WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
19 June 2018  
(18-3820) Page: 1/84 
Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation    
 
ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAIN ING 
 
2017 
TABLE OF CONTENTS  
ACRONYMS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  3 
1   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 5 
1.1   Main evolutions in 2017 compared to 2016  ................................ ................................ ..... 5 
1.2   Implementation of TA Plan - main features of the WTO Technical Assistance in 2017  ...........  5 
1.3   Evaluation of Performance in 2017 and lessons learnt  ................................ ......................  6 
2   INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  7 
3   MAIN EVOLUTIONS IN 2 017 COMPARED TO 2016  ................................ .......................  7 
3.1   Management of TA resources  ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
3.1.1   Resources availability for TA  ................................ ................................ ..............  8 
3.1.2   Volume of TA activities  ................................ ................................ .....................  9 
3.2   External Evaluation Follow -up ................................ ................................ ...................... 11 
3.3   Implementation and enha ncement of Results -Based Management  ................................ ....13 
3.4   Improving the WTO TA offer  ................................ ................................ ........................ 14 
3.4.1   Improvements in the e -Learning offer  ................................ ............................... 14 
3.4.2   Improvements in the face -to-face offer  ................................ .............................. 19 
4   IMPLEMENTATION OF TA  PLAN AND MAIN FEATUR ES OF THE WTO TA 
PROVIDED IN 2017  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  23 
4.1   Participation of least developed countries (LDCs)  ................................ ............................ 23 
4.2   Geographical distribution  ................................ ................................ ............................. 25 
4.3   Product mix  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............... 27 
4.4   Distribution by subject  ................................ ................................ ................................ 30 
4.5   Language mix  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 32 
4.6   Progressivity of training  ................................ ................................ ............................... 33 
4.7   Gender mix  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 34 
4.8   Key Result mix  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 35 
5   EVALUATION OF PERFOR MANCE IN 2017  ................................ ................................ .. 37 
5.1   Key Result 1: Government officials are implementing WTO Agreements and making 
full use of Members' rights  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..39 
5.1.1   Output 1.1: Government officials have enhanced knowledge about the WTO 
Agreements, formulation of trade policies and conduct of trade negotiations ..................... 42 
5.1.2   Output 1.2: Effective partnerships result in substantive contributions of 
human and financial resources, for e -Learning and face -to-face activities  ......................... 56 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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  5.1.3   Output 1.3: Members' needs and priorities are identified annually  ......................... 58 
5.2   Key Result 2: Acceding governments are participating in accession negot iations, in 
line with WTO accession processes and procedures  ................................ ................................ 59 
5.2.1   Output 2.1: Acceding governments have expertise on WTO rules, 
accessions negotiating best p ractices and core accession obligations acquis  ...................... 61 
5.3   Key Result 3: Members are accessing and using the most recent and relevant WTO -
related information and data enabling them to better enforce their rights and obligations  ........... 63 
5.3.1   Output 3.1: The WTO RCs network is operational in targeted 
Member/Observer economies  ................................ ................................ ...................... 63 
5.3.2   Output 3.2: RCs are used by the various stakeholders to access WTO -
related information and data or to follow online courses  ................................ ................. 64 
5.3.3   Trade  in services statistics and supply -use tables are developed and used 
by the various stakeholders to monitor WTO -related trade developments  ......................... 65 
5.3.4   Digital Dispu te Settlement Registry (DDSR)  ................................ ....................... 65 
5.4   Key Result 4: MPs, journalists and civil society interacting with WTO; and students 
or academic institutions supported by W TO are dealing with trade policy and WTO -related 
subjects  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 66 
5.4.1   Output 4.1: Improved understanding by MPs, journalists, civil society and 
businesses of WTO issues and trade policies  ................................ ................................ .67 
5.4.2   Output 4.2: Research on trade policy and WTO -related matters generated 
by WTO Chairs and PhD students through provision of grants  ................................ ......... 68 
5.4.3   Output 4.3: Academic courses on WTO -related subjects introduced and 
updated with WTO support  ................................ ................................ ......................... 71 
5.4.4   Output 4.4: Outreach activities on trade policy and WTO -related matters 
organised by WTO Chairs through the provision of grants  ................................ ............... 73 
5.4.5   Output 4.5: Young professionals under the Young Professional Prog ramme 
are exposed to WTO issues and work  ................................ ................................ ........... 74 
ANNEX I FOLLOW -UP ON THE RECOMMENDA TIONS OF THE TA EXER NAL 
EVALUATION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  76 
ANNEX II MAIN RESULT S MEASURED IN 2017  ................................ ...............................  82 
 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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  ACRONYMS  
ABS  Appellate Body Secretariat  
ACWL   Advisory Centre on WTO Law  
Ag-IMS Agriculture Information Management System  
AIP  Accession Internship Programme  
ALADI   Latin American Integration Association/Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración  
ATPC  Advanced Trade Policy Course  
BTOR   Back-to-Office Report  
CBFA   Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
CEECAC  Central and Eastern European, Central Asian and Caucasus  
CAN  Andean Community  
CHF  Swiss franc  
CRN  Central Registry of Notifications  
CTD  Committee on Trade and Development  
DDSR   Digital  Dispute Settlement Registry  
DS  Dispute Settlement  
DSU  Dispute Settlement Understanding  
EBRD   European Bank for Reconstruction and Development  
EIF  Enhanced Integrated Framework  
FATS  Foreign Affiliates Trade Statistics  
FIMIP   French & Irish Missions Int ernship Programme  
GATS   General Agreement on Trade in Services  
GATT   General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade  
GPA  Government Procurement Agreement  
GRP  Good Regulatory P ractice  
GTF  Global Trust Fund  
GVCs   Global Value Chains  
IICA  Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture  
IMS  Information Management System  
IP  Intellectual Property  
IPR  Intellectual property right  
ITA  Information Technology Agreement  
ITC  International Trade Centre  
I-TIP  Integ rated Trade Intelligence Portal  
ITPC  Intermediat e-level Trade Policy Course  
ITTC  Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation  
LDC  Least -developed country  
M&E  Monitoring & Evaluation  
MA  Market Access  
MC11  11th WTO Ministerial Conference  
MFTR   Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime  
MOOC   Massive Open  Online Courses  
MP  Member of Parliament  
MTS  Multilateral Trading System  
NAMA   Non-Agricultural Market Access  
NNS  Notificat ion Submission System  
NTP  Netherlands Trainee Programme  
OECD   Organization for Economic Co -operation and Development  
PAHO   Pan-American Health Organization  
PIFS  Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat  
PLS  Progressive Learning Strategy  
Q&A  Questions & Answers  
RBM  Results -Based Management  
RC  Reference Centre  
RCI  Regional Coordinator Internship Programme  
RTA  Regional Trade Agreement  
S&D  Special and Differential Treatment  
SCORM  Sharable Content Object Reference Model  
SJR  SCImago Journal Rank  
SME  Small and Medium -sized Enterprise  
SNIP  Source Normalised Impact per Paper  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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  SPS  Sanitary and Ph ytosanitary  
STDF   Standards and Trade Developm ent Facility  
TA  Technical Assistance  
TACTF  Technical Assistance Coordination Task Force  
TBT  Technical Barriers to Trade  
TF  Trade facilitation  
TFA  Trade Facilitation Agreement  
TFAF  Trade Facilitation Agreement  Facility  
TiVA  Trade in Value Added  
TMR  Training Material Request  
TPR  Trade Policy Review  
TRIMs   Trade -Related Investment Measures  
TRIPS   Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights  
TRTA  Trade -Related Technical Assistance  
UAE  United Arab Emirates  
UNCTAD  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development  
UNESCWA  United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Africa  
UNSD   United Nations Statistics Division  
WAEMU  West African Economic and Monetary Union  
WCP  WTO Chairs Programme  
WHO  World Health Organization  
WIPO   World Intellectual Property Organization  
WTO  World Trade Organization  
YPP  Young Professionals Programme  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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  1  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  
1.1.  This report on the World Trade Organization Technical Assistance ( WTO TA) provided by the 
Secretariat in 201 7 follows the same logi c as in previous years  by focussing on three types of 
analysis: the main evolutions of TA in 201 7 compared to 2016; an analysis of implemented TA 
activities by region, type, subject, language, level of training , gender of the participants and Key 
Results ; and an evaluation of the delivery and results of these TA activities.   Reference to the 
findings of the external evaluation of the WTO TA conducted in 2016 was also included  whenever  
relevant to provide a comprehensive picture.  
1.1  Main evolutions in 201 7 compared to 201 6 
1.2.  Significant progress was registered during the year in the implementation of the 
28 recommendations formulated in the external evaluation.  By the end of the year, to a large 
extent t hrough  the preparation of the TA Plan 2018 -19, half of the  recommendations could be 
considered as already implemented, and the implementation of another 29% was in progress.  
This meant that  the Secretariat had not yet started to implement only 21% of the 
recommendations.   A detailed table on the actions undertak en to implement each of the 
recommendations is included in Annex I.  
1.3.  Work on the implementation of a TA management system based on results  continued in 
2017.  An audit of the TA  workflows and  information system was completed in the spring, leading 
to a numb er of improvements, such as a diversification of the TA workflows, preparatory work for 
the development of a new TA management system and the development of new dashboards on 
the TA provided by the  Secretariat .  The Secretariat resumed its on -site evaluati on after a three -
year interruption.  S everal multifaceted on -site evaluations were conducted to assess the 
immediate results of four regional activities, the results of the WTO TA provided to  four beneficiary 
countries  since 2012, and the functioning of on e partnership.  A WTO TA Monitoring & Evaluation 
plan for 2018 was prepared.  A review of the Back-to-Office -Report ( BTOR ) recommendations 
issued in 2016 -17 showed that half of them had been fully implemented and another third 
partially.  The reporting rate on TA activities  was almost 100%  as in 2016 . 
1.4.  Work continued in 201 7 to improve and enrich the substantive content of the TA offer : 
several existing online courses  were revised to increase their interactive and multimedia content  
and make them comply with Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM ) standards ; a new 
cloud -based e -Learning platform was selected for implementation in 2018; the use of the Training 
Material Request scheme increased significantly, especially by publ ic sector officials; the holistic 
approach to subjects like public health, e -Commerce, Standards was deepened during the year;  
and efforts were made in a number of areas ( TRIPS, SPS, Agriculture, Government Procurement,  
Accession,  etc.) to respond to the a ctual needs of beneficiaries  and promote the implementation of 
the WTO Agreements .  Overall, these evolutions demonstrate the constant attention paid by the 
Secretariat to the improvement of its TA offer, in terms of both quality and adequacy to the actual  
needs of Members.  
1.5.  The WTO TA resources available to the Secretariat (carried forward from previous years and 
received in 201 7) to finance WTO TA to developing Members and Observers continued their 
decrease in 2017, obliging the Secretariat to tap into its  financial reserves.  The volume of TA 
activities and related expenses remained stable for the sixth consecutive year, thanks  to the tight 
management policy implemented by the Secretariat.  
1.2  Implementation of TA Plan - main features of the WTO Technical Assi stance in 201 7 
1.6.  The Secretariat undertook 261 TA activities, both in Geneva and in various Members or 
Observers, and participated in 54 other TA -related activities (e.g. conferences or activities of 
partner institutions).  A majority of these TA activities were organized  in partnership with other 
international, regional or sub -regional institutions.  Overall, 1 8,200 participants were trained 
during the year, a drop of 2% compared to 201 6, following  seven years of uninterrupted growth .  
Participat ion in online courses continued to grow during the year (+12%), whilst face -to-face 
activities had 20% less participants.  As a result in 2017, close to two -thirds of the participants in 
WTO TA activities were trained online . WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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  1.7.  During the year the proportion  of face -to-face activities held in Geneva increased marginally 
compared to 201 6.  The concentration of the TA on activities with a general scope (i.e.  multi-topic 
coverage)  decreased.  In 201 7, 40%  of the 2 61 activities had a general scope, when that 
proportion was close to 50% last year.  As in the previous two years, t he other activities  were 
spread across specific Agreements or subjects.  Standards -related activities (SPS, TBT) were in 
high demand, followed by market access for goods (including TF) and TRIPS.  
1.8.  Subject -specific regional seminars were conducted in all regions.  Africa and LDCs remained a 
priority in 201 7, in line with the TA Plan, but for the first time since the Secretariat keeps 
statistics, it was the Asia-Pacific region which hosted the highest number of TA activities and 
participants .  Overall, more than half of face -to-face activities were  held at the national level and 
the rest at regional/global level.  National activities continued to gather larger audiences - 40 
persons for  3 days on average – when regional or global activities tended to gather smaller 
audiences – around 30 persons  over 3.5 days on average, which facilitate d the use of mo re 
interactive training methods . 
1.9.  Overall, 64% of the WTO TA was provided in English, 13% in French and 16% in Spanish , 
and the balance in more than one language.  In spite of the lower share of French activities in 
2017 resulting from the lower number of activities held in French -speaking Africa, this continued to 
mirror  approximately the languag e preferences of Members and Observers in the WTO .  These 
proportions were fairly similar in face -to-face activities and online courses.  
1.10.   The balance between the three PLS levels of training - introduction, intermediate and 
advanced - change d compared to the previous years: the relative importance of the intermediate 
level grew further (69%), whilst more advanced activities were less numerous .  Fewer  activities 
were still without a defined  level for a variety of reasons including the fact that it is not feas ible to 
allocate a level to all activities (e.g. academic support related activities ) since they do not all 
purport to train their participants over several years to progressively take them to higher levels of 
knowledge on WTO issues .  The  TA offer was alm ost equally shared between  generalists and 
specialists, another rebalancing act in favour of generalists compared to previous years.  
1.11.   The overall proportion of women amongst WTO TA participants grew above the 2012 -16 
average to reach  46%.  There was no difference between  face-to-face activities and online courses 
in this regard.  
1.12.   An overwhelming majority of the TA activities (82%) contributed to Key Result 1 
"Government officials are implementing WTO Agreements and making full use of Members' rights", 
a proportion which was even closer to 100% for e -Learning courses.  Key Result 4 on outreach to 
non-traditional audiences (MPS, journalists, civil society, academia) was next (12%), followed by 
Key Result 2 on accessions (5%) and Key Result 3 on access to inf ormation (2%).  
1.13.   In addition to the continuous reduction of its TA resources, the main challenges faced by the 
Secretariat in 2017 continued to come from the limitations on the  training facilities available on 
the WTO campus, which constrained the volume of TA that could be offered in Geneva ; and the 
heavy workload of staff members in certain areas, which limited the TA available on specific 
subjects.  
1.3  Evaluation of Performance in 201 7 and lessons learnt  
1.14.   The results shown in 201 7 were positive overall.  The pr oportion of targets met increased by 
five percentage points  compared to 201 6, reaching 62%.  Key Result 2 was the most successful 
one and met 7 5% of its targets ( 50% in 201 6), followed by Key Result 1 (69% against 71% in 
2016), Key Result 4 ( 56% against 39% in 2016 ) and Key Result 3 (25% as in 2016 ).  The rate of 
indicators for which data was not available decreased significantly , which confirm s the relevance of 
the changes introduced when elaborating  the logframe for 2016 -17 two years ago . 
1.15.   Even if the pr oportion of indicators for which the Secretariat was unable to retrieve relevant 
data, in particular at outcome level, decreased in 2017, the limited capacity of many beneficiary 
Members and Observers to provide reliable data on the results of WTO TA at na tional level as 
noted in the external evaluation  remained an issue .  The field evaluations performed in 2017 
helped bridge that gap only very partially.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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  1.16.   A summary of the indicators included in the 2016 -17 TA Plan logframe, of the targets 
approved by Member s and of the results measured in 201 7 can be found in Annex II.  One should 
be careful not to read too much in the dry statements included in this table.  As frequently 
indicated in the body of the report, unavoidable trials and errors also affect the resu lts presented 
in this report.  The assessment is largely  based on a desk analysis  and on the onsite evaluations 
conducted by the Secretariat during the year . 
2  INTRODUCTION  
2.1.  This report follows  the same approach as in previous years .  It goes  beyond a quantit ative 
account of the volume of WTO TA provided during the year by presenting the activities in a more 
analytical way, and avoid s repeating the description of the various programmes and activities 
implemented during the year, since they  have already been pr esented to Members as part of the 
TA Plan.1  The report  seeks to  give Members a proper  understanding of the achievements of the 
year and of the rationale guiding the action s in this field.   As in 201 6, significant efforts have been 
made to present the results of WTO TA activities according to the structure of the TA Plan adopted 
by Members for 2016 -17. 
2.2.  Further to the  comprehensive external evaluation of the TA provided by the WTO in 2010 -15 
conducted i n 2016, the work performed during the year to implement and follow -up on its 
recommendations has also been presented in this report  to give Members as comprehensive a 
picture as possible.  
2.3.  The Secretariat continu es to develop and implement the tools to collect data so as to better 
measure the results produced by its TA activities in the beneficiar ies.  As in previous years, the 
report links TA activities to their associated costs, to allow Members to assess the value for money 
produced  in 201 7.  However and as noted by the external evaluation conducted in 2016, one of 
the main limitations in this domain comes from the lack of capacity of many beneficiar ies of WTO 
TA to gather sufficiently representative data to assess the results of the TA they have received.2 
2.4.  The report focuses on three main aspects .  The first  is a present ation of  the main evolutions 
seen in the  WTO TA provided in 201 7 compared to the previous year, and their rationale.  This 
required a selection amongst the many activities and programmes im plemented during the year to 
focus on the most significant changes implemented .  The second analyses  the TA provided during 
the year by region and level of development of the beneficiaries, by subject covered, language 
used, level of training offered , participants' gender  and Key Results.  The last part of the report 
analyses in detail the  immediate and long -term results of the  WTO TA provided by the Secretariat 
during the year - and before . 
3  MAIN EVOLUTIONS IN 2 017 COMPARED TO 201 6 
3.1.  This section describ es the main changes observed in 2017 in the management and 
implementation of TA activities compared to 2016, including in terms of: (i) resources allocated to 
TA and the overall volume of activities implemented ; (ii) progress made in the implementation of 
the recommendations of the external evaluation ; (iii) monitoring and eva luation of TA (including 
implementation of the Result -based management system); and (iv) changes to the design and 
delivery of TA activities.  
3.1  Management of TA resources  
3.2.  Delivery of TA in 2017 occurred in a context of stagnation of donor s' contributions.  As 
predicted in the TA Plan for 2016 -17, to keep the same level of ambition and objectives for WTO 
TA, a tight management of resource s continued to be  essential.  
  
