%.  Whilst voluntary contributions had remained on average 
at CHF 22.7 million per year between 
2006 and 2009, they represented only CHF 16.3 million in 2012.
2  This reduction was mainly due 
to two factors: a shrinking pool of donors and an increase of approximately 10% in the Swiss franc 
value vis-à-vis most donors' national currencies since 2010.  In 2012, the Doha Development 
Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) - the main tr ust fund financing the implementation of the TA 
plan - received a contribution from 14 donors co mpared to 19 the previous year.  Whilst most of 
the contributions to this fund remained constant or increased in the national currency in which 
they originated, the funds actually received by WTO went down as a result of the unfavourable 
evolution of the exchange rate against the Swiss franc. 
3.5.  A balance of CHF 14.4 million was carried fo rward from the previous year into 2012, which 
helped implement the TA Plan as approved by Me mbers.  However, one unforeseen difficulty came 
from the unpredictable timing of the payment of  the various contributions in 2012, which reduced 
the capacity of the Secretariat to plan ahead on several activities in due course. 
3.6.  Year 2012 also saw an increase of earmar king for specific programmes or categories of 
beneficiaries on the part of donors.  Whereas the Global Trust Fund had always represented approximately 85% of all voluntary contribution s received by the WTO between 2006 and 2011, its 
share shrank to 74% in 2012.  This resulted from a 20% reduction in the un-earmarked 
contributions received, whilst earmarked contributions were 20% higher than their 2007-11 
average.
3  The increase in earmarking by donors has the potential to influence the kind of TA that 
the WTO will be able to offer to beneficiaries in the future and to add to the administrative burden 
of the Secretariat. Therefore a detailed analysis  of the possible implications of increased soft- 
earmark is relevant so as to provide Members with a clearer picture. 
3.1.2  Stable volume of TA activities at a lower cost 
3.7.  In this context of shrinking 
resources, the Secretariat was particularly careful in its implementation of the TA Plan.  Each activity was thoroughly 
scrutinized before being approved, in 
order to assess its relevance for beneficiary countries and its capacity to 
reach its objectives.  This led to a more 
rigorous internal approval process for activity requests.  For example, no 
activity request was approved in 2012 
without a clear definition of the objectives and a draft programme designed to 
                                               
2  Measured in CHF, this represented only a 10% reduction compared to 2011.  The trust funds taken 
into account here are those under the sole authority of th e WTO which it can use to finance its TRTA activities.  
Trust funds managed by other entities or which financ e other programmes than those of WTO (e.g. STDF or 
Integrated Framework Secretariat) have been excluded. 
3  Earmarked contributions were  75% higher than in 2011. WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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achieve them.  Budgets were examined in greater details to reduce costs.  This led to various 
adjustments, whilst ensuring that the total number of activities organized by the WTO remained stable in 2012. 
3.8.  However, this overall stability hides certain variations.  The volume of national activities was 
reduced by 13%, as a result of a reduced number of  requests received from beneficiary countries.  
The number of regional or global activities orga nized in 2012 was 20% higher than in 2011, but 
identical to 2010.  This reflected the increase in the number of E-Learning courses offered (+35%) 
and the organization of activities on Di spute Settlement and TRIPS in all regions. 
3.9.  The volume of "Other Activities", which had already been reduced by 25% in 2011, was cut 
by another 10% in 2012.  These Other Activities corresponded to various meetings and 
conferences to which the WTO is invited to contribute.  As such, they generally do not constitute 
TA, but frequently lead to partnerships that facilitate the subsequent organization and delivery of 
the WTO TA activities. For example, missions to identify partners for future activities fall in this category (e.g. partners for future RTPCs).  In 2012, CHF 1.2 million was spent on such Other 
Activities , i.e. 7% of the total TA expenses of the WTO, which seems reasonable.  Future savings 
in this domain may still be possible, but can only be limited, as a result of the rationalization already performed thus far. 
3.10.  The revised and new partnerships for the design and implementation of TA activities that 
provided a better balance in the way the workload and costs were shared complemented the WTO Secretariat efforts to do more with less.  This new approach was particularly successful in Asia (e.g. with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), 
the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS)), Latin America (e.g. with the Inter-American 
Development Bank / Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean  (IDB/INTAL)) 
and the Middle East (e.g. with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Middle East Center for 
Economics and Finance).  
3.11.  A number of adjustments were made to the announced TA Plan, as a result of changes of 
priorities, a total of seven regional activities had to be cancelled as. The flexibility built into the TA 
plan allowed the Secretariat to quickly respond to the changing needs of the beneficiaries.  
Furthermore, two seminars on accessions in Africa and Geneva were not held, as certain accession issues are better addressed at national level; and one global workshop on agriculture notification in Spanish was actually replaced with one in French, as fewer francophone countries were up-to-
date with their notification commitments and a greater number of officials had been trained in 
Spanish than in French.  
3.12.  The combination of these various 
factors and a further rationalization of 
the RTPC programme (see below) produced an overall saving of 20% in 
2012 compared to the TA expenses of 
the previous year.  Savings were even higher for the activities financed by voluntary contributions.  As a result of 
the internal measures implemented in 
2012, TA expenses went down faster than voluntary contributions.  The 
cumulated year-end balance in the 
various extra-budgetary funds carried forward in 2013 was consequently 24% 
higher than in the previous year, 
allowing the Secretariat to start 
implementing the TA Plan early in 2013 despite th e absence of sufficient contribution pledges.  
However, as the margin for further savings is now limited, a continuation of the reduction in 
voluntary contributions will have to be met in the future with cuts in the programmes currently 
implemented by WTO. WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  3.2  Expanding the coverage of the inte rmediate and advanced training levels 
3.13.  The adoption by the WTO in 2010 of a Progressive Learning Strategy (PLS) is steadily 
leading to recasting pre-existing TA programmes and to developing new activities in order to instil some progressivity in the WTO training offer.  Furt her to the revision of the E-Learning entry-level 
course on Introduction to WTO in 2011, the interm ediate E-Learning offer was further enriched in 
2012.  Regional Trade Policy Courses (RTPCs) undertook a major transformation to align their content with their intermediate level and reduced duration.  This change was motivated by a need 
to reduce costs in order to free resources so as to offer such a course every year in each of the 
seven WTO regions, a goal which had evaded WTO since the inception of the programme in 2002.  Advanced training courses were developed on a number of new subjects to complement the WTO 
offer.  In addition to the increase in the subjec ts or regions covered by the TA activities, several 
pre-existing activities or programmes undertook major facelifts or reforms in 2012 in order to 
better respond to the needs of Members. 
3.2.1  Complementing the E-Learning offer 
3.14.  The catalogue of E-Learning courses was enriched with four new courses in English: (i) WTO 
and Trade Economics - Theory and Policy; (ii) Trade & Development; (iii) WTO Market Access Databases; and (iv) My Course.  The first three new courses are of an intermediate level, for 
generalists in the case of Trade Economics and for specialists in the case of Development and 
Market Access Databases.  Two courses introduced in 2011 - Introduction to WTO (revised version) and Trade & Environment - were also made available in French and Spanish.  As a result, fourteen E-Learning courses, in principle each in three different linguistic versions,
4 were open for 
registration in 2012.  The total E-Learning offer is presented below: 
Level Generalists Specialists 
Introduction Introduction to WTO (E, F, S)  
Intermediate Multilateral Trade Agreements (E, F, 
S) Agriculture & WTO (E, F, S) 
WTO & Trade Economics - Theory & 
Policy (E) Market Access for Goods and NAMA 
negotiations (E, F, S) 
 SPS Measures (E, F, S) 
 TBT (E, F, S) 
 Trade & Development (E) 
 Trade & Environment (E, F, S) 
 Trade in Services (E, F, S) 
 Trade Remedies (E, F, S) 
 TRIPS (E, F, S) 
 WTO Market Access Databases (E) 
 3.15.  "My Course" is a special animal and does not fit in this grid.  It is an innovative course based on a modular approach.  Interested particip ants can identify their own WTO knowledge gaps 
through a comprehensive test on all WTO areas.  Based on the results and the associated 
recommendation, participants can then select amongst all the E-Learning courses currently available those specific modules which can best help them bridge the identified gaps.  This allows them to build a tailor-made course responding to their personal learning objectives, which may 
combine elements from courses on different subjects (e.g. Agriculture with TRIPS and 
Environment).  As this new course was first offered towards the end of November, only a handful of participants were able to register in 2012.  Th e data available on the use of this self-service 
offer are consequently very limited.  This new course may potentially respond to the needs of 
many government officials in the capital or in Geneva, when they are assigned particular responsibilities in fields where they need to improve their knowledge. 
                                               