                                                
1 See document WT/COMTD/W/211  
2 See paragraph 4.12 in WT/COMTD/89 for an illustration.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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   - 5 10 15 20 25 30Millions CHF  Technical Assistance Resources  
Earmarked
Trust Funds
Non-earmarked
Trust Funds
Regular Budget3.1.1   Resources availabilit y for TA  
3.3.  The TA resources in the regular 
budget and earmarked trust funds 
have been fairly stable over the past 
decade, whilst non -earmarked 
resources have progressively 
decreased from a peak of 20 MCHF in 
2009 to a new low of 6.8 MCHF  in 
2017.  For the first time since the 
creation of the GTF, non -earmarked 
contributions represented less than 
half of the total TA resources (48%).  
Approximately one third of the TA 
resources came from the regular 
budget, as last year, and the balance 
(20%) from contributions earmarked 
for specific programmes, which were 
significantly higher in 2017 than in 
2016, reaching virtually the same level as in 2015 .  Since 2012, the evolution of the voluntary 
contributions of the various donors has been as follow s:3 
Global Trust Fund      
 2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  
Australia   2,689,900  61,370  2,162,382   52,756  
Austria  240,200  243,600  241,400  104,900  109,000  215,200  
Canada  1,362,298       
Denmark  321,903  491,063  482,422  400,028    
Estonia  23,199  24,160  24,640  24,120  21,800  21,520  
European Union  1,024,050  1,232,000  317,592  1,658,552  1,294,800   
France  600,500  617,000  608,500  434,400  433,200  455,600  
Germany  1,198,000  1,233,000  1,203,000  1,060,000  1,083,000  1,139,000  
Japan  395,604  368,744  312,019  267,413  218,634  233,669  
Korea  334,950  313,600  336,350  346,500  347,200  331,100  
Liechtenstein  40,000  40,000  40,000  40,000  40,000  40,000  
Lithuania       20,273  
Netherlands    875,000  495,000  490,000  190,598  
Norway  2,438,905  2,287,108  2,163,722  1,161,373  1,059,571  777,180  
Sweden  2,386,480  2,245,600    1,253,700  1,929,722  
Switzerland  800,000  800,000      
Chinese Taipei   184,200      
United States  940,535  851,885  1,127,392  950,400  529,036  571,172  
Total GTF  12,106,624  13,619,060  7,793,406  9,105,068  6,879,941  6,169,278  
 
  
                                                
3 The trust funds taken into account here are those under the sole authority of the WTO which it can use 
to finance its TA act ivities (GTF - 16 MCHF - and earmarked trust funds financing the Mission Internships, 
NTPs, etc.).  Trust funds managed by other entities or which finance other programmes than those of WTO 
(Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), Enhanced Integra ted Framework (EIF) Secretariat and 
Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility (TFAF)) have always been excluded, since these trust funds have their 
own governance and reporting mechanisms.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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   - 5 10 15 20 Millions  CHF  Global Trust Fund  
Contributions
Expenses
Year-end
balance
0100200300400500Number of TA Activities  
Other
Regional/
Global
NationalEarmarked Trust Funds      
 2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  
Australia   392,120   180,390   327,890  
Canada     37,211   78,616  
China  372,000  362,800   485,000  485,000  473,000  
Denmark  160,952       
European Union  241,460  800,800  144,360  87,280  21,520  35,959  
Finland     145,806    
France  600,500  617,000  608,500  651,600  649,800  683,400  
Ireland  396,330  332,640  180,900  208,800  164,250  218,200  
Netherlands  1,793,909   1,750,000  875,000   875,000  
New Zealand    78,130    20,877  
Norway  163,639  251,582  1,300,954  58,069   96,270  
Sweden  183,067  283,300   57,674  102,291  12,668  
Switzerland     50,000   50,000  
Chinese Taipei  93,900       
United States  140,850       
Total Earmarked  4,146,607  3,040,242  4,062,844  2,836,830  1,422,861  2,871,880  
3.4.  Most donors maintained their 
commitment to the Global Trust Fund 
(GTF) at similar levels as in  2016; 
Sweden increased its contribution by 
30%; the EU  did not make a  
contribution in 2017 to adjust its 
timing to the WTO budgetary cycle; 
and Norway  cut back its support by 
approximately 30%.  These resources 
and the  CHF 19 million carried 
forward from the previous year into 
2017 made it possible to implement 
the TA Plan as approved by Members .  
For the third year since 2014, the 
WTO had to tap into its reserves to do 
so.  T he balance available in the GTF 
was 1 5% lower at the end of the year 
than at the beginning . 
3.1.2   Volume of TA activities  
3.5.  Building on the positive trend established since 2012 and noted by the TA external 
evaluation, the management of TA has continued to seek effectiveness in 2017 through a rigorous  
approval process of WTO TA activity requests that places significant attentio n on the relevance of 
the activit ies and their potential to produce results , favouring quality over volume . 
3.6.  The overall volume of WTO TA 
or TA -related activities  was stable 
compared to 2016  (315 activities in 
2017 i.e.  only 2 activities less).  
Within tha t total, the volume of WTO 
TA activities stricto sensu  decreased 
marginally to reach only 261 activities 
in 2017 ( -13), whilst the number of 
Other Activities  grew to 54 (+11).  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
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  0100200300
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017National Activity Requests  3.7.  The number of national activities during the 
year continued to decline in 201 7.  Only 100 
national activities took place compared to 106 in 
2016.  National activities represented less than a 
third of the activities organised by the WTO in 
2017.  This decline in the volume of national 
activities in absolute and relative terms seems to 
be mainly attributable to a decrease in demand 
from Members and, to a lesser extent, to limited 
Secretariat's capacity to satisfy Members' requests 
for activities.4  Since 2011, the number of national 
activity requests received by the Secretariat has 
progressively declined, reaching in 2017 its lowest 
level with only 123 requests.  By the end of 2017, 61% of the activities requested during the year 
were already implemented and 34% were under preparation.  
3.8.  As observed in 2016, the total number of countries  presenting at least one request continued 
to decline in 2017  (-2 countries) .  The turnover among countries presenting a request  remains 
significant: n early one third of the countries that requested an activity in 2017 had not done so in 
2016 and approxima tely a  third of the requesting countries in 2016 did not submit any request in 
2017.  As in previous years , 80% of the countries submitted one to two requests only , and the 
others  3, 4, 5, or even 7 activities in the case of one Member.  The regional sprea d of the requests 
followed closely the distribution  of implemented activities,  described in section 4.2 below.  
3.9.  The number of regional and global activities also declined in 2017 (161 activities against 168 
in 2016), whilst remaining well above the average since 2011.  They kept representing 
approximately half of the activities of the year, though.  
3.10.   The slight decline in the volume of WTO TA activities in 2017 was offset by the increase in 
Other Activities , which  represented 17% of  the total WTO TA and TA -related activities.  The 
Secretariat participation in the delivery of TA activities organized by other institutions represented 
half of the Other Activities .  These activities do constitute TA  but are not counted as part of the 
WTO TA since the c ontribution of the Secretariat is insufficient for it to take full responsibility for 
the results produced.  The other half  included various meetings and conferences to which the 
Secretariat participated  and which generally did not constitute WTO TA per se , but frequently lead 
to partnerships that facilitated the subsequent organization and delivery of the WTO TA activities , 
such as  missions to identify partners for future Intermediate -level Trade Policy Course s (ITPCs ), 
board meetings of existing partner i nstitutions (Middle -East Centre for Economics and Finance, 
Joint Vienna Institute) and onsite evaluation missions .  In 2017 , expenditure on Other Activities 
was CHF 0.6 million, i.e. 25% less than in 2016 whilst the number of such activities increased by  
26%.  In total , this expenditure  represented approximately  3% of the total TA expenses compared 
to 5% in 2016 .  This confirms the sustained focus on spending TA resources on those activities for 
which  the WTO can claim results.  
  
                                                
4 As expressed in previous annual performance reports, Secretariat's ca pacity to satisfy TA demand is 
finite mainly in certain areas (e.g. trade remedies, TBT) due to heavy workload servicing other WTO functions 
combined with the current resource freeze.   WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 11 - 
 
   - 5 10 15 20 25 30Million CHF  Technical Assistance Expenses  
Trust
Funds
Regular
Budget
50% 
29% 21% External Evaluation 
Recommendations  
Implemented/
ongoing
In progress
Pending3.11.  In spite of a 7% increase of TA 
expenditure  in 2017, it remained 
within the range observed since 2012, 
when  internal measures were 
introduced to improve the  
management of TA resources .5  The 
proportion of the resources allocated 
to TA from the regular budget that 
was actually  spent on TA activities in 
2017 reached  84%.  Although it was 
marginally  lower than in 2016 ( 5% 
less), it still exceeded the average of 
75% for the period 2009 -15.  This 
confirms Secretariat's endeavour to 
maximize the use of the part of WTO's 
regular budg et that was appro ved by 
Members for TA purposes.  
3.2  External Evaluation Follow -up 
3.12.   The comprehensive external evaluation conducted in 2016 of the TA provided by the WTO in 
2010-15 made 28 recommendations.  For the purpose of this report, recommendations were 
grouped according to their implementation status in the following categories:  
a. Implemented/ongoing : include s recommendations that called for a specific action 
limited in time and that were fully implemented in 2017; as well as r ecommendations of 
an ongoing  open-ended  nature that were implemented in 2017 and that will be subject 
to continuation  and monitoring in the future.  
b. In progress:  include s recommendations that called for a specific action limited in time 
and for which implement ation had begun in 2017 and  will continue in the following years 
until completion.  
c. Pending:  include s recommendations  of all types  for which implementation had not 
begun by end of 2017.  
3.13.   Significant progress was made in 2017 in 
the follow -up on the recommendations of  the 
external evaluation.  By the end of the year, the 
implementation of nearly 80% of the 
recommendations had started and/or was 
completed.  Annex I  summarises the 
implementation status of each of the 
recommendations.  
3.14.   In January, the Committee on Trade an d 
Development (CTD) held a meeting dedicated to 
the findings of the external evaluation.  This 
meeting provided an opportunity to consider and 
communicate  on the Organization's agreed 
commitment, vision and basic approach to TA, taking account of the stron g base established and 
remaining challenges identified (recommendation 1).  The consultations for the preparation of the 
TA Plan 2018 -19 were another opportunity to follow -up on several of the recommendations.  The 
questionnaire sent to beneficiaries to co llect their needs and feedback was adjusted to seek 
specific input on topics raised by the external evaluation e.g. on the best means to enhance the 
engagement of private sector in WTO -related issues at national level; on alternative ways to 
                                                
5 For the purpose of this report, WTO TA expenses include all the expenses under the chapter of the 
regular budget dedicated to TA activities (Geneva -based training course, TA missions, Academic programme, 
Geneva Weeks, etc.) and all the expenses financed by the trust funds under the sole authority of the WTO, 
which it can u se to finance its TA activities (including the staff costs registered in these funds).  The EIF, STDF 
and TFAF trust funds are consequently excluded.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 12 - 
 
  harness new te chnologies in nation -wide outreach on WTO topics; on options to strengthen the 
use of TA activities to follow -up on TPR recommendations; and on issues of interest to 
beneficiaries.  The responses were reflected in the TA Plan 2018 -19 (recommendations 1, 12 , 15, 
17, 20).6 
3.15.   Four informal meetings allowed Members to consider possible options suggested by the 
external evaluation.  The TA Plan 2018 -19 incorporated the outcomes of these consultations.  They 
validated the monitoring of the participation of women in  WTO TA activities as done since 2012 
(recommendation 11) and the need for the Secretariat to explore the possibility of introducing 
Gender & Trade  modules into TA courses (recommendation 19).  The Secretariat has appointed a 
trade and gender focal point t o ensure coherence in its approach across its various areas of work 
including TA.  
3.16.   Other recommendations addressed during the preparation of the TA Plan included:  
a. A feasibility study for a fee -paying training scheme (recommendation 9) outlined options 
and r equirements, with the goal of enhancing access of non -traditional audience to TA 
courses primarily through e -Learning.7  Members decided not to pursue the proposed 
options.  Instead the TA Plan 2018 -19 highlighted the need to seek opportunities to 
expand a ccess of traditional and non -traditional audiences to e -Learning training 
materials.  In 2017, the number of e -Learning Training Material Requests  (TMR)  
increased by 20% compared to 2016, while the number of materials sent almost tripled 
(section 3.4.1).   In 2017, participants from academia represented nearly 3% of total e -
Learning participants.  A total  of 314 participants from 5 universities in 4 different 
developing Members benefitted from e -Learning.  
b. An assessment of the Advanced Trade Policy Course  (ATPC) (recommendation 14) 
confirmed its value and unique features, and its popularity among beneficiaries.8  The 
course will be adjusted during 2018 -19 and its results more closely monitored.  
c. The language mix in a quarter of the regular global face -to-face a ctivities held in Geneva 
(recommendation 23)  was found to be inappropriate (i.e. not offered in French and/or 
Spanish).9  It was agreed to increase the language diversity in these activities during the 
biennium.  In 2017, two Geneva -based trainings were of fered with interpretation on pilot 
basis.  Lessons learnt from their implementation were documented and will be taken into 
account in trainings using interpretation.  Some challenges were identified that may 
restrict the full -scale adoption of interpretati on in courses, including lack of training 
infrastructure and staffing constraints to cope with the additional work related to 
increased language coverage.  
d. Equipping trainers with appropriate pedagogical  skills was  identified as an important 
avenue in the T A Plan 2018 -19 (recommendation  21, 24). 
3.17.   In a number of respects, the TA Plan 2018 -19 adopted by the CTD in November  validated 
the status quo concerning certain recommendations of the external evaluation (e.g. 
recommendations 3, 4, etc.).  The Secretariat will continue to provide Members with the reports 
and data required to make strategic decisions when they deem it necessary (recommendation 4).  
The Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration (CBFA) approved the budget allocation for 
the TA Plan 2018 -19, re‑affirm ing the crucial role and need for sufficiently substantial and reliable 
Regular Budget allocations as the contribution by all Members to maintaining the foundations of 
the TA programme  (recommendation 2).  
3.18.   Under recommendation 3, the use  of local trainers, academic centres and past participants 
in WTO trainings is a common practice in WTO TA activities.  For instance, former participants in 
the a dvanced SPS courses are often involved in the preparation and delivery of national SPS 
seminars i n their countries.  In 2017, two former Advanced SPS course participants delivered part 
of the programme of the national activities carried out in Jordan and Peru.  While this practice  is 
                                                
6 WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1  
7 WT/COMTD/W/226  
8 WT/COMTD/W/228  
9 WT/COMTD/W/229  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 13 - 
 
  disseminated and encouraged, course organizers should maintain the necessary flexibility to use it 
when they deem it appropriate.  The onsite evaluation of the Advanced Trade Negotiation 
Simulation Skills course conducted in November  revealed that this co urse that has traditionally 
used local facilitators (usually from academia) had often suffered from the lack of experience of 
local trainers in this type of simulation -based trainings, whilst the use of past participants as 
facilitators proved very success ful.  The evaluation recommended that a roster of best performing 
participants be kept and used in these and other relevant courses.  
3.19.   Other recommendations were partially implemented in 2017 as their full implementation 
was constrained by the current WTO bu dgetary situation and priorities, which prevented the 
recruitment of additional staff to support TA.  Working creatively under these constraints, the 
Secretariat exploited the synergies between some of its TA programmes to offset the stability of its 
staff servicing the e -Learning interactive requirements (recommendation 13).  In 2017, five 
interns from the Netherlands Trainee Programme (NTP) served as assistant tutors and contributed 
to interactive e -Learning activities; two special Chat sessions benefitte d from the contribution of a 
WTO Chair and were highly appreciated by participants; weekly Chat sessions were organized 
alternatively in the morning and in the afternoon to allow the maximum number of participants 
from different time zones to participate; the News Forum was made available around the clock; 
and postings on social media were timed to cover different time zones ( section 3.4.1).  
3.20.   Efforts continued to be made in 2017 to tailor course  content and  materials to the needs of 
beneficiaries of national  and regional activities (recommendation 16).   There is ample anecdotal  
evidence of these efforts : e.g. a national SPS/TBT w orkshop held in Sri Lanka in February 2017 
focused on agriculture export sectors of particular interest to the country and on action s that could 
be jointly implemented by the public and private sector to take advantage of the transparency 
mechanism to meet the SPS/TBT requirements of Sri Lanka's  importing partners ; the regional SPS 
workshop for Latin America had  a specific focus on goo d regulatory practices based on the r equest 
of beneficiary countries (see section 3.4.2 for further details on this activity and for additional 
examples).   The customization of WTO TA activities requires  beneficiaries to articulate clearly  their 
needs.  The Secretariat keeps encouraging them to be as specific as possible.  In 2017, this made 
it possible to  identify priority theme s for certain national activities  (e.g. on e -Commerce or Global 
Value Chains  (GVCs)  and Trade in Value -Added  (TiVA)  – see recommen dation  20).  In the SPS 
area, a menu of possible themes is now proposed by the Secretariat to guide beneficiaries' choice.  
3.21.   A number of enhancements to the Result -Based Management  (RBM)  system and procedures 
launched/introduced in 2017 contributed to addressing several other recommendations (5, 26, 27  
and 28).  They are described below ( section 3.3).   The TA Coordination Task Force  (TACTF)  was 
used as a platform to discuss options to imp lement the recommendations of the external 
evaluation.  Working groups were formed to address specific actions (recommendation 5).  
3.3  Implementation and enhancement of Results -Based Management  
3.22.   An assessment of the WTO TA delivery process and information syste m was completed early 
2017.  It highlighted areas were changes were required to streamline and speed up the 
administrative processes and workflows involved in the organization, delivery and evaluation of TA 
activities.  The proposed changes to the business  process echo and contribute to addressing 
various recommendations made by the external evaluation (5, 26, 27, 28).  Work started in 2017 
to reengineer some of the TA business processes, pending the deployment in 2019 of a new 
generation of TA management t ools with expanded and more user -friendly functionalities.  Actions 
undertaken in 2017 are summarized below.  
3.23.   Four distinct workflows were introduced to cater for the different types of TA and TA -related 
activities.  The implementation of these distinct wor kflows (in terms of actual procedures) 
addressed several of the challenges identified by the assessment of the TA delivery process, 
making it more efficient and speedy.  In October, a new electronic workflow for Staff Requisition 
was rolled out.  Staff Req uisitions are used for the recruitment of external trainers.  This new 
workflow was integrated with existing WTO TA management tools to improve the records on the 
performance of external trainers to implement recommendation 21 of the external evaluation.  
3.24.   During the last quarter of 2017, new options for e -Dashboards were explored to enhance 
the accessibility of information on WTO TA activities for both internal and external users.  Static WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 14 - 
 
  5% 4% 
47% 29% 15% BTOR recommendations (2016 -2017)  
Discontinued
Partially
Implemented
Fully
Implemented
Work in Progress
Pendinginformation on TA activities is currently accessible to external users  (Members, partners, etc.) 
through the Global Trade -Related Database, which offers limited functionalities.  The next 
generation of management tools will give online access to better information on TA activities and 
their results (recommendation 27).  Othe r adjustments were introduced to enhance the monitoring 
of TA expenditure against budgetary allocations in the TA Plan 2018 -19.  Quarterly reports to the 
CBFA will now be structured by Key Result  according to the TA Plan, which will allow Members to 
compar e financial movements against agreed TA budget.  
3.25.   After a three -year interruption , onsite  evaluations of TA activities resumed in 2017 with a 
total of 9 evaluations conducted : four regional activities (2 in Asia-Pacific and 2 in Latin America) ; 
four country assessment of the effects and impacts of the TA provided to Argentina, Singapore, 
Viet Nam and Uruguay in 2013-17; and the  assessment of the WTO -Singapore TA p artnership 
established in year 2000.  Feedback collected was generally positive and identified  interesting 
avenues to  further  enhance  the TA offer.  Both the Ministry of External Relations of Uruguay and 
the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore make the WTO online introductory course 
mandatory for new recruits.  Several good practice s were iden tified in th e partnership .  Finally, a 
Monitoring & Evaluation plan for 2018 was designed and released in November (recommendation 
26). 
3.26.  The Secretariat also followed -
up in 2017 for the first time since the 
decision to implement the TA RBM  
system in 2012 on BTOR 
recommendations (recommendation 
28).  A total of 381 BTOR 
recommendations were retrieved for 
2016 and 2017.10  Setting aside 
comments which did not actually 
recommend any action, 85% of the 
remaining 291 recommendations 
were either f ully or partially 
addressed by the end of 2017, of 
which only 5% had been discontinued 
for lack of relevance or feasibility, 
and another 4% could only be 
partially implemented for similar 
reasons.  The implementation of the 
remaining 15% had not yet starte d or no information was provided on their status.  This stock -
taking exercise should be performed yearly in the future.  
3.27.   Efforts made in 2016 to ensure that a  BTOR or a report was produced for each and every TA 
or TA -related activity continued in 2017.   This led the overall reporting rate to remain as high as 
that achieved in 2016, reaching approximately 100% (only 4 reports were still missing out of 315 
activities).  
3.4  Improving the WTO TA offer  
3.4.1   Improvements in the e -Learning offer  
3.28.   The selection and procuremen t of a new cloud -based e -Learning platform was one of the 
main objectives of the year.  The new e -Learning website will be launched in 2018.  It will offer 
enhanced functionalities and opportunities to further explore cutting -edge e -Learning 
methodologies such as social and peer learning.   It will also meet strengthened security standards.  
3.29.   Substantial efforts were devoted in 2017 to enriching e -Learning course catalogue through 
the development of new training material and the update, upgrade and revision of  existing 
courses.  SCORM  standards continued to be followed to ensure that new and revised courses apply  
the latest pedagogical approach in terms of instructional design methodologies and  interactivity . 
                                                
10 Including all BTORs  produced prior to November 2017, date at which data extraction took place.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 15 - 
 
  27 
44 3 e-Learning portfolio in 2017 by 
course type  
Interactive courses
(SCORM format)
Courses with reading
material
Multimedia based
courses3.30.  Since the adoption of SCORM 
standards in 2014, 75% of the courses 
developed followed a SCORM format.  
These courses represent ed 36% of the 
course portfolio available at the end of 
2017.  The remaining 64%, mostly 
developed prior to 2014, require a major 
undertaking to be brought up to the SCORM 
standards.  At the current rhythm, more 
than ten years would be needed to bring 
the entire e -Learning portfolio up to today's 
standards, as upgrading existing courses to 
SCORM standards competes for resources 
with the development of new courses.  The 
Secretariat will  reflect on ways of 
accelerating this process.  
3.31.   The revised version in English, French and Spanish of the courses "Introduction to the WTO"  
and "Regional Trade Agreements" were released in December and April, respectively.   "WTO 
Market Access Intelligence O nline" was upgraded and released in March in English, then in October 
in French and Spanish.  Some updates were introduced to "Technical Barriers to Trade" in the 
three languages in November.  "Accessions to the WTO" and "Multilateral Trade Agreements" wer e 
updated by the end of 2017 for release in 2018.  Work continued in 2017 to update " The WTO and 
Trade Economics – Theory and Policy "; "Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures"; and "Agriculture in 
the WTO".  
3.32.   Significant progress was made in the development of the course on "Trade Facilitation" that 
has been in the making for over 2 years.  Course content was finalized in 2017 and its SCORM 
formatting should be completed for release in 2018.  A new "Agriculture Xpress" course was 
released in English late in Dece mber.  Similar to "WTO in 10'", this course is aimed to boost WTO 
outreach of non -specialised audiences, as it provides basic knowledge on Agriculture trade issues 
following a learning story and a learning -by-doing approach.  
3.33.   A total of 26 e -Learning course s were open for registration in 2017.  With the publication 
during the year of the courses "Copyright in the WTO", "The Dispute Settlement System" and 
"Patents in the WTO" in French and Spanish, the proportion of online courses available in all three 
langu ages rose above 92%, making the language coverage of the e -Learning portfolio  virtually 
complete.  
3.34.   The e -Learning offer by level and subject is presented in the table below and can be 
consulted under http://ecampus.wto.org/ : 
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 16 - 
 
  020406080100
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Multimedia Components  Level  Generalists  Specialists  
N/A Tailored Course (E)  
Outreach  WTO in 10' (E, F, S)  
Agriculture Xpress (E)  
Introduction  Introduction to WTO (E, F, S)  
Intermediate  Accession to WTO (E, F, S)  Agriculture & WTO (E, F, S)  
 Multilateral Trade Agreements (E, F, S)  Copyrights (E, F, S)  
 Legal Underpinnings (E, F, S)11 Dispute Settlement System (E, F, S)  
 Regional Trade Agreements (E, F, S)  Made in…: understanding Rules of Origin 
(E, F, S)   Trade & Development (E, F, S)12 
 Trade Finance and WTO (E, F, S)  Market Access for Goods and NAMA 
negotiations (E, F, S)   Transparency – Notifications (E, F, S)  
 WTO & Trade Economics - Theory & Policy 
(E, F, S)  Patents (E, F, S)  
 SPS Measures (E, F, S)  
  TBT (E, F, S)  
  Trade & Environment (E, F, S)  
  Trade in Services (E, F, S)  
  Trade Remedies (E, F, S)  
  TRIPS (E, F, S)  
  TRIPS – Short Trip (E, F, S)  
  WTO Market Intelligence (E, F, S)  
 
3.35.   Interactivity in online courses supports 
the effective transfer of knowledge and keeps 
participants engaged, which are two of the main 
challenges in this form of training.  It also 
provides the trainees with up -to-date 
information on current developments and hence 
reduces the digital gap.  It is achieved through a 
number of ways includ ing making courses more 
attractive with multimedia elements, organizing 
Chat sessions, feeding the News Forum and 
maintaining an active presence on social media.  
In 2017, significant emphasis was placed on 
keeping up with the interactivity requirements of  
e-Leaning as outlined below.13  The number of new multimedia components (audio, animations or 
video) added to the courses in 2017 (72) was back to the levels seen in 2014 -15, following the 
high number of courses upgraded during the year.  
3.36.   Important differences in the characteristics and content of the multimedia  elements cannot 
be presented in a graphic (for example, a 3 or 15 minutes video, a simple straightforward 
animation or an elaborated one based on a complex scenario would e ach be counted as o ne 
element).  A high number of interactive course components, such as exercises and serious 
games,14 are not counted as multimedia elements .  A special motivational series of multimedia 
components (consisting in 4 parts: preparation, organizatio n, participa tion and commitment) was 
created  in English, French and Spanish  to motivate participants and encourage them  to continue 
and finish their study online .  The drop -out rate tended to be slightly higher among participants 
registered into non -interactive course s than among those attending interactive courses ( section 
5.1.1.1).  
3.37.   Interactivity in online courses wa s boosted by Chat sessions and online Discussion Fora  
address ing participant s' queries on the e-Learning process  (website functionalities, online course 
offer, etc.)  and providing  them with the latest news from the WTO  and its work .  The volume of 
interactive activities remained stable in 2017 (195 activities, i.e. 2 more than in 2016), of which 
66% focused on a trade -related issue.  
                                                
11 Both the old and new versions of the course were available on the e -Campus in French and Spanish 
until February 2017, after which the old versions of the course were removed.  
12 Both the old and new versions of the course were available on the e -Campus in French and Spanish 
until April 2017, after which the old versions of the course were removed.  
13 See recommendation 13 of the external evaluation.  
14 Serious games make use of a gam e design (e.g. competition, curiosity, collaboration, individual 
challenge), to enhance the motivation of participants to engage in the learning experience.  They facilitate the 
comprehension of difficult concepts and contribute to increasing knowledge tra nsfer.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 17 - 
 
  020406080100
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Chat Sessions  
020406080100120
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017News Forum Discussions  
 
3.38.   The number of Chat se ssions stabilised in 2017 after the significant increase in 2016 (85 
against 84 in 2016).  On average, two Chat sessions were organized every week, one focusing on 
e-Learning matters to deal with administrative or technical issues , and the other on substan tive 
matters to enhance participants' results and engagement in the courses.  Substantive Chat 
sessions focused on ongoing WTO issues, such as  the entry into force of the TFA, amendment of 
the TRIPS Agreement,  the negotiations prior to MC11 , TPRs, etc.  As in previous years, 
participants showed enthusiasm for Chat sessions as they were given the opportunity to ask their 
questions live to Secretariat experts, and to interact with other participants, share experience and 
views and follow -up on their respect ive questions.  Chat transcripts were available on the 
e-Campus for  those unable to join in live.  
3.39.   The volume of News Forum Discussions was also  stable in 2017 with a total of 110 topics 
launched against 109 in 2016.  The objective  of the e-Learning News Fo rum is to keep participants 
informed and up -to-date on latest WTO news and developments, foster discussion and enhance 
networking opportunities.  The News Forum is available to parti cipants 24/7 in all time zones.  
3.40.   Interactivity of e -Learning courses benefi tted greatly from the introduction of a more 
integrated offer on Social Media.   Positive feedback received from participants following the major 
overhaul operated in 2016 on WTO e -Campus accounts on Facebook and Twitter, prompted WTO 
e-Learning staff to fo cus on the revision of LinkedIn and YouTube account s in 2017, multiplying 
outreach channels and features , and expanding the size and profile of the audience.  Social Media 
provide, inter alia, the opportunity to reach out to non -government officials such a s academia, 
journalists, NGOs, private sector and MPs.  Traffic increased dramatically on Facebook and Twitter 
in 2017, with the number of posts and tweets surging respectively by 19% and 75% compared to  
2016.  At the end of 2017, 268 posts were available  on LinkedIn and 134 videos and animations 
on YouTube channel.  Feedback on Social Media was analysed weekly leading to immediate 
adjustment when necessary.  
3.41.   The efforts continued in 2017  to build linkages across the various components of the 
e-Learning programme  itself and with other TA programmes to make it more integrated into the 
global trade agenda and with  the developments and events taking place at the WTO.   For example, 
39 Discussion topics were developed by the assistant -tutors from the NTP aroun d topics 
representing the perspective of their countries or region, enhancing the synergy between the 
e-Learning and NTP.  
3.42.   Tools such as infographics and multimedia elements were used in 2017 to facilitate this 
integrated learning approach.  A total of 380 infographics (visual representation of data and 
information which can be easily and rapidly understood) were developed in 2017 (most of which in 
all three languages) for outreach via email and Social Media (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn).  
Some 48 promoti onal infographics (highlighting certain existing courses , promoting newly released 
ones, "The Course of the Week " or the e -Learning programme in general) were used in 2017.  
Several infographics were created and sent to participants as motivational reminde rs to encourage 
them to complete their course within the deadline.  Other promotional infographics were 
disseminated through Social Media to announce Chat sessions (37% of the infographics created for 
Twitter).  Infographics were also used to package infor mation into small learning bites called WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 18 - 
 
  
63% 7% 4% 26% Training Material Request - 2017  
Public sector
Private sector
Other
Academia
54% 
9% 5% 32% Training Material Sent - 2017  
 -  1,000  2,000  3,000Public sectorPrivate sectorOtherAcademicEvolution of TMR by Profile  
2016
2017micro -learning units that were shared with course participants .15  Micro -learning units were 
disseminated through e -mail, text and video messages , and Social Media .  Posts on Social Media 
were related as f ar as possib le to Weekly Chat s essions ( e.g. tweeted mi cro-learning units and 
"Did you know"  posts on Facebook).   At the end of March , a new category  entitled "What is 
happening at the WTO this week"  was introduced  in Facebook and a "Now at WTO"  category in 
Twitter .  Infographics illustrating the meetings of the week were  updated and posted each Monday  
for the week ahead . 
3.43.   The introduction  in 201 5 of the TMR procedure  proved very useful to  monitor the download 
of materials from the e -Campus and identify the profile of  the audience and the  evolution of 
interest in e -Learning material  across regions and user category .16  The total number of TMR 
received in 2017 was 18% higher in than in 2016 (5,332  requests ) and the Secretariat satisfied 
76% of them, against 32% in 2016 .  The TMRs received from those who were already registered in 
the very same online course at the same time were the only ones not satisfied by the Secretariat, 
to give a real chance to the completion of the course.   As in 2016, public sector officials prese nted 
nearly two thirds of the requests (63%) .  However, while only 11% of these TMR were satisfied  in 
2016, 64% of them were in 2017.  
3.44.   The evolution of TMR  by profile shows 
an increase for all categories of applicants 
compared to 2016.  The highest increase 
came from academia (+35%), when t he 
number of TMR from public and private  sector 
officials increased by 12% on average.  
3.45.   Geographically, Latin American 
accounted for most of the growth of TMR in 
2017 (+275% compared to 2016), followed 
by the Caribbean and Developed countries 
(+50%).  TMR from Africa, CEECAC and the 
Middle East decreased by roughly 20%, 30% 
and 50%, respectively.  Along with the increase in the overall number of TMR satisfied (nearly 2.5 
times more than 2016), there was an increase in the acceptance rate for all regions.  The most 
spectacular was for Africa (+309%) and the lowest for TMR from developed countries (non -
beneficiaries of WTO TA).  
  