4  The French and Spanish version of the four new courses introduced in 2012 is currently under 
development and should be available in 2013. WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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3.2.2  Reforming RTPCs 
3.16.  The reform of RTPCs adopted in 
2012 generated a total saving of CHF 1.9 million compared to what five 
RTPCs would have cost in 2011.
5  In the 
past, each RTPC used to cost approximately CHF 0.9 million, to which 
was added CHF 140,000 on average for 
the organization of a preparatory workshop in Geneva with the various academics from the region who were to 
be involved in the delivery of the course.  
As a result, the RTPC programme consumed 25% of the total TA resources 
between 2002 and 2010.  In 2011, a 
first rationalization brought costs down 
to CHF 650,000 per RTPC, plus CHF 100,000 for the preparatory workshop.  By comparison, in 
2012 the five RTPCs had an average cost of CH F 420,000 each and represented only 11% of the 
total expenses for TA in that year.  Preparatory workshops were discontinued, as most partnerships had already been tried and tested before,
6 which produced an additional saving of 
CHF 0.5 million.  The RTPC for th e Middle East region was organized in partnership with the IMF 
Middle East Center for Economics and Finance in Kuwait, which financed all costs related to 
participants and provided the training facilities .  This saved the WTO another CHF 0.3 million. 
3.17.  To accommodate those regions that had no  RTPC, the duration of the RTPCs was reduced 
from twelve down to eight weeks.  The programme of the courses had to be adjusted accordingly: 
certain modules were shortened and others were el iminated (e.g. trade negotiation simulation).  
The objectives of RTPCs remained unchanged: to deepen participants' understanding of the WTO 
through a substantial coverage of the WTO agreements; to provide an introduction to the Doha 
Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations; to focus on regional developments and challenges through an analysis of trade policy from a regional perspective. 
3.18.  Whilst this major reform of RTPCs produced positive results overall (i.e. significant savings 
without any measurable loss of quality in the training provided to participants and in the 
achievement of the objectives of the courses), it is impossible to assess whether it made the structure of the overall training offered by WTO mo re progressive, in the absence of a definition of 
the content - subject by subject - of each of the three PLS levels. 
3.19.  The savings generated by the new approach allowed the WTO to introduce an RTPC to two 
new regions in 2012: the Middle East and, Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asian and Caucasus 
countries (CEECAC).  Only short trade policy courses of four to five-week duration had been 
organized in these regions in 2010 and 2011.  Howeve r, no RTPC took place in the Caribbean in 
2012 due to the insufficient number of applications received. 
3.20.  The selection process for a new RTPC university partner for French-speaking Africa was 
completed in 2012 and the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Tunis, Université de La Manouba 
was identified as the new partner.  The first RTPC under the new partnership will take place in 2013.  Two RTPC partnerships came to an end in  2012:  the partnership with the University of 
Swaziland for English-speaking Africa; and that with the Sergio Arboleda University in Colombia for 
the Latin America region.  Selection processes to identify new partners for both regions will take place in 2013. 
3.21.  Further to a first pilot conducted in 2011 in a short TPC, a final exam was used to test 
participants' knowledge at the end of the RTPCs held  in the CEECAC and Middle East regions.  The 
results of the exam accounted for 70% of participants' final result, with the remaining 30% assessing their level of engagement in the course, group work and exercises.  Interestingly, there 
was no real surprise with the final results, which confirmed the organizers' impressions about each 
                                               
5  Compared to the approach used until 2010, the saving was even greater (CHF 3.4 million). 
6  In the CEECAC and Middle East regions, shor t Trade Policy Courses (TPCs) had already been 
organized with the contribution of academics from these regions since 2009. WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  participant.  Participants who scored 90 and above out of 100 received a certificate of distinction, 
those with a score between 60 and 90 a certificate of success, and those below 60 a certificate of attendance.  Several lessons were learnt by the organizers, which will be taken into account for 
future exams.  In a context where the Secretariat is implementing RBM for its TA activities (see 
below), such exams will help measure more objectively the results achieved in the training courses 
in terms of knowledge and skills transfer. 
3.2.3  Enriching the advanced-level training offer 
3.22.  The offer of advanced level training in Geneva was significantly enriched in 2012, with the 
organization of the first ever advanced cour ses on the following three subjects: trade and 
environment, regional trade agreements and the spec ial interests & priorities of LDCs.  Like other 
advanced courses, the new courses were designed  for experienced participants who had already 
followed previous WTO training on the subject, on-site or on-line.  A substantial investment was 
required from the trainers to develop coherent programmes and appropriate training tools corresponding to the more advanced level of these courses (for example: new exercises, new 
simulation, panel discussions, etc.). 
3.23.  All three courses aimed at strengthening participants' ability to engage more actively in the 
work of the relevant committees, including the on-going negotiations.  The course on Trade and 
Environment addressed the application of relevant WTO rules to environmental policy measures 
and issues related to the green economy and protectionism.  The main objective was to consolidate knowledge on these issues and facilita te participation in the work of the Committee on 
Trade & Environment.  The course included contributions from experts from international and non-
governmental organizations, and sessions in which participants shared their national experiences.  
To give more time to these exchanges, which re presented the richest part of the course, future 
editions will probably have to focu s on a more limited number of issues. 
3.24.  The course on RTAs focused on the implemen tation of the WTO rules, procedures relating to 
RTAs, their relation with the MTS, and the import ance of notifications and transparency in the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) process. 
3.25.  A new programme was developed for the Ad vanced Course on Dispute Settlement.  It 
benefited from a tripartite pooling of resource s between the WTO, the Advisory Centre for WTO 
Law and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development.  The revised course offered to participants a broader perspective on Dispute Settlement based on the views of different 
stakeholders.  It focused on strengthening legal capacity in developing countries through South-
South dialogue and experience-sharing.  The ne w programme was offered first in Geneva, and 
then in Asia. 
3.26.  For the first time, an advanced SPS workshop was organized regionally, for English-
speaking Africa.  It followed-up on the worksh op held in 2011 in Kenya and targeted the same 
participants.  Twenty-two of the 26 funded partic ipants were returning participants from the 2011 
workshop.  The activity used more advanced exercises focusing on dispute cases and had an in-
depth focus on specific issues of interest to the region.  This was also the first time a follow-up SPS workshop was organized at a regional level.  This approach proved useful in assessing if and how returning participants had carried out their plan to transmit the knowledge gained during the 2011 
workshop to their relevant departments/ministries .  As part of the 2011 workshop, participants 
had been asked to agree on a set of actions (by country) on how to follow-up the training, s p e c i f i c a l l y  f o c u s i n g  o n  a c t i v i t i e s  t h a t  c o u l d  b e  u nd e r t a k e n  f r om  a  n a t i o n a l  p e r s p e c t i v e .   I n  t h e  
2012 workshop, participants reported on their experi ences in undertaking these identified actions.  
Even if the results which were achieved were more  limited than in the advanced courses held in 
Geneva, they were highly encouraging, given the limited means employed.
7  The intention is to 
repeat such regional follow-ups in the future ta king into account the lessons learned this time. 
                                               
7  The workshop in Ethiopia had a four-day duration , when advanced courses in Geneva last two weeks 
(+ one week to attend the SPS Committee meeting).  The focus in Geneva is heavily on the action plan of participants who are followed by coaches and have to re port regularly on implementa tion progress in order to 
be invited to the follow-up activity.  None of this was available yet in the region.  As a result, it is only logical 
that action plans were less ambitious and their implementation rate lower in the region (approximately 50% instead of above 80% in Geneva). WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 12 - 
 
  
3.27.  The follow-up approach encouraged approximately half of the participants to pursue 
additional actions to actively disseminate and use the knowledge gained, as well as to support the further implementation of the SPS Agreement in th eir countries.  This follow-up approach provided 
a means by which to further assess and evaluate the impact of the workshop on participants' 
knowledge as well as on the level of SPS implementation in their respective countries, as required 
by RBM. 
3.2.4  A more rigorous selection of participants 
3.28.  In the absence of clear benchmarks on the substantive content of the activities at each of 
the three PLS levels established by WTO in 2010, progressivity was mainly achieved through the imposition of prerequisites to participate in intermediate and advanced level activities.  Based on the experience gained in 2011, which had been th e first year in which these prerequisites were 
imposed, the practice of the Secretariat became more systematic in 2012.  Relevant experience 
was always taken into account and accepted as equivalent to WTO training on the subject.  The more rigorous selection of the participants to regi ster in the higher-level activities led to more 
homogenous groups of participants, making it easier to deliver the intended programme at the 
planned level. 
3.29.  Following the successful experimentation in the area of SPS, participants invited to the 
advanced course on Trade & Environment and to the various regional courses on Technical Barriers 
to Trade (TBT) were requested to complete an e ssay/questionnaire related to the subjects that 
would be covered during the activity.  This allowed the organizers to better target the audience, as responses were used as an additional selection criterion.  Candidates who failed to complete the 
questionnaire were automatically excluded from the selection process.  The responses to these 
questionnaires were also used to shape certain parts of the programme of the activities, such as discussions to share experiences or presentations by  participants on their national experiences. 
3.3  Making WTO courses more interactive 
3.30.  It has been a constant 
recommendation in the past to use more 
interactive training methods when 
delivering TA activities at all the three levels of PLS. Interactivity is a well-established rule in the field of adult 
training and teaching methods to 
stimulate learning. Data on the various training methods used in the TA activities 
are collected since the end of 2009 only.  
No real trend can be detected yet on such a short time series. 
3.31.  Lectures remain the predominant 
m e d i u m  u s e d  t o  d e l i v e r  T A  a c t i v i t i e s ;  they represented on average half of the training time and were used in almost all 
the activities for which data were available in 2012.  However, the average hides significant 
differences between certain types of activities.  For example, 30% of national activities remain 
almost entirely based on lectures (a much higher proportion than in 2011), whereas at the other 
end of the spectrum, training courses on Trade Negotiating Skills are almost entirely based on 
case studies and the simulation of a trade negoti ation.  Advanced thematic courses and workshops 
on agriculture notifications organized in Geneva (s ee below) also tended to  be more interactive. 
3.32.  The rest of the training time remained shared on average almost equally between Questions 
& Answers (Q&A) and exercises (14.5% each).  The use of exercises increased since 2010, 
whereas the time dedicated to Q&A decreased in the same proportions.  However, this should be interpreted carefully, since experience has shown that it can be difficult to distinguish inside a 
lecture the time dedicated to the questions of the participants.  The occurrence of case studies or 
simulations was less frequent in 2012, as only 42% of the activities instead of 51% in 2011 used this training method.  However, in the activities in which it was used, the proportion of the time WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 13 - 
 