                                                
15 Micro learning consists in delivering information in small learning units with an attractive design 
(infographics, text, images and/or sound).  This makes the  information easier to find, understand and retain,  
enhancing the learning experience of recipients.  
16 See section 3.3.1 in WT/COMTD/W/225.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 19 - 
 
  0 500 1000 1500AfricaAsia PacificCaribbeanCEECACLatin AmericaMiddle EastDevelopedEvolution of TMR by region  
2016
2017
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%AfricaAsia PacificCaribbeanCEECACLatin AmericaMiddle EastDevelopedTMR satisfied by region  
3.46.   Analysing the language of the material requested by country showed that in 2017, TMR 
were not necessarily  in the language of the country of the applicants.17  Materials were requested 
in English by applicants from French and Spanish speaking countries.  This confirms that when 
given a choice, some French or Spanish speaking learners tend to opt for courses in English.18 
3.4.2   Improvements in the face -to-face offer  
3.47.   This section provides some highlights o n the improvements introduced during the year into 
the TA face -to-face offer.  It aims to illustrate how the Secretariat is adjusting its curricula, the 
content of its trainings, it s pedagogical approach , its learning s upports and materials to 
continuously enhance its service and response to Members' needs (see follow -up on 
recommendations 16 and 20 in section 3.2 above).  Following the practice used in preceding 
annual performance reports , this section is not intended t o be comprehensive but rather to provide 
a variety of e xamples in no particular order.  
3.4.2.1   Holistic approach to trade issues  
3.48.   The trend observed in previous years consisting in addressing interrelated elements of 
various Agreements in a cross -cutting manner wit hin the same activity continued in 2017.   This 
was observed for global activities (usually at advanced level) or for regional activities (mainly at 
intermediate level).  At the national level, a growing number of requests from Members were 
related to more than one Agreement, with SPS/TBT joint seminars being the most frequently 
requested.  This require d the development of ever more integrated training materials each year.  
                                                
17 A country's language designates the preferred language of the country for WTO purposes.  
18 See WT/COMTD/W/229.  
WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 20 - 
 
  Interlinkages between SPS, TBT and TF also continued to feature prominently in traini ngs on these 
topics.  
3.49.   Another area that len t itself easily to a horizontal treatment of various WTO Agreements 
was e-Commerce.   The training in September in Singapore for Asian countries was the first 
regional workshop on e -Commerce which addressed Trade in  Goods, in Services and IP in a single 
event.   This holistic approach, underscored with a single case scenario used across the different 
disciplines, successfully highlighted the cross -cutting nature of the e -Commerce phenomenon and 
the interaction of WTO rules in this area.  
3.50.   A new global activity was organized in October specifically target ing LDCs on both 
Agriculture and SPS Agreements.  This workshop was the first activity combining the two 
Agreements in a context other than national.  The activity was fo und successful and spurred 
further reflection on ways to better integrate the concepts of the two Agreements in exercises and 
case studies.  A joint Agriculture -SPS regional activity is planned for 2018.   It will provide an 
opportunity to fu rther refine th e curriculum.  
3.51.   Building on the success of the WHO, WIPO, WTO online course on Promoting Access to 
Medical Technologies and Innovation reported on in the previous annual performance report ,19 and 
on the demand expressed by Members to make the 2016 global work shop on trade and public 
health a standing product in the TA catalogue, the Secretariat organized in November  the second 
global workshop on trade and public health.  A new 2 -day multidisciplinary case study on 
"Medicines – Innovation & Access, The IP, Pro curement  and Competition Dimension"  was 
introduced.  It covered various trade disciplines related to health in a holistic manner and from 
different perspectives, mapping out the roles and responsibilities of officials from the different 
institutions involv ed at the domestic level.  The workshop also included break -out sessions on 
topical issues top ping the agendas of other international fora (e.g. anti -microbial resistance and 
non-communicable diseases ) in order to place trade policy decisions in the broade r perspective of 
global development debates such as the promotion of public health and human rights.  
3.4.2.2   TRIPS20 
3.52.   Year 2017 was a particularly important year for TA related to the TRIPS Agreement.  The 
entry into force of the Protocol Amending the Agreement in J anuary  opened up a new chapter in 
the delivery of TA in the field of TRIPS and public health.   At the special meeting of the TRIPS 
Council marking the amendment's entry into force, Members called for a renewed focus on 
capacity building in this area to su pport the implementation of the system of compulsory licensing 
for export of pharmaceuticals for countries in particular need , a system that became part of the 
Agreement by virtue of the amendment. WTO TA activities in this area targeted  the domestic use 
of this system in local  procurement programmes to ensure access to affordable medicine.  
3.53.   A regional  activity was organized  in November  in Brazil for Latin American Members.  The 
workshop  focused on the  domestic implementation of the new TRIPS provisions to f oster the ir use  
as an effective procurement tool to ensure access to affordable medicines.   It rais ed awareness of 
the need for a coherent and multidimensional approach to innovation and access to the 
pharmaceutical sector so as to secure the best outcome for public health.  The activity contributed 
to an improved understanding of the positive role that trade agreements can play in support of 
research and development of medical t echnologies and access to them.  
3.54.   Two national activities  in Chile in May and in El Salvador in August focused on the relation 
between trade, IP and public health , in collaboration with WIPO and the Pan -American Health 
Organization (PAHO) .  After each workshop, the WTO -WIPO -PAHO team discussed with the local  
authorities the need to amend the ir patent law and for coordination  between the government 
agencies responsible for trade, IP and health to fully incorporate the provisions of the Protocol 
amending the TRIPS Agreement.  
3.55.   In February , a national workshop in Sain t Vincent and the Grenadines focused on 
consultations among officials involved in the process of national ratification of the TRIPS 
                                                
19 This course is  not part of the WTO e -Campus, it  is hosted by the WIPO Academy and can be ac cessed 
at https://welc.wipo.int/acc/index.jsf?page=courseCatalog.xhtml&lang=en&cc=DL701E%23plus_DL701E . 
20 A more detailed report on TA in the area of TRIPS for 2017 can be found in document IP/C/W/634.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 21 - 
 
  amendment.  This activity resulted in the conclusion of the acceptance process and the deposit of 
the instrument of acceptan ce in May.  
3.56.   In relation to the broader implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, a new curriculum was 
developed in 2017 consisting in a global symposium on the TRIPS Agreement and the National 
Judiciary held in Geneva in December.   This was the first ever TA p rogramme tailored for national 
IP judges.   It recognized the key role of the national judiciary in ensuring a balanced and effective 
implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.   It responded to increasing demand from Members for 
specialised capacity building an d international cooperation in this field.  
3.57.   In an effort to better respond to Members' needs, a three -day WIPO -WTO colloquium for IP 
teachers and researchers was organized for the first time at the regional level in Singapore, in 
February.  Its objective wa s to enhance the understanding of current international developments in 
IP law and policy, the status of WIPO and WTO Agreements and ongoing work with bearing on IP, 
focusing on current activities particular ly relevant to the Asian context.   It also aimed at promoting 
cutting edge research focused on the region, and encouraging the publication of high quality 
research as a means of building domestic capacity for adapting and applying policy options within 
the framework  of international IP standards.  
3.4.2.3   SPS 
3.58.   The 2017 thematic workshop on the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement brought 
together a large number of officials from Members' Enquiry Points, National Notification Authorities 
and other relevant authorities for an exchange of experiences and hands -on training on the 
improved SPS tools, the SPS Information Management System (SPS -IMS) and the SPS Notification 
Submission System (SPS NSS).  Participants benefitted from the introduction of the new improved 
version of the SPS -IMS, the new e -Subscription service for delegates to receive official WTO 
documents; and the WTO Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I -TIP).  For the first time since its 
launch in 2016, a practical session was dedicated to the use of the ePing SPS/TBT notification alert 
system.  P articipants also shared national experiences and best  practices in conducting public 
consultations w hen developing SPS regulations.  
3.59.   A regional SPS workshop was held in Costa Rica in June for Latin America and had a specific 
focus on good regulatory practice  (GRP) .  This was the first time that this specific theme was the 
subject of a regional workshop.  The workshop included specific se ssions which focused on the role 
of the private sector .  Industry representatives were invited to present their experiences and 
expectations in relation to their coordination with the public sector on the development of SPS 
regulations and public policies.   After an overview of GRP, including the work of STDF  and OECD in 
the area , participants, IICA and private sector representatives (e.g. National Chamber of Milk 
Producers, Export Council, etc.)  presented  their own experiences .  A new interactive training 
exercise on GRP was developed specifically for th e workshop.  The exercise focuses on six  different 
case studies where participants were provided with information on a particular regulatory 
challenge facing a country, which entailed  developing a new SPS re gulation, revising or repealing 
an existing one.  Participants were tasked in groups to provide an explanation o n how they would 
address the specific regulatory challenge (using the details of the case study), to clearly explain 
the steps  and identify  the actors to involve in undertaking the identified regulatory change.  
3.4.2.4   Accessions  
3.60.   A new one -week global course on Goods Schedules for WTO Accession was organized in 
March.  The course enhanced participants ' understanding  of bilateral market access negotiations  
on goods a nd technical aspects of the goods schedules.  The experience -sharing sessions 
organized with former accession negotiators who had been directly involved in goods negotiations 
proved highly useful.   Representatives from the Permanent Missions in Geneva of two recently 
acceded Members share d their perspective on WTO Me mbership and accession process.  
3.61.   The first three -day regional Dialogue on WTO Accessions for the Greater Horn of Africa was 
held in Kenya in August, in partnership with the government of Kenya and the University of 
Nairobi.  It gathered high -level government officials from four Acceding governments (Comoros, 
Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan), South Sudan (non -WTO Observer)  and representatives from some 
Article XII Members , development partners and international organizations.   The dialogue had WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 22 - 
 
  three main sessions: (i) WTO Membership: Structural Reforms and Regional Integration; (ii) 
Accession to the WTO; and (iii) Mobilising Support for WTO Accession.  Participants adopted the 
"Nairobi Outcome: Fostering Synergies and Coherences between Regional Integration and the 
Multilateral Trading System th rough WTO Accessions".  
3.4.2.5   Miscellaneous  
3.62.   Assisting Members to comply with transparency requirements of the Agreement on 
Agriculture continues to be one of the main foc i of WTO TA in the area of agriculture.  The yearly 
advanced Geneva -based workshop on Agriculture Notifications targeted  Members with high levels 
of outstanding notifications.  As in previous years, a  one-day "notificatio n clinic"  addressed  
individual participants' needs, including many sensitive notification issues that cannot be raised  in 
plenary sessions .  The new  system for online submission of notifications  was presented on top of 
the Agriculture Information Managemen t System (Ag -IMS).   Hands -on exercises enabled 
participants to prepare agriculture notifications and familiarize themselves with the system.   
Finally, a round table with Geneva -based delegates  on the  transparency and the review process 
allowed participants  to better understand the continuum between the work carried out in capital 
and in Geneva.  
3.63.   Building on the success of tailor -made TPR follow -up activities reported in previous annual 
reports, a regional activity was held in August 2017 in Myanmar.   This regional trade policy 
roundtable for Five Asian LDCs (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal) was a highly 
successful activity as it: (i) enhanced knowledge and understanding of participants of the TPR 
process; (ii) enabled a dialogue amongst particip ants about TPR best practices and how the TPR 
process can help them undertake trade -related reforms and mainstream their trade policies into 
their wider economic and development policies; and (iii) provide d a forum for participants to 
exchange views and sh are national and regional experiences on the identification of their TA needs 
and best ways to harness support to address them.  This activity provided  a concrete example of 
the Secretariat's effort to implement recommendation 15 of the external evaluation  (see Annex I).  
3.64.   The Secretariat respond ed to the growing demand from many Members to look at areas of 
emerging economic importance  (see follow -up on recommendation 20 in section 3.2 above).  One 
of these areas is TiVA.  To improve understanding of TiVA con cepts, the Secre tariat organized the 
first ever course on T iVA and GVCs .  This five -day course was held in Geneva in September and 
focused on Africa.   It clarified the concepts and the statistical approach to measuring it.  
Participants familiarized themse lves with the online OECD -WTO TiVA database.  As in the case of 
other services statistics -related activities, participation of OECD and UNSD experts contributed to 
the success of th e course.  South Africa and Togo also benefitted from national activities o n these 
themes held in June and September . 
3.65.   The first global advanced workshop on Government Procurement was held in November.   It 
focused on policy -related issues at the intersection of trade, procurement, sustainable 
development and shared prosperity, and  highlighted the interconnection between these issues and 
the need for a holistic and coordinated approach in addressing them.  The workshop attracted very 
high interest and benefited from contributions from the  Secretariat and top experts from 
academia, o ther international organis ations and research institutions.  
3.66.   As explained above for e -Learning (see section 3.4.1), synergies among various face -to-face 
training programmes were pursued.  Activities under the WCP provided a good opportunity to 
address topic s at the interface between the implementation of WTO rules and policy space 
available to Members.  Examples from 2017 included a Trade & Environment activity held in 
Argentina in October in relation to climate change and the frequent use of the work carrie d out by 
the STDF in core WTO TA activities.  The STDF work helps to build the content of the activities 
around its projects in the country(ies) concerned (e.g. SPS/TBT activities held in Sri Lanka and 
Papua New Guinea in  February and December).  This ensures the coherence between the WTO TA 
stricto sensu  and other capacity building initiatives hosted by the WTO.  The  EIF Secretariat is also 
increasingly contributing to TA activities such as the TPR follow -ups (e.g. in the  Solomon Islands in 
April and in Myanmar in August).  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 23 - 
 
  0%10%20%30%40%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Participants from LDCs in  
e-Learning courses  4  IMPLEMENTATION OF TA  PLAN AND MAIN FEATUR ES OF THE WTO TA PROVIDED IN 
2017 
4.1.  In 201 7, excluding Other Activities which did not constitute WTO TA per se  or which 
contributed to the TA provided by other inst itutions , the WTO undertook a total of 261 TA 
activities, both in Geneva and in the field .  Following a now well established practice, t his chapter 
analyses this portfolio of activities according to the following criteria: participation of LDCs, 
geographic al distribution, product mix, subjects covered, language mix, progressivity of training, 
gender mix amongst participants and Key Results pursued.  For each of these elements, the 
distribution of the various types of activities (global, national, regional a nd e-Learning) measured 
in terms of number of activities, participants, days of training and expenditure is considered.  
4.2.  No data on the duration (in days or hours) of the o nline courses  is presented.  This is due to 
the self -paced nature of e -Learning.  Onl ine courses  are available throughout the year  and 
participants can register any time .  Online training courses have to be completed within two 
months  of the  date at which they are started, but the  actual number of hours or days that 
participants dedicate t o a given course is not known to the Secretariat.  
4.3.  In view of the specificities of the long -term internships hosted in Geneva in terms of duration 
(9 months on average), cost (CHF  2 million per year on average over 2012 -17) and number of 
participants (44±3 a year on average over 2012 -17), they have been excluded from the analysis 
presented in section 4.4 (distribution by subject) onwards.  This will avoid distorting the analysis 
of other face -to-face activities and repeating the same explanation to justify the discrepancies that 
may arise.  
4.4.  Analysing the cost of the various activities implemented in 2017 aims to provide Members 
with a cost -efficiency and effectiveness perspective.  W hilst confirming the very high cost -
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.  It 
is hoped that this wi ll help Members make  more informed decisions related to the TA offered by 
the WTO.  
4.1  Participation of least developed countries (LDCs21) 
4.5.  LDCs continue to be a priority for the WTO TA offer.  They were invited to 68% of all WTO TA 
activities organised in 2017 (72% in 2016, 61% in 2015) and approximately  one third of the face -
to-face activities were specifically directed towards them.  The fact that Africa and Asia -Pacific 
received the highest number of TA field activities in 2017 (see section 4.2) reinforced th is priority, 
as most LDCs are located in these two regions.  In Africa and Asia -Pacific, LDCs accounted for 47% 
of the participants  in regional activities and 46% in national activities.  Overall, LDCs represented 
29% of the total number of participants wh o benefitted from WTO trainings in 201 7. 
4.6.  The same trend as for face -to-face 
activities was observed  for e-Learning courses.  
Participants from LDCs represented  30% of the 
total e -Learning  audience in 2017, in line with 
the average in 2012-17 (30%±4%).  To see 
the participation of LDCs grow in absolute 
terms at the same high pace as the overall 
audience of the WTO online courses shows 
that, on average, these countries have today 
the same learning capacities as their more 
developed counterparts, which is a v ery 
positive signal.  
4.7.  The 2017 participation figures for both e -
Learning and face -to-face activities allow to conclude with an acceptable degree of confidence that 
representatives from LDCs represent one third of WTO total TA participants.  
                                                
21 LDCs represent less than a third of all potential beneficiaries.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 24 - 
 
  0%20%40%60%80%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017LDCs in Long -term Internships  4.8.  Besides the priority given to addressing 
LDC requests for national activities and to 
ensuring that LDC participants have a priority 
access to regional and global activities, several 
other programmes/activities are specifically 
designed for and/or geared to wards the needs 
of LDCs, in line with the stated targets of the 
TA Plan for 2016 -17.  In 201 7, LDC nationals 
represe nted 50% of the total participants in 
the long -term internship programmes in 
Geneva (3 percentage points less than in 
2016).  This proportio n remained stable over 
the period 2012 -17 (on average 54%±4%).  
The breakdown of LDC representation in each 
of the internship programmes in 2017 indicates slight variations between programmes while still 
confirming the predominance of LDCs in most of them save for the Regional Coordinator Internship 
Programme  (RCI) and Young Professionals Programme  (YPP).  The proportion of LDCs ranged from 
0% in the YPP, 20% in the RCI to as high as 69% in the NTP.  
4.9.  Participants from LDCs accounted for 31% of the participan ts in Geneva -based courses in 
2017 and  4 of the 41 global activities were specifically designed for LDCs.  The three -week 
introduction course for LDCs was held in English  and gathered 21 participants , and the thematic 
course on priority issues of LDCs in t he Multilateral Trading System  (MTS) 22 participants .  In the 
South -South dialogue on LDC and development, 54 of the 69 participants came from LDCs, and in 
the thematic course on Agriculture with priority to LDCS, 21 out of 25 participants.  Two  out of the  
four WTO TA missions to establish or upgrade a Reference Centre (RC) took place in LDCs .22  The 
review of the status of RCs in 2017 indicated that 55% of those considered as active are operating 
in LDCs.  
4.10.   LDCs are considered a priority target for TPR  follow -up activities.  When carefully designed, 
these activities prove to be a useful resource mobilization exercise.  This is of particular relevance 
for LDCs where the resources needed to implement policy adjustments that may have been 
suggested by the TPR are sorely lacking.  However, these activities are based on national requests 
and very few of these usually emanate from LDCs.  Two TPR follow -up missions out of the seven 
carried out in 2017 were held in an LDC, a marginally higher proportion than in 2016.  The 
Solomon Islands held a follow -up activity on 24 -26 April to promote the reforms initiated after the 
third TPR (mainly on investment and competition policies, electronic payments and special 
economic zones), identify TA priorities and gather dono rs' support in these areas.  Chad's TPR 
follow -up was held on 25 -27 July to consider the inconsistencies and concerns raised about the 
country's trade regime during the TPR.  The workshop reflected on ways of addressing them and 
identified TA needs (e.g. o n customs valuation, TBT, SPS and notifications).  
  