  dedicated to case studies remained stable.  On the other hand and even if they represent only 8% 
of the total training time on average, the use of other methods, such as group work or group 
discussions, increased by a third in 2012, a clear si gn that efforts were made to diversify the way 
training is delivered to participants. 
3.33.  Although a number of initiatives were ta ken during the year in order to make the TA 
activities more interactive, they cannot all be listed here.  The report limits itself to the most significant ones, either in terms of magnitude or in terms of change compared to past practice. 
3.3.1  Advanced thematic courses 
3.34.  The new advanced courses organized in Geneva on Trade & Environment, RTAs and LDCs' 
special interests & priorities all included a significantly higher interactive content compared to the average in other activities.  The overall share of  pure lectures was reduced down to between 30 
and 40% of the total time, to make room for innovative training methods such as group work and 
discussions on topical subjects, presentations by  the participants themselves, panel discussions 
with the involvement of outside experts, etc.  These courses relied heavily on participants' own 
experience in their domain of practice to enrich their content and give them a more practical twist. 
3.35.  The content of the programme of the second Advanced Thematic Course on Agriculture held 
in Geneva was modified to allow more time for interaction with the participants on some of the 
technical aspects of the Agreement, including mark et price support, tariff rate quotas and export 
credits.  Each of these issues was related to current discussions in the negotiations.  This change of focus responded better to Members' current preoccu pations.  Adding a closer look at disputes in 
the field of agricultural trade will also be considered  for future editions of th is course.  On the other 
hand, an attempt to expose participants to current discussions in the area of agricultural trade 
outside of the work of the Committee on Agriculture was not considered useful and will be discontinued in the future.  Due to scheduling conf licts with the notifications workshops and other 
demands on the Secretariat's time, the course could not be held back-to-back with a meeting of 
the Committee on Agriculture. 
3.3.2  Activities on Market Access for Goods 
3.36.  The programme and content of the various activities on Market Access for Goods, and in 
particular of regional ones, was largely recast in 2012 after a successful pilot at the end of the previous year.  The objective of the change has been to give participants a more comprehensive picture of the various WTO provisions affecting tr ade in goods.  The new approach relied heavily 
on highly interactive training methods.  Half a day was dedicated to a visit to a local customs office 
to follow a real-life transaction, such as the cl earance of a container, and see the WTO provisions 
which applied at every step, the difficulties that  arose and exchange views on how to deal with 
them.  This might also show the relevance of other WTO Agreements, such as SPS, TBT or TRIPS, 
and of the work on Trade Facilitation and its potential impact on the situation.  A case study about an export transaction concerning mobile telephones was used as a thread during the course to 
progressively take participants through the steps that had to be completed and the provisions of 
the WTO Agreements which should be taken into account.  Participants are asked to use the various tools and databases (e.g. lists of tariff concessions) available in the WTO and to consider how to apply the Agreements on Import Licensing Procedures, Customs Valuation and Rules of 
Origin to the transaction.  The training concluded with another case study (e.g. export transaction 
about clothing or about toys) which participants had to complete in groups, on their own, before presenting their analysis and answers to the rest of the group. 
3.37.  The development of this new programme and of the case studies (definition of the various 
parameters of the transaction, drafting of mock legislations, etc.) required a significant investment in terms of time and energy.  The results obtained show that this was well worth it, however.  The 
new approach is more demanding for trainers who need a broader and detailed knowledge of the 
matter, but participants have reacted enthusiastically to the new programme and learnt much more out of it.  In addition, the final practical case provided trainers with an objective measure of how much participants have learnt by the end of the activity, as required by RBM. 
3.38.  A related change was that some of these activities, in particular national ones, were 
implemented with the support of a regional expe rt of the World Customs Organization, who could WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  draw participants' attention to practical difficulties affecting the implementation of the WTO 
provisions and broaden the discussion to cover additi onal issues of interest.  The fact that these 
experts could discuss with participants real li fe examples from their own experience and 
knowledge was always highly appreciated.  They made an invaluable contribution to the success of 
the activities. 
3.3.3  E-Learning 3.39.  In the domain of E-Learning, two existing courses on Trade & Environment and Trade 
Remedies were revised entirely to update their content and adjust their pedagogy.  In other 
courses, new multimedia components on specific trade-related issues (e.g. short videos or interviews of experts) were added to compleme nt the course material already available and 
enhance its pedagogical impact.
8  The number of chat sessions with WTO experts offered to 
participants was doubled compared to 2011 (33 chat sessions in 2012, i.e. almost three per month 
on average).  They covered a wide range of WTO subjects and were often organized in the three 
languages, a further enhancement compared to the pr evious year.  This made it possible to offer a 
chat on certain subjects more than once during the course of the year.  But in spite of this 
improved offer, chats kept registering significantly more questions than those that could materially be answered in the time available, a clear sign of  the interest of participants.  Furthermore, the 
Forum Lounge was changed to the News Forum in October 2011.  In addition to the discussion 
topic offered once a month by the Forum Lounge, the News Forum aims at also offering news on the WTO and trade issues weekly.  More than 30 trade-related topics were posted in the three languages on the News Forum for information and discussion amongst participants.  The feedback 
received from participants through the evaluati on forms shows that these improvements have 
been highly appreciated. 
3.3.4  Other areas 
3.40.  The TA plan had foreseen two-day workshop s on Agriculture Notifications.  In 2012, the 
workshops were expanded to four days to make room for more interactivity.  The traditional programme on notification requirements and th e Agreement on Agriculture was complemented 
with one day to attend the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) and one day with practical application 
of the notification training from the previous three days.  The day at the CoA gave participants the opportunity to observe the review of notifications by Members.  The notification clinic provided 
officials with the opportunity to develop actual notification submissions based on their specific 
circumstances.  This took into account the evol ution of the needs of officials in charge of 
agricultural notifications: the exercises focussed less on classification of measures according to notification requirements and more on the subs tantive analysis of the measures themselves. 
3.41.  The workshops also included a discussion with the agriculture Geneva-based Attachés on 
ways to enhance TA and participation in the notification review process.  Suggestions were made to extend further the duration of the workshops to a full week to give more time for exercises, in 
particular in the area of domestic support and for the analysis of other Memb ers' notifications.  The 
limited coordination between national institutions in charge of agricultural notifications was identified as an important bottleneck worth addressing in the future. 
3.42.  An attempt was made in the regional workshops on TBT to involve more directly the 
participants in their delivery.  They were asked to prepare in advance an oral presentation and 
share their national views on a specific topic co vered by the programme of the activity.  Round-
tables and debates were also added to engage participants into the discussions.  These new 
initiatives have been fairly successful in stimulating exchanges between the participants, hence 
improving the quality of the outcomes from the activities.  Such cross-fertilization between participants will be continued in the future. 
                                               
8  Videos on the following subjec ts have been recorded, edited and uploaded over the past year: 
General Exceptions, Main WTO features, MFN, National Treatment, GATS, SPS, TBT, Trade and Environment, 
Notifications, RTAs, AfT, Ac cessions, S&D Treatment, Rules of Origin and Technical Assistance to complement 
the courses in English;  GATS, MFN, Technical Assistance and trade facilitation in Spanish.  In French, the 
following videos have been recorded but not yet edited  and uploaded: SPS/TBT, technical regulations.  Seven 
additional videos were shot, edited and uploaded fo r the revised version of the Trade Remedies course. WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 15 - 
 
  3.43.  In 2012, in response to the feedback fr om participants, the modules on Trade Economics, 
Trade Theory and Growth & Development which are included in many WTO activities (e.g. Advanced Trade Policy Course (ATPCs), RTPCs, et c.) or are occasionally offered as stand-alone 
courses, were made more interactive.  A larger number of exercises were included to make their 
content more accessible to non-economists.  An extra day was added to the module in some of 
these courses to make room for the exercises and give time for more discussion with the participants on topical issues, such as those covered in recent World Trade Reports (e.g. 
Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), contingency measures). 
3.4  Introduction of Results-Based Management 3.44.  Further to the decision to start implementing RBM for TA activities in 2012, the Technical 
Cooperation Audit unit (TCA) was subsumed into the Institute for Training and Technical 
Cooperation (ITTC) on 1 March 2012 and became the Technical Assistance Monitoring & Evaluation 
unit (TAME).  Its main responsibility in 2012 was the design and introduction of RBM. 
3.45.  The pre-existing evaluation system incl u d e d  s o m e  o f  t h e  m a i n  c o m p o n e n t s  o f  a n  R B M  
system.  With the support of an outside specialist, it was reviewed to fill any remaining gap and an 
RBM Monitoring & Evaluation toolkit was developed.  The system will remain largely based on self-
evaluation of the immediate results of activities by the trainers themselves in 2013, for obvious 
reasons of cost efficiency and operationalization of the system.  However, future self-evaluations 
will need to be based on more objective performanc e indicators identified prior to each activity.  l 
The success of implementation of the RBM M&E syst em is dependent upon the active involvement 
of all the stakeholders (beneficiari es, donors and the Secretariat.  
3.46.  The 2012 review focused on the logical fr amework on which the RBM system is based and 
on the planning of the activities during the year.  The measurement of the resources dedicated to each activity now implemented by the Secretariat should also provide a more precise picture of the 
inputs used and help make a link between reso urces employed and results achieved. A separate 
report on the evaluation of TRTA delivery was prepared by TAME. 
3.5  Changes in the Academic Programme 
3.47.  The academic programme was one of the very  few to see the total volume of its activities 
grow in 2012 (+ 20%).  This resulted to a large extend from the conduct of the mid-term review of the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP), which was th e main activity of the year in this area. 
3.48.  Improvements introduced to the WCP in 201 2 included: the development of a new restricted 
website for WCP stakeholders, with features aiming at stimulating interaction amongst partners 
and sharing outputs (e.g. uploading research papers or information on future events); the opening of WTO E-Learning courses to Chair holders; and the launch of a new WTO series to publish 
research work undertaken by the Chairs. 
3.49.  As a result of the mid-term review, several changes were also introduced in the 
management of the WCP.  It was felt that clearer guidance was necessary, in particular on how 
Chairs reported to WTO on their outputs.  Several reports did not include proper quantitative 
results or enough details on their research prod uction, how and where it had been published, the 
size and origin of the audience in conferences, sy mposia or other events, etc.  The development of 
a monitoring and evaluation system adapted to th e WCP was initiated to give to the Secretariat a 
better control over the programme. 
3.6  Review of partnerships for TRTA delivery  3.50.  The WTO Secretariat re-affirmed its commitment to delivering technical assistance with 
regional partner institutions. The regional approach to addressing capacity constraints 
complements the work and initiatives undertaken by bilateral donors as well as other agencies offering TRTA. Coordination of technical assistance has been enhanced within the Secretariat 
leading to the review of the practical guide for WTO technical Assistance and training, a reference 
document used by staff for managing TRTA.  WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 16 - 
 
  3.51.  In addition, existing partnerships for the design and implementation of TA activities were 
revised and new ones explored so as to find a better balance in the way the workload and costs are shared between the WTO and its partners.  The success of this varied from region to region and from activity to activity. 
3.52.  Value-adding or enhancing partnerships are to be favoured in the future, so as to promote 
situations whereby the partner contributes to an activity, either in terms of substance or financially.  This new approach was particularly successful in the Asia-Pacific (e.g. with UNESCAP, 
PIFS), Latin America (e.g. with IDB/INTAL), Middle East (e.g. with IMF Middle East Center for 
Economics and Finance) and Africa (TradeMark Southern Africa).  Partnerships were also pursued in specific areas such as for dispute settlement re lated training. They involved the Advisory Centre 
on WTO Law (ACWL) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) 
and will be replicated where feasible. These partnerships contributed to enabling the 
implementation of slightly a higher number of acti vities compared to 2011 but at a lower cost to 
the WTO. 
4  IMPLEMENTATION OF TA PLAN AND MAIN FEATURES OF THE TA PROVIDED IN 2012 
4.1.  This chapter provides overview of the acti vities implemented and analyses the TA provided 
by WTO in 2012 according to various criteria, such as  their distribution by region, by subject, by 
language or by PLS level.  In each case, a distinction will be made between national, regional, 
global or E-Learning activities to give a better grasp of the reach of these activities.  Information on the number of participants in, and durati on of, each activity have been added.  
4.2.   No number of days of training could be assessed for the E-Learning activities.  On-line 
courses are available throughout the year on a permanent basis.  Participants must complete the 
training within three months of their start of a course, but the actual number of hours or days they use to do so is not known to the Secretariat. 
4.3.  Finally, information on the expenses related to the TA activities has also been added, in order 
to put the analysis into perspective.  Whilst confirming the very high efficiency of E-Learning, this information also gives a better understanding of the relative costs of the various programmes run 
by the Secretariat and of the financial equilibrium between them.  At a time when the WTO is 
facing financial pressure on its TA budgets, this information could be useful to Members when considering the TA Plan for 2014-15. 
4.4.  In 2012, the WTO undertook 343 technical assistance activities, both in Geneva and in 
various WTO member countries.  The majority of these activities were organized in partnership 
with other international organizations and regional and sub-regional organizations.  Subject-specific regional seminars were conducted in all regions. These continued, as in recent years, 
within the framework of a strengthened role for IT TC regional desks. This approach reinforces the 
secretariat’s interaction with beneficiaries and regional partners, and enhances the WTO’s coordinating role in the field of trade capacity building. 
4.5.  The technical assistance programme conti nued to place particular emphasis on providing 
assistance to Africa and to LDCs, whose integration into the multilateral trading system remains a priority for the WTO.  
4.1  Participation of least-developed countries (LDCs) 
4.6.  Facilitating a fuller integration of LDCs into  the MTS continued to be one of the main priorities 
of the TA provided by WTO, in line with the Doha Declaration.  LDCs were invited to 52% of the activities organized in 2012, a progression of five percentage points compared to 2011.  Two thirds 
of LDCs are in Africa.  The statistics show that two thirds of the national activities in this region 
were held in LDCs.  LDCs were also invited to two thirds of the regional activities (77% of the regional activities held in Africa) and three quarters of the global activities, some of which were 
specifically designed for them (the three-week introduction course for LDCs and the first advanced 
thematic course for LD Cs held in Geneva). 
4.7.  As in previous years, LDCs were given priority in several WTO programmes, such as long-
term internships and the Reference Centre programm e.  Two of four interns selected under China's WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 17 - 
 