                                                
22 Cambodia and Sudan.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 25 - 
 
   -  30  60  90  120GlobalMiddle EastLatin AmericaCEECACCaribbeanAsia-PacificAfricaNumber of Activities by Region  
 -  2  4  6  8GlobalMiddle EastLatin AmericaCEECACCaribbeanAsia-PacificAfricaExpenses by Region (MCHF)   - 1,000  2,000  3,000  4,000  5,000  6,000GlobalMiddle EastLatin AmericaCEECACCaribbeanAsia-PacificAfricaParticipants by Region  
 -  500  1,000  1,500  2,000GlobalMiddle EastLatin AmericaCEECACCaribbeanAsia-PacificAfricaDays of Training by Region  4.2  Geographical distribution  
4.11.   Global activities, whether online or face -to-face, represented nearly 44% of the  WTO TA 
activities organized in 2017, progressing by another 3 percentage points compared to 2016.   Most 
of this growth came from e -Learning courses , as their share of the total WTO TA activities reached 
28% instead of 2 4% in 2016 in a context in which the ove rall number of face -to-face activities 
organised during the year declined by 10%.  However, a ctivities carried out in Asia-Pacific grew by 
11% to reach 22% of the total, whilst those in Africa, the Caribbean and CEECAC decreased by 
26% on average, and thos e in Latin America and the Middle East remained stable.23  As a result, 
and for the first time since the Secretariat keeps statistics, Africa was no longer  the region that 
received the highest number of WTO TA activities in 2017 .  Its share of the total fac e-to-face 
activities was only 20% in 2017 against an  average of 26%±4% over 2012 -16.  A 40% drop in 
regional activities held in Africa combined with a 20% drop in national activities led to this result.  
4.12.   As in previous years, Africa remained disproportionately affected in 2017 by the 
administrative measures taken against Members and Observers in arrears on their contribution to 
the WTO: 9 out of the 12 Members in category III and all 3 Observers in categories II and III at 
the beginning of the  year were African countries and had to be denied access to WTO TA.24  This 
meant that 20% of the African Members and a third of the African Observers had to be denied TA 
during at least part of the year.  Taking into account the date on which some of them regularised 
their contributions, the countries concerned could not benefit from WTO TA during three quarters 
of the year on average.  These figures show the actual impact of the administrative measures on 
some of the African countries.  
4.13.   The number of global  face-to-face activities held in 2017 declined marginally compared to 
2016, but remained in line with the average since 2012 (41±4).   The current physical limitations 
                                                
23 The Caribbean region suffered in 2017 from a number of climatic hazards, often leading to the 
postponement of the planned WTO TA activities.  Some security concerns in other countries of the region had a 
similar impact on TA activities.  
24 Members: Burundi, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea -Bissau, 
Mauritania, Niger and Sierra Leone.   Observers: Libya, Sao Tomé & Principe and Sudan.  
  National  
   Regional  
   Global  
   e-Learning  
 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 26 - 
 
  imposed on the availability on the WTO campus of proper training rooms makes it challengi ng to 
hold several  activit ies in Geneva in parallel , which explains the relative stability of the number of 
global activities over time.  Whilst activities with a global geographical reach held in Geneva 
represented 23% of face -to-face activities, they acc ounted for 19% of the participants, 75% of the 
training days delivered by the Secretariat and 49% of the TA costs.  As in previous years, these 
activities tended to benefit a reduced pool of individuals who stayed for extended periods of time 
in Geneva , as is particularly the case for long -term internship programmes (see above).  
4.14.   Participation in activities held in Africa (1,356 participants)  was more than one third lower 
than in 2016 , way below the annual average (i.e. 2,002  participants ) recorded  for 2012 -16.  The 
Caribbean (148 participants against an average of 289), CEECAC (576 participants against an 
average of 944) and the Middle East (373 participants against an average of 485) followed the 
same trend.25  The reduction in Latin America (1,219 participa nts against an average of 1,320) 
was in line with the overall lower number of activities for the year, whilst Asia -Pacific was the only 
region seeing an increase in participation (1,753 participants against an average of 1,527; +28% 
compared to 2016).  
4.15.   A total of 1 1,491 participa nts from all regions (146 countries) followed  e-Learning courses in 
2017, representing an increase of 12% compared to 2016.  In this field too , the year saw a 
significant rebalancing of the geographical distribution amongst participants, which had remained 
fairly stable over the previous years.  Africa accounted for 33% of the total number of participants 
(5 percentage points less than in 2016), barely maintaining its position as the first recipient of 
e-Learning.  The Caribb ean, Middle East, and CEECAC to a lesser extent, also experienced 
significant decreases of their share of e -Learning participants: they represented respectively 4% 
(-5 percentage points), 2% ( -7 percentage points) and 6% ( -0.6 percentage point s), well belo w 
past averages in 2012 -16 for these regions.  These decreases were more than compensated by the 
booming participation in Asia -Pacific (+11 percentage points to reach 31%, significantly above the 
average registered in 2012 -16) and Latin America (+6 percent age points to reach 23%, in line 
with the average in 2012 -16). 
4.16.   As far as days of training are concerned, global face -to-face activities represented 75% of 
the total in 2017, a 14 percentage point increase compared to 2016.  This is due to the long 
duration  of some Geneva -based activities, such as long -term internships that exceed the average 
duration of training courses  (they last  between six and twelve months , i.e. approximately 205 
working days each  on average ).  The share of each region in the remaining 25% of training days is 
closely correlated with the share of each region in the total number of activities.  
4.17.   The total expenditure of nearly 1 5 MCHF was distributed following the same pattern as in 
2016.  Activities held in Geneva, categorized as "Global" i n the graph , accounted for 53% of the 
total TA costs (50% exclu ding e-Learning).  This is mainly  attributable to the high cost  of the 
various long-term internship programmes, owing to their extended duration (on average 9 .5 
months in 201 7).  The distributi on of expenses by region in 2017  was proportional to the number 
of acti vities and participants per region.  
  
                                                
25 In Africa, this is the direct result of the lower number of TA activities discussed above.  In the 
Caribbean, this was the consequence of the climatic hazards and security concerns mentioned above.  In t he 
Middle East, a regional activity for the private sector was cancelled due to a low response rate, and a regional 
activity on SPS had to be postponed to 2018 due to staffing issues.  The CEECAC region hosted a lower number 
of activities and its national ones had a different nature which required fewer participants than in 2016.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 27 - 
 
   - 1 2 3 4Days  Average Duration of Activities  
National Regional0%20%40%60%80%100%
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Evolution of TA Mix  
e-Learning
Global
Regional
National4.3  Product mix  
4.18.  This section looks into the share of 
the various categories of activities 
(referred to as product mix) in the total 
volume of TA activities delivered in 201 7, 
and the evolution of this share over 2012 -
17.  It also considers the evolution of the 
main features across categories (such as 
participation and duration).  The 
categorization of the product mix is based 
on the reach of the ac tivities (global, 
regional or national), with the exception of 
e-Learning which  is a standalone category 
owing  to its distinct delivery mode.  
4.19.   The graph shows that, despite a slight but steady decline since 2014 in their number,26 
national activities continu e to be the main TA delivery mechanism, representing 39% of the total 
TA activities in 201 7, in the same  order of magnitude as in the previous two years.  For the eighth 
consecutive  year, the share of online courses  increased , confirming its position as th e second 
largest category of activities .  The rest of the TA portfolio was split almost equally between 
regional and global face -to-face activities, whose relative importance remained broadly in line with 
past averages.  All the regions displayed the same preference for national activities in 2017.  The 
"simplicity" of their organization (the process is less resource -intensive for the Secretariat) and the 
flexibility of their programme (can be tailor ed to the very specific needs of the requesting authority  
and to the desired level) and audience (the requesting authority  has total discretion i n selecting 
the participants) explain their high popularity . 
4.20.   National activities gathered approximately three quarters of the participants in activities 
held outside Geneva, broadly in line with the proportion in previous years.  Since they were 
shorter than regional/global activities on average, they represented only 45% of the training days.  
4.21.  The duration of the various TA 
activities is highly variable across 
groups of products and in some cases 
within the same group.  As explained 
above, the sel f-paced nature of online 
courses makes it difficult to measure 
their duration.  Global activities tend to 
include a wide array of products 
(workshops of 2 days or less, long -term 
internships and advanced courses 
lasting between one and eight  weeks).  
Therefore, annual variations in the 
average duration of global activities 
depend on the type of activities on offer 
each year.  Within global activities, the 
average duration of training was essentially influenced by their level.  For instance, ac tivities at 
intermediate  level for generalists or specialists lasted on average 3.4 days in 2017, whereas 
activities at advanced level lasted on average 5 days for specialists and 25 days for generalists.  
Overall, excluding the longer trade policy course s (3 weeks or more), the average duration of 
regional and global activities was marginally shorter in 2017 compared to 2016 (3.4 days ±1.4 
day).  
                                                
26 See section 3.1.2 above.  Proportion of National/Regional Activities  
 Africa  Asia-Pacific  Caribbean  CEECAC  Latin America  Middle East  
National  76% 65% 60% 65% 75% 62% 
Regional  24% 35% 40% 35% 25% 38% WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 28 - 
 
  22% 
8% 
7% 63% Participation TA Mix 2017  
National
Regional
Global
e-Learning
01020304050Average Number of Participants in 
Regional/Global Activities  
Standard Deviation - 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000Participation in WTO TA activities  
e-Learning
Face-to-face4.22.   The average duration of national activities was more uniform in 2017 (3 days ±1 day), in 
line with the average si nce 2014.  Increas ing the duration of national activities, as often requested 
by the participants themselves and repeatedly reported in the past, remains a  persistent difficulty.  
4.23.   The balance between national and regional activities has an incidence on the distribution of 
TA expenditure across regions.  Regional activities cost on average 2.3 times more than national 
ones,27 since the WTO  finances the  travel and subsistence for both trainers and participants .  This 
is also influenced by the cost -sharing arran gements in place with partner institutions that can be 
more favourable in cert ain regions than in others.  In  national activities , the WTO covers only the 
trainers' expenses.  
 
4.24.  The upward trend observed since 
2011 in the number of individuals 
trained ann ually by the WTO ebbed in 
2017: the WTO trained 2% less 
participants than in 2016  (18,195 
persons in total).  Indeed, the 12% 
growth of the e -Learning audience was 
not sufficient to compensate for a 20% 
fall in the participation in face -to-face 
activities,  as the 10% drop in face -to-
face activities was compounded by a 
simultaneous reduction of the average 
number of participants per activity.  
After six years of relative stability in the 
number of participants in face -to-face 
activities, it is too early to s ay whether 
this constitutes the start of a new trend.  
In 2017, almost two thirds of the 
participants were trained online as a result.  The cost -effectiveness of e -Learning remained very 
high in 2017, as it trained 63% of the participants for 8% of the tot al WTO TA expenditure.  
4.25.   Analysing the correlation between the number of activities and of individuals trained under 
each TA product demonstrates that e -Learning has the highest participation  per activity  ratio of 
the TA mix.  Therefore, an increase in the n umber of e -Learning courses has a disproportionate 
impact on the overall volume of beneficiaries of WTO TA.  With their recommended maximum 
number of participants of 30 in order  to facilitate interactivity and hands -on work , face -to-face 
activities do not have a similar multiplier effect.  The average number of participants in 
regional/global activities has been fairly stable since 2012 (29.6 persons) and stood very close to 
the recommended maximum.  
                                                
27 Average calculated for the period 2012 -17. WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 29 - 
 
  01020304050Long -term Interns  
YPP
AIP
RCI
MIP
NTP
Months in
Geneva
25% 
13% 
13% 50% Sessions  
47% 
4% 4% 45% Participants  
31% 
12% 
12% 46% Duration  
Agriculture
Services
Trade Report
T Facilitation4.26.  Long-term internship 
programmes are part of the 
global face -to-face activities held 
in Geneva.  They benefit a small 
number of participants  hosted in 
the Secretariat or a mission  for 
extended period s of time during 
which they learn -by-doing.  
Long-term interns represented 
0.8% of the total participants in 
face-to-face activities and 4% of 
those in global ones  in 2017.  
They spent 9.5  months in 
Geneva on average for the 
Accession Internship Programme  
(AIP) and RCI; 10 months for 
the French & Irish Mission s 
Internship Programme  (FIMIP) 
and NTP ; and 12 months for the YPP.  Overall  in 2017, the  number of participants in the various 
long term internship programmes  was stable compared to the previous three years, as the lower 
number of FIMIP participants (14, i .e. 4 less than in 2016, its lowest number since 2011) was 
compensated by the launch of the YPP which hosted 5 young professionals during its first year.  
4.27.   Except for the RCI and YPP funded entirely through the GTF, the number of long -term 
interns  in any giv en year depends on the level of voluntary contribution received from  donors  for 
these specific programmes (China for AIP, France and Ireland for FIMIP, Netherlands for NTP) and 
on the tim ing of  these contributions in the year .  These factors also influence  the duration of the 
internships . 
4.28.   Long-term internships represented a significant share (14%) of the total WTO TA 
expenditure in 2017, as in previous years.  However, they  have a more efficient cost/day ratio 
than other face -to-face activities.  The analys is of costs per programme shows that the individual 
cost of each programme mirrored the evolution of the number of participants, as the average cost 
per intern per month has been fairly stable since 2012.  
    Videoconferences  
4.29.   Videoconference is one of t he media used from time to time by the Secretariat to deliver 
some of its TA activities or part of them , in Geneva and in the field .  Records on videoconferences 
are available for Latin America only.  These sessions provided a timely and very efficient res ponse 
to specific requests received from Members.  In 2017, 8 videoconferences ( -2 compared to 2016) 
were held with three different partners ( Latin American Integration Association  (ALADI) , Andean 
Community (CAN)  and IICA).  They gathered at least 758 part icipants in total (+57% compared to WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 30 - 
 
   -  20  40  60  80  100  120TRIPSStandardsServicesRulesMA for GoodsGov. ProcurementGeneralEnvironmentDispute SettlementAgricultureAccessionNumber of Activities by Subject  
 - 2,000  4,000  6,000  8,000  10,000TRIPSStandardsServicesRulesMA for GoodsGov. ProcurementGeneralEnvironmentDispute SettlementAgricultureAccessionParticipants by Subject  
 -  2  4  6  8TRIPSStandardsServicesRulesMA for GoodsGov. ProcurementGeneralEnvironmentDispute SettlementAgricultureAccessionExpenses by Subject (MCHF)  
 - 100  200  300  400  500  600TRIPSStandardsServicesRulesMA for GoodsGov. ProcurementGeneralEnvironmentDispute SettlementAgricultureAccessionDays by Subject  2016),28 sometimes in more than 20 countries at the same time through the IICA network, and 
had a cumulated duration of 13 hours ( -2 compared to 2016).  
4.30.   Two sessions were jointly organised with IICA on agriculture -related topics (rules of origin 
and trade disputes in relation to agricultural products) in Spanish and English.  
4.31.   As in 2016, four sessions were organised with the CAN s ecretariat on the TFA .  The 
presentations  organized in the autumn  focused successively on S&D, n ational committees, single 
windows and advance rulings.  These videoconferences covered the four countries of the CAN 
(Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador – Guayaquil an d Quito, and Peru) and the CAN s ecretariat , i.e. six 
sites in total.  
4.32.   Finally, as in 2016 two vid eoconferences were held during the short trade policy course held 
for ALADI members in Uruguay in October on Services and the world trade report, to avoid flying a 
WTO official for half a day only.  
Distribution by subject  4.4  
4.33.   Year 2017 saw a reversal of  the trend noted  in previous years  towards a higher  share of 
activities with a general scope  covering, if not all WTO subjects , at least several of them.  
Excluding the long term internship programmes, 40% of the TA activities ( -7 percentage points 
compared to 2016) fell in this category.   They included all the activities for generalists (3 ATPCs, 6 
                                                
28 For the sessions organised with IICA, it has been assumed that at least one person was behind each 
separat e connection to the network, but this is clearly a minimum.  Most of these have not been counted in the 
figures on participation mentioned above in this section.  
  National  
   Regional  
   Global  
   e-Learning  
 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 31 - 
 