  
LDC and Accession internship programme came from LDCs (one of them was from an African 
acceding country), as did six out of 16 Mission interns, three out of seven Regional Coordinator interns (Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), PIF and ACP) and ten out of 16 Netherlands trainees.  Overall, this means that half of the long-term interns invited to spend up to 
ten months in Geneva to work on WTO issues, either in a mission or in the Secretariat, came from 
an LDC in 2012.  Even if this is a lower proportion than in 2011 (80%), this shows a clear preference for LDCs candidates in the selection process for these programmes.  More than half of 
the LDC interns came from Africa and a quarter from an acceding or very recently acceded 
country. 
4.8.  As indicated in the TA plan 2012-
2013 and in the new strategy adopted 
for the Reference Centre programme, 
during the biennium, the programme would be of particular benefit to the 
LDCs, Sub-Saharan African countries and 
non-resident countries.  In 2012, four of Reference Centres installed or upgraded 
(out of a total of nine) were in Sub-
Saharan LDCs.
9 
4.9.  The participation of LDCs in  
E-Learning courses continued to increase 
in 2012.  Participants originating from these countries represented a quarter of those who 
completed a course, in slight progression compared to previous years.  Given the challenges frequently faced by LDCs in terms of internet connection, this evolution is highly satisfactory. 
                                               
9  Four Reference Centres were in Latin America and one in a non-LDC Sub-Saharan African country. WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 18 - 
 
  
 
4.2  Geographical distribution 
4.10.  The activities with a global geographical reach that were organized in Geneva represented 
just over a quarter of the 343 activities implem ented in 2012, but accounted for only 14% of the 
participants in face-to-face activities and two thirds of the number of days of training delivered by 
the Secretariat.  In other words, these activities tended to benefit a reduced pool of individuals 
who stayed extended periods of time in the WTO.  These figures are very much influenced by the 
long-term internships under the Mission Internship, Regional Coordinator Internship, Netherlands 
Trainee and China's LDC and Accessi on Internship programmes.  On average, interns benefiting 
from these programmes stayed ten months in missions or in the Secretariat (i.e. approximately 220 working days each).  These internship progra mmes are relatively expensive (CHF 1.8 million 
in total for the four internship programmes), as interns need to earn a living during their stay in 
Geneva, reason why the activities held in Geneva represented 45% of the expenses of the year.  On the other hand, the ex-post evaluation conduc ted in 2009 found that long-term internships in 
the missions were one of the two most useful programmes offered by WTO according to 
beneficiaries, the other one being the three-month trade policy courses held in Geneva. 
4.11.  To avoid distorting the analysis for other face-to-face activities and repeating each time the 
same explanation, the data and graphs presented in the rest of this chapter will exclude these 
long-term internships. 
4.12.  Once internship programmes are set aside, other activities organized in Geneva are 
comparatively not more expensive than those held in the regions.  In 2012, on the basis of a 
representative sample of activities of similar du ration and size it had organized and financed, the 
Secretariat made the following assessment of the average daily cost per participant: 
Average Daily Cost pe r Participant (CHF) 
Africa Asia-Pacific Caribbean Latin America Middle East Geneva 
1,348 1,110 1,151 1,383 1,553 1,070   National   Regional   Global   E-Learning 
 WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 19 - 
 
  
 
4.13.  Given the numerous synergies available in Geneva for the participants, in particular as far as contacts with delegations, WTO staff members, WTO bodies and other international organizations, and the logistical advantages this location offers to the Secretariat, there is clear 
merit in continuing to organize activities here. 
4.14.  Outside of Geneva, Africa remains the first destination of WTO face-to-face TA, followed by 
Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Central & Eastern Europe.  The balance remains approximately the 
same for the number of activities, participants or days and for expenses.  This is in line with the 
stated priorities in the TA Plan for 2012. 
4.15.  The geographical distribution of 
the participants in E-Learning courses 
continued to be comprehensive and to 
cover all regions.  Africa was over-represented amongst participants, in 
progression of four percentage points 
compared to the previous year, a clear sign that the continent is progressively 
overcoming its technological challenge.  
Participants from Latin America were also well represented.  On the other hand, participants from Asia were under-
represented, given the importance of 
this region in the world population and economy. 
4.3  Product mix 
4.16.  In 2012, the proportion between 
national and regional activities was the 
same between regions: two thirds of the 
activities were national and one third regional ones; but national activities gathered three quarters of the 
participants and represented only half of 
the days of training.  This confirms that if governments did not miss the 
opportunity to gather a rather large pool 
of interested parties in national activities, their average duration tended 
to be shorter than the duration of 
regional ones.  On average, national activities gathered 38 participants in 2012, i.e. 25% more than the average 
regional activity. 
4.17.  The past recommendations of TCA 
to limit the number of participants to 30 
persons in order to make it easier to use 
more interactive training methods and to increase the duration of activities up to 
five days (full working-week) in order to 
maximize the opportunity they represent for participants, dig deeper into the substance and have enough time to 
exercise the new knowledge acquired, 
are obviously much more difficult to implement for national activities.  The 
inadequate duration of WTO activities is WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 20 - 
 
  
the complaint most frequently voiced by the participants themselves. 
4.18.  Cost-wise, regional activities represented more than two thirds of the expenses across all 
regions in 2012.  This confirms the relative high cost of regional activities compared to national 
ones.  At the other end of the spectrum, 40% of a ll participants followed E-Learning activities for 
less than 4% of the total TA costs of the year, which demonstrates the very high efficiency of this 
mode of training.  This should be born in mind  for the preparation of the TA Plan 2014-15, given 
the current pressure on WTO TA budgets. 
4.19.  Interestingly, in 2012 many countries kept requesting national activities on certain subjects 
already covered by a regional activity to which they had been invited to participate during the 
year.  The reasons behind this apparent duplic ation have not been explored systematically, 
though.  What is clear is that the depth and cont ent of regional and national activities is quite 
different.  Exchanges of experience can be richer at regional level thanks to the diversity of 
national contexts and approaches to a similar problem, and thanks to the contribution of experts from other institutions with which WTO can partner when organizing such activities.  On the other 
hand, countries can register only a limited number of participants to regional activities and may be 
prevented from addressing very specific question s related to their particular national context. 
4.4  Distribution by subject 
4.20.  Excluding the long-term internship programmes (see above), on average, 35% of the TA 
activities organized during the year had a general scope and covered, if not all WTO subjects, at   National   Regional   Global   E-Learning 
 WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
- 21 - 
 
  least a number of them.  The proportion of activiti es with a general scope was higher for regional 
and global activities (42%), and lower for E-Learning and national activities (30% or below).  Activities with a general scope included, for example, all the Trade Policy Courses, irrespective of their duration or location (e.g. 2 ATPCs, 5 RTPCs, 1 introduction course for LDCs, etc.); training on 
trade negotiating skills (5 activities); the inst allation or upgrade of Reference Centres (9 
activities); outreach activities for members of Parliament and civil society (5 activities); Trade and Development (2 activities); two TPR-related activities; two Geneva Weeks for non-residents; etc. 
4.21.  When measured in terms of participants, th e importance of activities with a general scope 
was even greater.  They gathered 38% of particip ants on average.  However, almost 50% of those 
trained on-line followed an E-Learning course wi th a general scope.  On the other hand, those who 
participated in national activities with a general scope represented only 28% of all participants in 
national activities. 
4.22.  The number of days of general training offe red represented 35% of the total training days.  
However, the training days coveri ng a general scope represented 68% of the total days of training 
offered at regional activities, but only 7% of the to tal days of training offered in global activities. 
4.23.  Cost-wise, half of the TA expenses were dedicated to the activities with a general scope.  
Amongst the expenses dedicated to global activities held in Geneva, 58% were for these general 
activities.  However, expenses incurred for activities with a general scope represented only 35% of 
the total expenses for national activities and 30% of the total expenses for E-Learning. 
4.24.  Three of the long-term internship progra mmes had a general coverage (Mission Internship, 
Regional Coordinator Internship and the Netherla nds Trainee programmes), whilst the last one is 
focused on LDCs and Accessions.  In 2012, these programmes represented 634 days of general 
training and 351 days of training on accessions for a total of 41 interns.  CHF 1.8 million was spent 
on the general internship programmes and CHF 51,000 on the accession internships. 
4.25.  In the area of Dispute Settlement, the high number of days came from the offer under 
Article 27.2 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) of the services of two consultants throughout the year, at a relatively modest overall cost.  This represented the equivalent of 96 
days of TA for those countries wh ich benefited from this service. 
4.26.  Other face-to-face activities with a general scope include ATPCs, RTPCs and Introduction 
Courses for LDCs, which are highly valued by beneficiary countries.  These activities gather proportionately smaller numbers of participants for relatively long periods of time (between three 
weeks and three months), on a regional or global basi s.  The overall cost of these activities is also 
significant. 
4.27.  The rest of the TA activities were spread over the different subjects related to the work of 
the WTO.  SPS and Services were the subjects on which the highest number of activities were 
organized, whilst Trade & Environment was at the opposite end of the spectrum.  This balance by 
subject is mainly the result of a high level of demand for national activities on SPS and Services, 
which shows that the TA provided in 2012 was ad justed to the needs expressed by Members.  
There has been an increasing recognition by Members that SPS measures can act as trade barriers for potential exporters of agricultural products.  Given the importance of such exports for many developing countries, their need to train government officials on this subject is more 
acknowledged.  A number of these requests actually originated from former participants in the 
advanced SPS courses in Geneva, who became a catalyst for change in their country.  Their requests were more targeted (strengthening of notification authority, regionalization issues, 
preparation of a specific regulation, etc.). 
4.28.  The analysis by number of participants and days of training gives a very similar picture.  
The only noticeable difference is in the area of co sts, since the global activities organized on SPS, 
Trade Facilitation and TRIPS had a proportionately higher cost.  This is mainly due to the higher 
costs of organizing advanced activities in these three domains, which frequently require the involvement of outside experts. 
4.29.  In the domain of E-Learning, the introduction course was by far the most popular: it 
attracted 1,500 participants (i.e. a third of the part icipants in E-Learning activities) in 2012.  Since WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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completing this course is now a prerequisite to participate in most intermediate activities, its 
popularity seems only logical.  SPS came next with just over 500 participants, followed by the 
course on the Multilateral Trade Agreements (over 400 - one of the possible prerequisites to register in an ATPC), Services and Trade & Environment. 
4.5  Language mix 
4.30.  The breakdown by language of the TA ac tivities organized in 2012 is without surprise.  
Excluding long-term internships (see above), which are multi-language programmes, the face-to-
face activities held in English represented approximately 60% of the total, whether measured in terms of number of activities, number of participants, number of days of training or expenses.  
That proportion was approximately 20% and 15% fo r the number of activities and participants in 
Spanish and French trainings respectively.  These activities represented approximately 15% of the training days and expenses of the year. 
4.31.  The balance (approximately 5% of the activities and participants) came from activities held 
in more than one language (frequently in all three WTO languages), with the assistance of 
interpretation.  These latter activities were proporti onately more expensive, in spite of the fact that 
interpretation for global events held in Geneva was generally not charged to their budget (covered 
by the WTO regular budget).  This was due to a handful of expensive activities or programmes 
held in Africa (Symposium on Trade Facilitation) or in Geneva (WTO Chairs Programme, Geneva Weeks for non-residents).  The importance of the number of days dedicated to such activities is 
mainly the consequence of the 96 days of assistance provided under Article 27.2 of the DSU. 
4.32.  For E-Learning courses, the balance was approximately the same: 60% of participants 
followed course in English, the rest of them being split equally between French and Spanish.   National   Regional   Global   E-Learning 
 WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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4.6  Progressivity of training 
4.33.  As a result of the strategy adopted in 2010, efforts to introduce progressivity in the training 
courses concentrated so far on regional, global and E-Learning activities.  With the continued 
implementation of the PLS, some balance between the three levels of training started to emerge. 
The bulk of the TA was however provided at intermediate level despite a recent reinforcement of 
the advanced training offer. This could be due to th e fact that additional work is still required to 
establish clear benchmarks by subject on the subs tantial content of each of the three levels.   
4.34.  Excluding long-term internships (see above), which are considered to be advanced activities 
for generalists, 15% of the other activities in 2012 could not be given a specified level, 
representing only 9% of the participants and training days (19% and 16% for national activities).  However, as the raison d'être  of national activities is to respond as fully as possible to the needs of 
the requesting country, the absence of a precise level was not considered a major limitation for 
the moment.  Global activities without a level were marginal.  This was mainly due to the fact that 
no precise level could be ascribed to most activities under the academic programme, and in particular to the WTO Chairs Programme and the Reference centres. 
4.35.  As noted earlier, time and energy was invested in 2012 in the development of advanced 
face-to-face courses on several subjects (Dis pute Settlement, Trade & Environment, RTAs, 
Interests & Priorities of LDCs).  This increase of  the offer of advanced specialized training courses 
in Geneva explains the relatively high proportion of  training days dedicated to this level of training 
in 2012.  For the first time in 2012, the number of days of advanced training offered was higher for specialists than for generalists (120 days corresponding to two ATPCs).  As a result, More than 60% of the advanced activities were held in Geneva, gathering only 47% of those who participated 
in advanced activities, but representing 88% of the training days (due to the high impact of the 
advice provided under Article 27.2 of the DSU) and 72% of the expenses for advanced activities.     National   Regional   Global   E-Learning 
 WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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4.36.  The analysis by number of participants sh ows a somewhat different picture.  This is the 
consequence of a combination of two factors.  Approximately half of the participants are now 
trained through E-Learning, which has historically focused on the lower levels of training, and in particular on the introductory one.  The WTO E-Learning offer at the intermediate level is 
progressively increased to enlarge its subject coverage, but is not yet comprehensive, and no 
advanced E-Learning course is available for the moment.  The second factor is the requirement to have completed an introductory level training - in most cases the "Introduction to WTO"  
E-Learning course - now imposed as a prerequisite to  register in most face-to-face training courses 
at regional or global level.  This certainly contributes to increasing participation in the lower level of training. 
4.37.  The intermediate level of training repres ented in 2012 the bulk of the TA offered by WTO 
(two thirds of the activities and participants, a bit more than half of the training days and 
expenses).  At this level, the face-to-face activities for specialists were more than twice those for generalists and gathered four times more participants than for generalists, whilst the total number 
of training days and expenses were almost level for generalists and specialists.  This is due to the 
combination of two factors.  Two thirds of the activities for specialists were held at national level, and only half for generalists, knowing that national activities tended to gather more participants 
for a shorter duration at a lower cost.  The other factor was the disproportionate impact of RTPCs 
on the number of training days and expenses amongst intermediate activities for generalists. 
4.38.  The overall impression given by this analys is is that the current balance between the three 
levels of training and the specialized and general paths has not yet been fully achieved. The fact 
that the proposed level and path of a majority of activities was not defined and announced in 
advance when inviting beneficiary countries and the absence of benchmarks on the substantive content of each level by subject may have led to some of the challenges encountered.  
4.7  Gender Mix 
4.39.  Data on the proportion of women amongst participants were available for 128 face-to-face 
activities, i.e. approximately half of the TA activities organized by WTO in 2012 (once conferences 
are excluded).  These data can be considered as sufficiently representative of the general trend. 
4.40.  The average proportion of women 
amongst participants in the face-to-face activities organized in 2012 was 45%, in 
progression compared to previous years.  
No material difference could be observed in this regard between national, regional 
or global activities.  However, patterns 
varied according to the regions: in the Caribbean, women represented almost 
60% of the participants, whilst that rate 
was only 38% in Africa and the Middle East.  In the CEECAC and Latin American r e g i o n s ,  m o r e  t h a n  h a l f  o f  t h e  
participants were women.  These 
averages hide significant variations between activities, as the rate of women 
amongst participants fluctuated between a low of 10% and a high of 100% in 2012. 
4.41.  In E-Learning courses, the 
average proportion of women was 
marginally higher than in face-to-face 
activities.  It stood at 49% in 2012. That rate has been stable since 2010.  If no real pattern could be detected over the 
last three years when analysing these 
figures by subject, there were significant variations depending on the language of 
the course.  Online courses in French 
had the lowest proportion of women WT/COMTD/W/197 
 