  ITPCs, 1 introduction course for LDCs,  1 Introduction Day,  etc.) and other  activities that add ressed 
more than one WTO subject or that focus ed on skills (4 activities) or themes cut ting across several 
(if not all) WTO subjects such as TPR follow -up (7 activities); RCs (4 activities); outreach activities 
for MPs, journalists and civil society ( 5 activities); etc.  
4.34.   Activities with a general scope gathered 46% of the total participants that benefitted from 
TA in 201 7.  National and global activities tended to be more subject -specific (only 34 % and 37% 
of participants in global activities), and online co urses and regional activities less so (50% and 
59% of participants in global activities).  This is again a change compared to previous year as far 
as the focus of national and global activities are concerned .  Activities with a general scope 
accounted for 58% of the total training days  (–9 percentage points compared to 2016) and 59% of  
the total expenditure (-4 percentage points compared to 2016) .  Nearly half of the expenditure on 
general -scope activities was spent on regional activities, followed by globa l (35%), national (11%) 
and e -Learning (5%) activities . 
4.35.   As noted last year, since an ever increasing number of activities address both SPS and TBT 
at the same time, these two subjects have been grouped together in 2017 under the "Standards" 
denomination.  As in the previous two years, Standards was the most popular subject in 2017 
(thanks mainly to a high number of national activities), followed by Market Access (MA) for 
Goods,29 TRIPS (thanks to a relatively high number of different online courses) and Serv ices.  The 
hierarchy was fairly similar i n terms of number of participants . 
4.36.   Measured by number of days, the leading position was held by activities dedicated to 
Dispute Settlement ( 8% of the total for only 3% of the total share of activities), as in 201 6.  This 
results 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 ( 94 days in 
2016, i.e. 71% more than in 2016 and 25% more than in 2015 ).  Setting this aside, the hierarchy 
of subjects was the same as for the number of activities and participants.  If Standards, MA for 
Goods and TRIPS represented the three subjects on which the WTO spent the most in 2017, 
Government Procurement and Access ion came next, followed by Services.  
4.37.   The distribution of online courses by subject for 2017  confirms the pattern observed in 
previous years .  The WTO introduction course continued to be the most popular course among e -
Learning users (22% of the total e -Learning audience in 2017 as in 2016).  SPS was the second 
most attended online  course with 779 participants (2 1% more than i n 2016 ), followed by TBT 
(+34%), Agriculture (+ 14%), Development (+19%), etc. .  Together, the various TRIPS courses 
attracted 1,013  participants  (+11%), which validates the approach based on shorter more 
specialised courses .  These evolutions have to be assessed against the average increase of 12% in 
the participation in online courses in 2017.  Participation in the courses on DS and Cop yright 
launched at the end of 2015 increased by 65% and 135% respectively.   The course on Patents 
launched in 2016 had 50% more participants.  Courses on Regional Trade Agreements, Multilateral 
Trade Agreements, Services , Rules of origin and WTO in 10' attracted  roughly the same number of 
participants as in 2016 (between 450 and  550 participants).  
  
                                                
29 What is meant by Market Access for Goods includes: general GATT obligations, Schedules of 
concessions, tariffs and non -tariff measures, the modification of tariff concessions, the Information Technology 
Agreement, customs valuation, pre -shipment inspection, rules of origin, import licensing procedures and TF. WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 32 - 
 
   -  50  100  150MultilanguageSpanishFrenchEnglishNumber of Activities by 
Language  
 -  3,000  6,000  9,000  12,000MultilanguageSpanishFrenchEnglishParticipants by Language  
 -  2  4  6  8MultilanguageSpanishFrenchEnglishExpenses by Language (MCHF)  
 -  200  400  600MultilanguageSpanishFrenchEnglishDays of Training by Language  4.5  Language mix  
4.38.   The pattern observed in previous years with regard to the distribution of activities by 
language persisted in 2017 .  English was the language in which 64% of face -to-face activities 
(excluding long -term internships) were delivered in 2017, consistent with the average in 2012 -16 
estimated at 63%.  Correlated to that was the share of face -to-face activities in English in  total 
expenditure (65%), in the audience reached (60%) and in total days of training offered (60%).  
4.39.   The share of activities delivered in French and Spanish in the total face -to-face activities 
implemented in 2016 reached 13% and 16%, respectively.  Whilst  Spanish's relative importance 
was in line with the average in previous years, French's one was much lower.  This is one of the 
consequences of the lower number of activities held in French -speaking Africa already noted in 
section 4.2 above.  A proportion of 7% of face -to-face activities were held in at least two of the 
three WTO languages (and in most cases in all three languages), using interpretation services 
(broadly in line with previous years' average).  
4.40.   As a result, the distribution of the TA offer by  language in 2017 was not entirely consistent 
with the distribution of working languages amongst WTO Members ( 70% English, 18% French and 
12% Spanish), even if the current WTO TA offer in terms of languages continued to match by and 
large beneficiary's pre ferences.  
4.41.   The size of the audience in face-to-face activities held in French and Spanish was roughly 
proportional to their relative share of activities in 201 7, but a ctivities in Spanish accounted for a 
lower share of training days and expenses ( 12%).  This means that face-to-face activities in 
Spanish tended to be shorter and less expensive, probably as a result of advantageous cost -
sharing arrangements with some Latin American partners.  
4.42.   As in previous years, participation in multilingual activities was pr oportional to their overall 
share of total face -to-face activities (8%), whereas these activities tended to be proportionately 
longer (representing 12% of the total of training days) and marginally more expensive (9% of 
total TA costs).  In Geneva, interpr etation services – the highest extra cost item of these activities 
compared to monolingual activities – are not covered under the TA budget but are absorbed by  the 
interpretation budget of the WTO.  This means  that the higher cost was entirely due to  the 
additional days of subsistence allowance paid to participants  in global Geneva -based events , which  
did not have a dramatic impact on total expenditure.  
  National  
   Regional  
   Global  
   e-Learning  
 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 33 - 
 
   - 20 40 60 80 100 120Not SpecifiedSpecialists - AdvancedSpecialists - intermediateGeneralists - AdvancedGeneralists - IntermediateIntroductionNumber of Activities by Level  
 -  3,000  6,000  9,000Not SpecifiedSpecialists - AdvancedSpecialists - intermediateGeneralists - AdvancedGeneralists - IntermediateIntroductionParticipants by Level  
 -  100  200  300  400Not SpecifiedSpecialists - AdvancedSpecialists - intermediateGeneralists - AdvancedGeneralists - IntermediateIntroductionDays of Training by Level  
 -  1  2  3  4Not SpecifiedSpecialists - AdvancedSpecialists - intermediateGeneralists - AdvancedGeneralists - IntermediateIntroductionExpenses by Level (MCHF)  4.43.   Analysing the breakdown of e -Learning participants by language provides an accurate 
snapshot of benefic iary's actual language preferences.  With the exception of the tailored course, 
online  courses were equally available  in each the three languages throughout the year .  Each 
participant could choose his training language on a case by case basis .  In 201 7, the breakdown 
was fairly similar to that observed for face -to-face activities: 6 1% of participants followed courses 
in English, 18% in French and 21% in Spanish.   The average share of the three languages since 
2011 has been remarkably stable (English: 60%±1 %, French: 20%±1%, and Spanish: 20%±2%).  
4.6  Progressivity of training  
4.44.   As a result of the Progressive Learning S trategy (PLS) adopted in 2010, a set of guidelines 
on the substantive content of each of the three training levels was developed at the end of 2013.  
These guidelines define the core substantive elements that should be mastered by the participants.  
Efforts to introduce  progressivity in the training courses concentrated so far on regional, global 
and online courses, especially for generalists.  This section  aims to identify any emerging pattern 
in the implementation of PLS.  This proved difficult  in previous reports , as the full integration of 
the PLS across the wide array of TA offer is still in progress  and as a number of activities are 
conceived more as isolated training events rather than as a component in a longer cursus, even 
when such activities are ascribed a spec ific level .  The analysis excludes the long -term internships 
considered as advan ced activities for generalists.  
4.45.   The progressive reduction of the share of activities without a defined level continued in 
2017.  They represented only 4% of all activities agai nst 7% in 2016 , 9% in 2015 and 17% in 
2014.  Such activities gathered less than 2% of the participants (8% in 2016 ) for 5% of the total 
TA expenditure (4% in 2016, 8% in 2015), despite a higher share of training days (11% against 
29% in 2016).  
4.46.   Activities a t introduct ory level continue d to represent a fairly small proportion of the total TA 
activities, as their share in 201 7 remained within the range observed since 2012 (on average 
14%±3%).  The share of participants trained at introduct ory level (3,957 pers ons), the share of 
  National  
   Regional  
   Global  
   e-Learning  
 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 34 - 
 
  0%20%40%60%80%Rate of Women among Participants  
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017days dedicate d to this level and the financial resources allocated also remained fairly stable in 
2017 (22%, 10% and 10 % respectively).  
4.47.   The share of activities provided at intermediate level grew significantly in 2017, at the 
expense of more advanced activities, confirming the prevalence of intermediate  activities in the TA 
portfolio as a whole.   They accounted for 69% of the total activities in 201 7 (+11 percentage 
points compared to 2016),  71% of participants  (12,849 persons, +10 percentage points), 54% of 
training days (+14 percentage points compared to 2016, but in line with 2015) and 45%  of 
expenditure ( as in 2016).  
4.48.   The proportion of advanced activities decreased in 2017  compared to  2016, almost  
regardless of the indicator considered : 13% of activities  (-5 percentage points) , 6% of participants  
(1,060 persons, -3 percentage points)  and 33% of expenses  (-7 percentage points) .  Their share 
of training days was stable, though (25%).  As in previous years , most of advanced level trainings 
(91% against 78% in 2016 ) were delivered through global or regional activities for both 
generalists and specialists in 201 7. 
4.49.   The vast majority of e -Learning courses continued to be offered  at intermediate level  (90% 
of the total) as in previous years .  The remainder were mostly at introduct ory level, since no 
advanced level training is offered online.  Participants in e -Learning courses were split between 
intermediate (74%, stable) and introductory (26%, +4 perc entage points) levels in 2017, as 
participation in online courses without a defined level almost vanished.  
4.50.   In 201 7, 38% of the activities targeted generalists, as in 2016  (13% at introductory level, 
22% at intermediate level, and 3% at advanced level) , and  57% target ed specialists (+3 
percentage points - 47% at intermediate level and 10% at advanced level) .  For participants, the 
split between generalists and specialists was 47% -51%, as the original imbalance in favour of 
specialists is progressively erased  over the years  (4 percentage points difference in 2017  against 
15 in 2015 ).  Training days  were shared 54% -35% between  generalist s and specialists, reinforcing 
the imbalance between the two, since the activities for generalists tended to be significantly longer 
than for specialists on average.  As in 2016, e xpenses were shared almost equally between 
generalists and specialists (49% -47%) . 
4.7  Gender mix  
4.51.   Considering that only partial data on gender distribution among participants in face -to-face 
activities was a vailable in previous years (mainly prior to 2013), prudence should govern any 
analysis of the evolution over time.  Continuous efforts should give access to more comprehensive 
data.  In 2017, female participation in WTO TA (46% of the total TA audience) wa s higher than the 
2010-16 average (43%±1%).  
4.52.  Variations across 
regions of the share of 
women amongst WTO TA 
participants in 2017 
followed the same pattern 
as in previous years: 
gender parity, if not female 
predominance was 
observed in the Caribbean, 
CEECAC  and Latin America 
regions, which increased 
further the share of women 
amongst their participants 
(the share of female 
participation in activities in 
these regions was 60% 
against an average of 
51.5% in 2010 -16); women's participation in activities held in  Africa and Asia -Pacific converged 
(41%), following regular growth in Africa and reduction in Asia -Pacific; the rate was stable in the 
Middle East (39%).  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 35 - 
 
  0%20%40%60%
English French Spanish TotalWomen in e -Learning Courses  
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
20174.53.  Information on gender distribution 
among e -Learning audience s is 
exhaustive , as it is recorded 
automa tically upon registration , but does 
not give a materially different picture 
compared to face -to-face activities .  
Indeed, the proportion of women 
amongst WTO TA participants is fairly 
similar regardless of the training medium 
(face-to-face or e -Learning).  In 2017, 
women represented 46% of total 
beneficiaries of e-Learning courses , in 
line with the 2012 -17 average 
(47%±2%).  In spite of minor 
fluctuations, female participation in 
e-Learning has been relatively stable since 2010 .  The breakdown of gender dat a per training 
language points to a quasi -strict equality between female and male participation in e -Learning 
courses in English and Spanish (48% of women).  The share of women in French -speaking online 
courses grew by almost 6 percentage points in 2017, r eversing seven years of almost 
uninterrupted decline.  
4.8  Key Result mix  
4.54.   As initiated in the annual report for 2016, to facilitate performance analysis in chapter 5, 
this section describes the main features of WTO TA (number of activities, participation, duration 
and expenses) by Key Result.  Key Results are the outcomes around which the TA Plan is 
structured.  Four Key Results, each comprising a number of outputs, have been identified in the TA 
Plan for 2016 -17: 
a. Key Result 1:  Government officials are impl ementing WTO Agreements and making full 
use of Members' rights  
b. Key Result 2 : Acceding governments are participating in accession negotiations, in line 
with WTO accession processes and procedures  
c. Key Result 3:  Members are accessing and using WTO -related inf ormation enabling 
them to raise awareness of WTO matters with all their stakeholders  
d. Key Result 4:  MPs, journalists and civil society interacting with WTO, students or WTO -
supported academic institutions are applying trade policy and WTO -related topics and 
subjects in their courses and research  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 36 - 
 
   -  50  100  150  200  250Key Result 4Key Result 3Key Result 2Key Result 1Number of Activities by Key Result  
 -  4,000  8,000  12,000  16,000Key Result 4Key Result 3Key Result 2Key Result 1Participants by Key Result  
 - 300  600  900  1,200  1,500  1,800Key Result 4Key Result 3Key Result 2Key Result 1Days of Training by Key Result  
 - 2 4 6 8 10 12 14Key Result 4Key Result 3Key Result 2Key Result 1Expenses by Key Result (MCHF)  
4.55.   In 2017 as in 2016, the overwhelming majority of activities (82%, -2 percentage points) 
contributed to Key Result  1.  That proportion was higher in e -Learning courses (92%, -4 
percentage points), as most of them focus on the text of the Agr eements and their provisions, and 
lower for national activities (77%, +4 percentage points), in which beneficiaries have a greater 
freedom to enlarge the agenda.  Key Result 1 also gathered 88% of the participants (+4 
percentage points), represented 82% of  the training days ( -10 percentage points) and 83% ( -8 
percentage points) of the total TA expenses.  The general pre -eminence of Key Result 1 is entirely 
consistent with Members' needs and priorities identified in the TA Plan and the comparative 
advantage of the WTO identified in the external evaluation.  
4.56.   Key Result 4 was the second most important one in 2017 as in 2016, whether measured in 
terms of number of activities (12%, +2 percentage points), participants (7%, -1 percentage 
point), training days (15%, +10 percentage points) or expenses (12%, +7 percentage points).  
This means that under this Key Result, activities tended to gather proportionately less participants 
for longer durations.  Most of these activities (40%) were implemented nationally, mainly under 
the WTO Chairs Programme or Academic Support Programme.  Global and Regional activities (50% 
of the total) consisted to a large extent in outreach activities for journalists, MPs, etc. which were 
more numerous ahead of MC11.  
4.57.   Together Key Results 2 an d 3 represented 7% of the activities implemented in 2017, as in 
2016 (5% and 2% respectively, the reverse compared to 2016).  The vast majority of the 
activities under these Key Results were national ones (respectively 57% and 75%).  The significant 
decrea se of the relative importance of Key Result 3 compared to 2016 is the consequence of the 
recommendation of the external evaluation concerning RCs.  These two Key Results gathered 6% 
of the participants for 3% of the training days at 5% of total expenses.  The online course on 
Accession meant that Key Result 2 was always 3 to 4 times bigger than Key Result 3.  
  