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  (32% in 2012, in constant regression since 2010), whilst online courses in Spanish had the highest 
rate (65% in 2012, in constant progression since 2010). 
5   PERFORMANCE IN 2012 AND LESSONS LEARNED 5.1.  The performance of E-Learning courses could be measured on the basis of a set of objective 
performance indicators.  They were very successful  in 2012, with an average success rate of 81%.  
E-Learning courses on SPS and Trade & Environmen t have traditionally been the most successful 
amongst them, whilst some others (e.g. Multilateral Trade Agreements, Services or MA for Goods) 
were more challenging for participants.  French-l anguage E-Learning courses used to have a lower 
success rate, but had been catching up with English and Spanish courses in 2012. 
5.2.  For face-to-face TA activities, there were fewer objective performance indicators to help 
measure their immediate results, as most Back-to-Office Report (BTORs) kept relying almost 
exclusively on the opinion of participants to evaluate the activities.  A pilot on the use of a final 
exam in two RTPCs confirmed that more objective indicators could also be used in face-to-face activities, as has always been the case for E-Learning.  While there was an improvement in the 
submission of BTORs (which provides relevant information for assessing TRTA effectiveness), there 
is room for improvements in the quality and content of the BTORs. 
5.3.  The mid-term review of the WCP showed  that this programme had been successful in 
stimulating the academic activity on trade-related issues, but less so in monitoring the quality of 
this production and reaching out business communities or policy makers.  The current WCP will reach its end in 2013.  The overall support from WTO to the academic institutions including the WCP was CHF1.8 million in 2012, representing appr oximately 11% of the total expenses on TRTA.  
A decision is needed on the form and substance of the future involvement of the WTO with the 
academic world, and on the human and financial resources that should be allocated to it, taking other TA priorities and the lessons learned into account. 
5.4.  The main lessons learned are that WTO Secretariat should continue to have contingency 
plans to deal with the current human and financial challenges and strive to do more with less; benchmark each of the three levels of progressive learning to ensure progressivity in the training 
activities; improve needs assessment to ensure that TA activities are designed to better respond to 
the identified needs, while also promoting quality instead of quantity.  Best practices drawn over the year will be extended and applied to those ar eas where there is a need.  Partnerships will 
continue to be strengthened in those areas where there is still need for additional partners to 
leverage resources both human and financial. WTO should continue to ensure that effective modes 
of delivery of TA are employed and that the Organization moves from measuring outputs to 
measuring outcomes in the next three years, with the full participation and support of the 
stakeholders. The evaluation report elaborates  more on the lessons learned and recommended 
actions going forward. 
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