  National  
   Regional  
   Global  
   e-Learning  
 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 37 - 
 
  0102030
Key
Result 1Key
Result 2Key
Result 3Key
Result 4TA Indicators  
2015
2016
20175  EVALUATION OF PERFOR MANCE IN 201 7 
5.1.  This section will focus on the elements that could be measured during the year and which 
constitute evidence of the  immediate, medium -term or progress towards long -term results 
produced by the TA provided by the WTO to its Members and Observers, on the basis of the 
indicators identified in the TA Plan 2016 -17.  Whenever useful and relevant, the main conclusions 
of the external evaluation will also be briefly summarised.  As in previous years , this section is 
presented according to the structure of the TA Plan to make it easier for Members to assess the 
results produced against the plans they had initially approved.  To that effect, each section starts 
with a short table summarising the situation at the end of 201 7 for each of the indicators and 
targets retained in the logframe annexed to the TA Plan 2016 -17. 
5.2.  The following codes have been used in this section:  
 Target met:  The target identified in the TA Plan logframe has been fully met 
or has been exceeded  
 Target partially met:  The target identified in the TA Plan logframe has been missed by 
a small margin, as significant progress has been made towards 
its achievement  
 Target not met:  The target identified in the TA Plan logframe has been largely 
missed and progress towards its achievement has been limited  
 Data not available:  The data available to the Secretariat is incomplete, if not 
missing completely, or is not reliable o r strong enough to 
support any conclusion one way or the other  
5.3.  The results shown in 201 7 were positive overall, as in 2015  and 2016 .  The proportion of 
targets met increased by four percentage points, reaching 61%.  Most of this improvement came 
from Key Result 4 and to a lesser extent from Key Result 2 , as the level of success under Key 
Result 1 (which represents approximately 8 2% of the entire TA provided by the WTO) ebbed in 
2017.   Measuring results at the outcome level remained a challenge, as in previous years . 
5.4.  On the evaluation side, the main ev olution  in 201 7 was the resumption of onsite evaluations 
by the Secretariat after a three -year interruption due to staffing issues .  The five multifaceted 
onsite evaluations performed during the year allowe d the Secretariat to assess the relevance, 
effectiveness and efficiency of four specific activities, to measure with four beneficiaries the results 
of the TA they had received over the previous five years, to assess the functioning of two 
partnerships and test the use of interpretation in two Geneva -based activities.  
5.5.  As already noted last year, the external evaluation will remain for the time being the main 
source to actually measure the long -term impact of the WTO TA, since the Secretariat does not 
have th e means to do so on an annual basis and many beneficiaries have great difficulties to 
provide relevant and reliable data to that effect, as noted by the external evaluators . 
5.6.  The indicators used to  measure the results 
of the TA provided by the Secretariat  in 2017 
were the same as during the first year of the 
biennium, according to the TA Plan approved by 
Members.  They were spread between the four 
Key Results as follows:  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 38 - 
 
  0%20%40%60%80%100%
2015 2016 2017Key Result 2  
0%20%40%60%80%100%
2015 2016 2017Key Result 4  
0%20%40%60%80%100%
2015 2016 2017Key Result 1  0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%
Target
metTarget
partially
metTarget
not metData not
availableSuccess rate  
2015
2016
2017
0%20%40%60%80%100%
2015 2016 2017Key Result 3  a. Key Result 1: 57% of the indicators, 82% of the total TA provided;  
b. Key Result 2: 7% o f the indicators, 5% of the total TA provided;  
c. Key Result 3: 7% of the indicators, 2% of the total TA provided; and  
d. Key Result 4: 30% of the indicators, 12% of the total TA provided.  
5.7.  The overall rate of success continued to 
rise in 2017 .  The targets were met in 62% of 
the cases (5 7% in 201 6).  They were partially 
met (i.e. missed by a small margin) in 8% of 
the cases ( 7% in 201 6) and not met in another 
20% of the cases ( 18% in 2016 ).  The cases 
when data were not available decreased 
significantly from 1 8% to 10%.  These are 
positive developments which demonstrate that 
the Secretariat is making progress in its capacity 
to measure the results of its TA activities, whilst 
at the same time adjusting its TA offer to 
increase its success rate.  
 
5.8.  An analysis by Key Result gives a more nuanced picture.  The success rate under Key 
Result  1 ebbed marginally in 2017, as only 6 9% of the targets were met (71% in 2016) , whilst the 
proportion of targets partially met increased to 1 1% (9% in  2016), which means that a small 
portion of the WTO programmes which had been successful in 2016 missed their target by a small 
margin  in 2017.  The deterioration of performance in 2017 was con sequently very limited 
compared to 2016.  The targets were not met in 17% of the cases (12% in 201 6) and the cases 
when data was not available almost disappeared (3% instead of 9% in 2016).  These evolutions 
for the most significant Key Result of the WTO T A are positive even if not entirely satisfactory . 
5.9.  Under K ey Result 2, targets were met in 75% of the cases  (+25 percentage points compared 
to 2016).  This Key Results involves only a limited number of indicators (4), which means that any 
change registered during the year on any of them has a disproportionate effect on the overall 
performance.  T argets met  under Key Result 3  were stable , but data became unavailable for one 
indicator for which the target had been partially met in the past .  Finally, the rate of success under 
Key Result 4  increased to 56% (39% in 2016)  and cases when data was not available were more 
than halved (17% instead of 39% in 2016) .  This retrospectively vindicates the choices made when 
recasting the logframe  for this Key Result in the TA Plan 2015 -16 to focus more on outcomes and 
outputs and much less so on inputs.   
  Target met     Target 
partially met     Target not 
met    Data not 
available  
 WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 39 - 
 
  5.1  Key Result 1: Government officials are implementing WTO Agreements and making 
full use of Members' rights  
Indicators  Target  2017 
Compliance of Members with the WTO 
Agreements  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Number of documents submitted by developing 
and LDC Members  Increase in participation / 
submissions of documents  Target met  
Number of outstanding notifications of TA 
beneficiary Members  5% decrease of outstanding 
notifications  Target partially met  
Publication of trade policies on Member's 
website  Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
5.10.   As seen under section 4.8 above, this Key Result represents the bulk of the TA provided by 
the WTO to its Members and Observers.  Logically, the external evaluation focused essentially on 
it.  Overall the report of the evaluators was rather positive about the relevance, effectiveness, 
efficiency, sustainability and impact of the WTO TA.  The main conclusion was that convincing 
evidence was found in 2010 -15 that WTO training had been effective in contributing to the 
development of beneficiaries' capacity to work with multilateral trade rules and negotiations.  The 
comprehensive investigation conducted by the evaluators over a six -year period constitutes the 
best possible basis to assess whether Members are indeed implementing the WTO Agreements and 
making full use of their rights.  
5.11.   The external evaluation found that the WTO TA was highly relevant and well -attuned to the 
professional needs, priorities and responsibilities of the individual beneficiaries and their national 
system, which reflected its demand -driven nature in a broad sense.  It noted significant evolutions 
over the 2010 -15 period: the coverage of TA programmes was adjusted to shifts in policy priorities 
and training methods have been reformed to introduce progressive learning and e -Learning 
cours es.  The evaluation also found both direct evidence and plausible chains of contribution to the 
effect that WTO TA in the aggregate produced sustainable benefits in beneficiaries in terms of 
enhanced capacity to engage in the MTS.  The widespread impact of  the WTO TA on the human 
capacities of beneficiaries was seen as real and tangible, as the evaluation found highly plausible 
evidence that the WTO TA contributed to capacities at institutional levels in trade policy -making, 
legislative compliance, trade ne gotiations and implementation of trade agreements.  Target met  
5.12.   As most of the negotiating activity of the WTO was on the preparation of the Ministerial 
Conference during the year, the level of engagement of beneficiary Members and their contribution 
throug h the submission of documents will be best assessed by focusing on their engagement in the 
MC11 process.  Setting aside the ministerial decisions and declarations and the statements made 
by the Secretariat and various chairmen ex -officio, 192 documents wer e issued for MC11 at the 
request of delegations, 158 of them (82%) to present the views of at least one beneficiary Member 
or Observer if not many.  The text of the statements made by Members' or Observers' 
representatives during MC11 represented 134 of th ese documents, 102 of which are beneficiaries 
(76%).  By comparison, beneficiaries represented at the time 77% of the total WTO membership.  
These figures demonstrate a significant engagement of beneficiary Members and Observers in the 
subjects under negot iation and an active participation in MC11.  Target met  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 40 - 
 
  0123456789Assistance under DSU 27.2  
Respondent
Complainant
3rd Party
Legal opinion
47%  
27%  17%  9% Assistance under DSU 27.2  
2002 -2017  
Legal opinion
3rd Party
Complainant
Respondent5.13.  The Secretariat continued 
to provide to developing Members 
the kind of additional legal advice 
required under Article 27.2 of the 
DSU.  As seen for many years, 
demand for such services 
fluctuates f rom one year to the 
next.  In 2017, nine new requests 
for these services were presented 
by nine Members, which was 
above the annual average (4.1) 
and the highest level ever 
registered since the creation of 
the WTO.  Four of the requesting 
Members had never  used this 
service before.  
5.14.  Over the past 15 years, the 
30 Members and 3 regional 
groups who have used the 
services provided by the 
Secretariat under Article 27.2 of 
the DSU have requested legal 
opinions in almost half of the 
cases.  These legal opinions m ay 
or may not (e.g. on the DSU 
review) be related to a potential 
dispute.  Close to a quarter of the 
requests came from third parties 
to a dispute, and the last quarter 
(26%) benefited litigating parties 
(a complainant in 65% of the 
case).  
5.15.   As far as benefi ciary Members' outstanding notifications are concerned, according to the 
Central Registry of Notifications (CRN) the figure stood at 3,441 at the end of 2017, which is 3% 
higher than at the end of 2016.  This increase is exclusively the consequence of the annual 
agricultural notifications which mechanically increased the volume of notifications due during the 
year.  Excluding this and focusing on those notifications which were outstanding at the end of the 
previous year, the variation observed in 2017 is a reduction of 4.7%.  The target was an overall 
reduction of 5%.  Many externalities may also have played a role in these results.  Target 
partially met  
5.16.   Outstanding agriculture notifications represented 57.5% of the total outstanding 
notifications at the end  of 2017.  Focusing exclusively on those notifications already outstanding at 
the end of 2016 to neutralise the mechanical increase due to the annual notification obligations, 
2017 registered a 6.7% reduction of outstanding agriculture notifications, which  confirms the 
progress registered in previous years .  As agriculture has always represented the lion's share of 
outstanding notifications and given the complexity of notifications requirements in the area of 
domestic support, an advanced workshop on agricu lture notifications is offered annually in Geneva 
since 2009.  The workshop forms part of a broader work programme aimed at improving the 
timeliness and completeness of notifications under the Committee on Agriculture.  Its fourth day is 
now systematically  devoted to individual sessions with staff ("notification clinic") in order to allow 
participants to discuss country -specific notification issues.   Familiarisation of participants with the 
Ag-IMS functionality for the online  submission of Agriculture notif ication s launched in 2017 was 
one of the main elements of this year's workshop.  
5.17.   Members with a large number of outstanding agriculture notifications , LDCs  and recently 
acceded Members  are given priority in the selection for the workshop .  However, the work shop can 
only address the knowledge gap which might impact their notification compliance.  For many 
Members the main challenge when preparing domestic support notification is proper data 
collection, as many agencies and ministries are responsible for actio ns in the notifiable domain.  It WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 41 - 
 
  02468
0-25% 25-50% 50-75% 75-100%Developing Members  TFA Outstanding Notifications  is only once annual data and information on the entire domestic support system for agricultural 
producers is available that the Secretariat may help in presenting and analysing that information 
for the finalisation of a not ification.  For these reasons, the correlation between improved 
compliance and usefulness of the workshop may not be direct and simple.30 
5.18.   In 2017, four national activities focused on notifications and transparency provisions of the 
WTO Agreements.31  These a ctivities associate in principle numerous stakeholders who have a role 
to play in gathering the data or information needed by the authorities to fulfil their notification 
obligations, or who may be interested in exploiting other Members' notifications.  At  regional level, 
a workshop on the new ePing platform to exploit SPS and TBT notifications was organised for the 
Caribbean Members.  
5.19.   The TFA which entered into force on 22 
February 2017 requires developing and LDC 
Members to notify their category A, B and C 
measures.32  Developing countries had to 
notify b y the entry into force of the TFA, whilst 
LDCs had one extra year to do so.  Notification 
obligations also depended on the ratification of 
the TFA by the Members concerned.  As 
reported in the past, the Sec retariat 
implemented between 2007 and 2014 a vast 
programme of national needs assessments in 
the area of TF.  The aims of the programme 
were, inter alia,  to help beneficiaries identify 
the three categories of measures covered by the TFA  through an assessment of the conformity of 
their current regulation with the specific provisions of the Agreement , to identify the dates of 
implementation of their category B and C provisions and their TA needs for category C 
designations, as required by the TFA .  In total, 98 Members benefited from this programme of 
needs assessment.  The annual report on TA for 2014 had established that this programme was 
helping beneficiaries comply with their notification obligations.33  At the end of 2017, 69 
developin g Members had ratified the TFA, of which 22 (32%) had not yet entirely complied with 
their notification obligations.  On average, these 22 developing Members had complied with less 
than half of their notification obligations under the TFA  (45%) .  As 2017 i s the first year in which 
these notifications can be considered as outstanding, no evolution can be measured .  These figures 
will constitute a baseline to measure future progress.  
5.20.   The Secretariat did not have the time and resources to specifically check th e availability of 
trade policy information and documents on beneficiary Members' websites and compile statistics in 
this domain.  TPRs rely heavily on these information sources, knowing that significant differences 
exist between Members (the availability i s generally correlated with the level of development), and 
for each Member between the many domains covered by their trade policy.  Furthermore, 
variations and improvements in this domain are almost impossible to measure on an annual basis; 
only long -term trends can be detected.  It is a fact that the volume and depth of information and 
data freely available today on the internet for most beneficiary Members increased significantly 
over the past two decades, but it is also clear that this phenomenon is unli kely to be the result of 
any of the TA provided by the  Secretariat .  These are the reasons why this  indicator was removed 
from the TA Plan for 2018 -19.  Data not available  
  
                                                
30 See the report on compliance with a griculture notification requirements in G/AG/GEN/86/Rev.30.  
This report is updated several times per year.  
31 They took place in Rwanda, Samoa, Tanzania and Zambia.  
32  Category A: Measures that the Members will implement by the time the TFA  enters into force;  
 Category B: Measures which the Member will need additional time to implement;  
 Category C: Measures for the implementation of which the Member will need TA and time.  
33 See section 5.7 in WT/COMTD/W/209 for the latest such report.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 42 - 
 
  0%20%40%60%80%100%
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Evolution of the PLS Participants Mix  
N/A
Advanced
Intermediate
Introduction
 - 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Participants in Advanced 
Activities  5.1.1   Output 1.1: Government officials have enhanced knowledge about the WTO 
Agreements,  formulation of trade policies and conduct  of trade negotiations  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Number of participants at each PLS level  Increased % of participants in 
advanced training by end of 2017  Target not met  
Number of participants in WTO TRTA activities  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
Interactive training methods' share of time  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
5.21.   Section 4.6 above has analysed the number of participants trained at each of the three 
levels (introduction, intermediate,  advanced) in 201 7.  Since 2012 , the graph below shows that 
the proportion of participants in each of the three levels fluctuated and that the proportion of 
participants in advanced activities decreased further in 2017 , as the growth of the 2013-15 period  
has now been entirely reversed.  As the relative importance of the introduction level was more or 
less stable, this means that the proportion of participants in the intermediate level grew 
significantly (+ 9 percentage points).  The TA Plan had anticipated an increase of participation in 
advanced -level activities by the end of the biennium.  Target not met  
5.22.   This evolution is the direct consequence of the growing number of participants who are 
trained online since, as explained in section 3.4.1 above, e -Learni ng courses focus exclusively on 
the first two levels of training ( introduction and intermediate).  The combination of these two 
factors is bound to lead mechanically to a decrease in the relative importance of the number of 
participants trained at advanced  level.  In 2017 the marked decrease in the number of participants 
trained in advanced face -to-face activities from 1,689 to 1,104 ( -35%) was proportional to the 
decrease in the number of face -to-face advanced activities (33 against 51 in 2016).  Overall d uring 
the biennium the number of advanced face -to-face activities was c ut by 40%, whilst their number 
of participants was cut in two.  
5.23.   As discussed above in section 4.3, the total number of participants in WTO TA activities 
ebbed by 2% in 2017 compared to t he previous year, in spite of a 12% growth of the participation 
in e-Learning courses.  However, compared to 2015, the total number of participants increased by 
22% during the biennium, as the 2017 reversal dented only superficially the significant growth 
registered in 2016.  Target met  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 43 - 
 
  0%10%20%30%40%50%60%
Lectures Participants'
LecturesExercises Q&A Quiz MiscShare of training methods in TA face -to-face activities  
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
5.24.   While acknowledging that people learn in different ways and use different means of 
receiving information, the use of i nteractive training methods continued to be recommended when 
delivering TA activities at all three PLS  levels  to stimulate learning  and increase the rate of 
knowledge retention by the participants (i.e. how much they remember after a while) .  Data on 
the various training methods used in the WTO TA face-to-face activities are collected by the 
trainers thems elves and constitute an estimate.  It may indeed be difficult to always identify with 
precision the share of the time of each training method.  For example, different trainers may 
measure differently inside a lecture the time dedicated to the questions of the participants, which 
clearly increase the interactivity of the session . 
5.25.   There was no significant change in the relative importance of the various training methods 
used by the Secretariat in the face -to-face activities in 2017.  L ectures remained  the pre dominant 
medium used by trainers to deliver WTO TA activities  and registered their fourth consecutive year 
of growth.  Since 2014, the share of the lectures provided by the participants themselves (as 
opposed to by the Secretariat staff) is measured separa tely.  Lectures provided by the Secretariat 
represented  approximately 46% of the time on average , and those provided by the participants 
9%.  As in the past, these averages hide  significant differences between certain types of activities , 
but the general t rend points towards a return to a lower level of interactivity overall, as total 
lecture time (Secretariat + participants) is again exceeding 50% since 2016.  The number of 
activities  almost entirely based on lectures  was lower though .34 
5.26.   The use of other tr aining methods was also fairly stable overall in 2017, in spite of minor 
variations amongst them.  Exercises or case studies represented 20% of the time on average ( -2 
percentage points), Question & Answer 19% ( -1 percentage point) and other methods 6% (+1  
percentage point).  The share of the activities for which statistics were available and which did not 
use any exercise or case study was stable (36%).  A majority of the time was dedicated to 
exercises or case studies in 9% of the activities only (e.g.  on Trade Negotiating Skills ).  Other 
miscellaneous  training methods used in TA activities include d group work or group discussions and 
panels among others.   Target not met  
  
                                                
34 In 2017, lectures (Secretariat + participants) represented more than 80% of the time in 18 activities 
for which statistics were available, as opposed to 20 in 2016.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 44 - 
 
  5.1.1.1   e-Learning  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Geographical spread of participation in e -
Learning courses and % of LDCs  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
New online courses released each year  3 courses/year  Target not met  
% of participants rating the balance between 
theory and practice as good  or excellent in 
online courses  70% during the biennium  Target met  
% of participants rating the quality of the 
online course content as good or excellent  70% during the biennium  Target met  
e-Learning success rate  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
e-Learning drop -out rate  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
e-Learning rate of correct answers in the 
exam  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
e-Learning distinction rate  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
Total participation in e-Learning courses  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
5.27.   The external evaluation classified the e -Learning courses amongst the TA instruments 
showing stronger evidence of effectiveness.  They have become recognised by all stakeholders and 
rated very ef fective as an indispensable and relatively low -cost entry portal, equipping large 
numbers of learners with the necessary basic information on WTO, its legal texts and other key 
trade -related issues.  
5.28.   Several of the above indicators have already been examine d in different parts of this report:  
a. The share of the participants originating from LDCs in e -Learning courses is discussed in 
section 4.1, which showed that this indicator had indeed stabilised in 2017 and remained 
in line with the average observed since 2012.  Target met  
b. The geographical spread of e -Learning participants analysed in section 4.2 remained 
comprehensive in spite of the  significant rebalancing of the regional origin of the  
participants  in 2017 .  Target met  
c. As indicated in section 3.4.1 above,  only o ne new online course, "Agriculture Xpress" , 
was finalised and released in 2017.   The course is based on a learning -by-doing 
approach and includes exercises only.   It was launched on 19 December, too late to  
attract  any participant before the year end.  This indicator as defined in the TA plan fails 
to acknowledge the importance of the work required to either translate the course 
content – in particular the videos and other interactive components – initially developed 
in English into the other two l anguages,35 or upgrade older versions of a course to 
SCORM standards.36  This indicator w as adjusted  in the TA Plan 2018 -19, since the 
contribution of this work to the e -Learning results is equally important and competes 
with the production of new courses at  a time of budgetary freeze.  Target not met  
d. The 12% growth of the participation in online courses in 2017 is analysed in section  4.3.  
Target met  
5.29.   Feedback from e -Learning participants reveal ed that 84% of them rated the balance 
between theory and practice  in online courses as good or excellent , and 94% rated the quality of 
the online courses content as good or excellent.  These figures are in line with th ose from 2016 
which were respectively 86% and 93%.  The TA Plan target ed a rate of satisfaction of 70% or 
above for each indicator.   Targets met  
5.30.   Concerning the remaining indicators, measuring the immediate results of e -Learning courses 
is much easier than for most other activities, since the results of each participant can be monitored 
individually and comp letion of an online training always requires taking an exam at the end.  As in 
                                                
35 Four courses were translated into Spanish and French in 2017.  
36 The interactive versions of four courses ("Trade & Development" in Spanish and French, and "Legal 
Underpinnings" in Spanish and English) were released in 2017.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 45 - 
 
  previous years and  as foreseen in the TA Plan 2016 -17, the performance indicators below were 
used to measure the immediate results of a course:  
 Success rate (proportion of those  who passed the exams amongst those who 
attended the course) - the passing rate was 60% on average of correct answers in 
the final exam.  
 Distinction rate (proportion of participants who passed the exams with more than 
90% of correct answers on average amon gst successful participants).  
 Rate of correct answers in the exams of successful participants, knowing that the 
passing rate is 60% on average in the courses.  
 Dropout rate (share of those who did not complete the course within two months).  
Immediate result s of online courses  
Course  Attended  Successful  Success 
Rate Dropout  Dropout 
Rate Correct 
Answers  Distinction  Distinction 
Rate 
Accessions  365 233 64% 119 33% 88% 153 66% 
Agriculture  581 311 54% 243 42% 78% 76 24% 
Copyright  259 174 67% 65 25% 86% 105 60% 
Development  552 355 64% 177 32% 74% 143 40% 
Dispute Settlement  348 198 57% 130 37% 75% 55 28% 
Environment  275 152 55% 99 36% 93% 42 28% 
Introduction to WTO  2,546 1,762 69% 765 30% 78% 1,390 79% 
Legal Underpinnings  264 163 62% 93 35% 78% 101 62% 
MA Intelligence  239 153 64% 72 30% 78% 39 25% 
Multilateral Trade Ag  159 97 61% 42 26% 82% 24 25% 
Market Access Goods  498 382 77% 103 21% 82% 136 36% 
Notifications  262 190 73% 60 23% 75% 58 31% 
Patents  187 125 67% 44 24% 90% 37 30% 
RTAs 542 412 76% 119 22% 80% 297 72% 
Rules  322 204 63% 108 34% 73% 67 33% 
Rules of Origin  472 310 66% 91 19% 80% 112 36% 
Services  482 304 63% 167 35% 83% 77 25% 
SPS 779 473 61% 288 37% 89% 174 37% 
Tailored Course  41 32 78% 8 20% 81% 20 63% 
TBT 739 439 59% 271 37% 84% 165 38% 
Trade Economics  370 272 74% 80 22% 89% 199 73% 
Trade Finance  195 153 78% 34 17% 87% 97 63% 
Trip to TRIPS  283 188 66% 83 29% 84% 94 50% 
TRIPS  284 172 61% 101 36% 81% 57 33% 
WTO in 10'  447 372 83% 73 16% 93% 263 71% 
Total  11,491 7,626 66%  3,435 30%  88% 3,981 52% 
5.31.   The average success rate ebbed marginally in 2017 after the significant improvement 
registered in 2016.  It  stood at 66%  in 2017 .  The TA Plan had targeted an increase during the 
biennium.  The current rate of success remains highly satisfactory compared to the results 
measured in the rest of the online training industry.37  In 2017, the number of successful 
participants increased by 10% compared to 2016 to reach a total of 7,626.  Target met  
5.32.   When analysing the figures for 2017, confusion between dropouts and failures was identified 
in previous years' data.   As this was a ca tegorisation issue amongst unsuccessful candidates, this 
did not change the rate of success measured in previous years.  However, as it modified the 
understanding of the reasons why approximately one third of the e -learners were unsuccessful, it 
will make it possible for the Secretariat to implement better tailored actions to help them succeed 
                                                
37 This rate is fairly high compared to what can be observed elsewhere in the e -Learning industry.  
Although the average comp letion (successful or not) rate remains highly confidential for most e -Learning 
providers, in most Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs – i.e. courses which charge no fees, provide no 
tutoring and are open to large amounts of students for long periods of tim e) it does not exceed 10%.  W ith a 
completion rate of 71% (66% successful + 5 % unsuccessful), WTO e -Learning courses are as successful as the 
best short online courses with fixed -dates, close tutoring, a limited number of students and charging high fees, 
which are the most successful of all online courses.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 46 - 
 
   - 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000e-Learning Successful Participants  
Distinction
Certificate0%20%40%60%80%100%e-Learning Results  
Success Rate
Dropout Rate
Correct
Answers
Distinction Ratein the future.  The new figures  show that the greatest challenge for the Secretariat is to keep 
e-learners engaged until the end of  their course ,38 as the probability of success upon completion of 
a course  is very high.   Many Secretariat actions are designed to motivate e-learners to complete 
their course and pass the final test .39  The strategy followed so far boosted the rates of distinction 
and correct answers over th e years and had a more limited influence on the overall success rate.  
5.33.   For the sake of comparison, the dropout figures for 2015 and 2016 were recalculated.40  The 
average dropout rate stood at 30% on average  in 2017, in line with its average over the past th ree 
years .  The average rate of failure was also stable over the last three years and stood at 4% in 
2017.  Target met  
5.34.  At 88%, the average rate of 
correct answers was one percentage 
point higher than in 2016 and 3 
percentage points above the 2012 -17 
avera ge.  The average rate s of 
correct answers and distinction have 
logically grown  in parallel since 2015 , 
although not at the same rate .  
Target met  
5.35.  The rapid growth of the 
distinction rate observed since 2011 
continued almost at the same pace  in 
2017.  This rate was of 52% on 
average  (+6 percentage points 
compared to 2016) .  As already 
mentioned above, this could be the 
result of the Secretariat's efforts to 
increase e -learners' success rates by 
promoting interactivity and improved 
pedagogy in  online cou rses.  The 
introduction of shorter, more focused, 
courses may also have played a role .  
The most outstanding courses in 
terms of distinction rate in 2017 
were: the updated version of the 
Introduction to WTO (79%), WTO in 
10' (71%), RTAs (72%) and Trade 
Economics (73%).  Target met  
5.36.   The main causes behind these evolutions are as difficult to identify as ever.  The 
programme of online course revisions implemented for several years to upgrade them to SCORM 
standards and make them more interactive, the offer of shorter more focused courses, or the 
efforts made to keep the participants engaged in the courses through more chats, news for a and 
the greater use of social media might all start to produce some concrete results.  Feedback from 
participants confirms that non-interactive courses always attract requests for  improve ment while 
the new courses always get praised for their high level of interactivity .  Most of the interactive 
courses  have better results than non -interactive ones on average, whether measured in t erms of 
success rate (68% against 65%) or  drop-out rate (26% against 32%).  On the other hand, no 
significant difference could be measured in terms of distinction rate or rate of correct answers, 
which suggests that a higher level of interactivity boosts t he retention rate of the courses more 
than the actual level of performance of individual participants.  The complexity of the subject 
covered by the course must certainly also play a role in these statistics.  
5.37.   A comparison between the contrasted results in the old  and new versions of two courses  
upgraded in 2017 illustrates the complexity of these matters.  The course "Trade & Development" 
                                                
38 This is consistent with recent research, which established that the completion rate for most courses is 
below 13% ( https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/dcs/people/research/csrmaj/daniel_onah_edulearn14.pdf ). 
39 Through chat sessions, News Fora, tutoring and social media for example.  
40 For technical reasons related to data format, it was not possible to go back bey ond 2015.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 47 - 
 
  (in French and Spanish) registered  an improvement under each of the  four indicators  after its 
upgrade,  whilst  the course "Legal Underpinning" (in French and Spanish) did not.41 
Indicators  Trade and 
Development (F)  Trade and 
Development (S)  Legal Underpinning  
(F)  Legal Underpinning  
(S) 
Old New Old New Old New Old New 
Success Rate  58% 63% 56% 68% 70% 55% 69% 64% 
Dropout Rate  35% 36% 39% 25% 16% 45% 17% 35% 
Correct Answers  81% 85% 83% 86% 76% 86% 80% 87% 
Distinction Rate  28% 28% 31% 37% 20% 56% 34% 57% 
5.38.   In spite of improvements in comparison to the previous year, t he worst performing course 
was again Agriculture : it had the lowest success rate (54%) and  distinction rate (24%),  the 
highest dropout rate (42%) and among st the lowest  level of correct answers (78%).  Other 
courses with consistently lower than av erage results included Development, Dispute Se ttlement, 
TRIPS, TBT, MA intelligence and Environment.  Major improvements were registered for the course 
on Patents launched in 2016, with results exceeding the general averages under  all four indicators.  
At the other end of the spectrum  and as in previous years , WTO in 10' (83 %), the Tailored Course 
(78%) and  Trade Finance (78 %) had the highest success rate s and consistently exceeded the 
average results for the other indicators.  The courses on Introduction to the WTO and Trade 
Economics  also had very high distinction rat es and rates of correct answers . 
5.39.   Overall, this analysis confirms the differences between courses already noted in previous 
years.  Some have traditionally had higher rates of success (e.g. WTO in 10', Trade Finance and 
Copyright), whereas others have been more challenging for participants (e.g. Agriculture, Services 
and TRIPS), even if they remained successful overall.  These relatively constant results 
demonstrate that the average level of difficulty of online courses is not homogeneous and, as 
argued above, may be influenced by the quality of their design and level of interactivity . 
5.40.   The same performance indicators can also be used to analyse the results of the courses by 
linguistic version, since they reach different audi ences/participants.  
Language  Attended  Successful  Success 
Rate Dropout  Dropout 
Rate Correct 
Answers  Distinction  Distinction 
Rate 
English  7,003 4,747 68% 2,039 29% 89% 2,551 54% 
French  2,076 1,292 62% 689 33% 85% 565 44% 
Spanish  2,412 1,587 66% 707 29% 87% 865 55% 
Total  11,491 7,626 66%  3,435 30%  88% 3,981 52%  
5.41.   The y ear 2017 saw the same pattern as the two previous years, with a relatively high 
homogeneity of the results across language versions of the same course.  The only exception was 
the lower rate of distinction for courses in French language versions, as in the past.  
5.42.   An analysis of these results by gender showed that since 2010 women's average success 
rate has always been a few percentage points higher than men's one.  The average difference 
fluctu ated between 2 percentage points in 2010, 2013 or 2015 and 3.6 percentage points in 2012 
or 4.5 in 2011.  After almost disappear ing in 2016, this gap rose again in 2017 and reached 2.6  
percentage points .  However, these averages hide significant variations  between the courses.  
5.43.   In conclusion, with the sustained improvements in most of the indicators , 2017 was another 
successful year for e -Learning results.  All of the targets assigned for 2017 but one ha ve been 
reached .  This run of good news is highly rewarding and vindicates the e -Learning strategy 
followed for several years.42 
  
                                                
41 The data for the old versions are based on year 2016, to have a sufficiently representative sample.  
42 See section 5.6 in WT/COMTD/W/211.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 48 - 
 
  5.1.1.2   Intermediate Trade Policy Course s (ITPCs)  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Changes in 8 -week ITPCs' curriculum  Implementation of the 2014 
recommendations  Target partially met  
Success rate in 8 -week ITPC final exam  90% during the biennium  Target met  
5.44.   In 2017, the Secretariat implemented six ITPCs, as in 2016, but not exactly in the same 
regions.  A course for the CEECAC region was held for the first time in Kazakhstan and no cou rse 
was held for English -speaking Africa, as the selection of a new partner was on -going .  Overall, 
participation in the ITPCs was stable in 2017, with an average number of 24 participants  per 
course . 
5.45.   During 201 7, a revised  course curriculum was developed and training materials were 
updated in the area of Basic Principles, Accessions, trade negotiations and TRIMs .  On Basic 
Principles and Accessions, t he revision was meant to incorporate an Accessions module in the 
programme  for regions which requested it and to cover this subject in the first week of the course.  
As a result, Accessions was covered in four of the six ITPCs only, and not in all of them as 
recommended by the 2014 evaluation, since this subject also concerns ex isting Members who have 
to negotiate with the applicants.  T he module on TRIMs was added so that ITPCs would provide a 
comprehensive coverage of all existing WTO Agreements, as recommended by the 2014 
evaluation . 
5.46.   Generally, the course content of the ITPCs was highly appreciated by the participants.  In 
2017, a question was added to the participants' evaluation to rate the balance between theory, 
case studies and exercises.  On average, over the five courses which included this question in the ir 
evaluation, 84% of the participants considered the balance between lecture -based and hands -on 
training (exercises, case studies or simulations) as good or very good .  Otherwise , 98% of the 
participants rated the quality of the sessions and presentations very good or e xcellent.  This figure 
is an increase over last year.  
5.47.   A number of the 2014 recommendations for the ITPCs were already implemented in 
previous years to reformulate and simplify their objectives, better harmonise the course 
programme across regions in order to provide a truly progressive training path and simplify their 
organization to make them more effective and efficient.43  Other recommendations which still had 
to be implemented were designed to improve the pedagogy of the courses, which remains a 
constant  focus.  In 2017, regional experts taught 32% of the course time on average (i.e. between 
6 and 17 days out of 40, depending on the regions), marginally less than in the previous year.  
Efforts continued to involve regional institutions who are better posi tioned to present a balanced 
regional perspective than academics or government officials . 
5.48.   The use of interactive training methods in 2017 was characterized by a return to 2015 levels 
after the decline noted in 2016.  The percentage of pure lecture decrease d on average from 60% 
in 2016 to 55% in 2017 (while it was 52% in 2015), whilst the use of  case studies and exercises  
increased to 25% and Q&A sessions to 10%.  T he remainder of the time involved  quizzes , 
professional visits  and other discussion s.  These i mprovements aimed to enhance participants' 
capacity to consolidate their knowledge.  
5.49.   Without going into the fine details of the recommendations formulated in 2014, the 
examples mentioned above show that whilst improvements continue to be registered in the I TPCs, 
certain areas remain work in progress three years later.  Progress in 2017 in this domain was 
limited.  Target partially met  
5.50.   Since 2013, a final exam is used to evaluate the participants in all ITPCs.  Participants take 
the exam at the end of a three -day revision workshop in which they revisit the entire content of 
the ITPC in a horizontal manner.  Each participant's final grade was comprised of an assessment of 
his participation during the course (30%) and the final exam results (70%).  A final grade  of 90% 
or above merited a certificate with distinction, whilst a grade below 60% received a certificate of 
attendance.  Since 2016, the criteria and procedure to evaluate the participation was reviewed and 
                                                
43 See Annex I in WT/COMTD/W/216 and 225.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 49 - 
 
  0%20%40%60%80%100%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017ITPC Results  
Success Rate
Distinction Rate
Correct Answers
Participationreformulated to also take the opinion of the trai ners into account and move to a weekly system.  
The final participation grade of each participant is then the average of the weekly grades.  The 
results measured in 201 7 were the following:  
 Oman  Thailand  Ecuador  Kazakhstan  Barbados  Côte d'Ivoire  Average  
Attendance  21 27 22 22 21 29 24 
Passed  21 24 21 20 21 27 22 
Distinction  8 7 6 8 7 6 7 
Success  13 17 15 12 14 21 15 
Success Rate  100%  89% 95% 91% 100%  93% 95% 
Distinction Rate  38% 26% 27% 36% 33% 21% 30% 
Correct Answers  84% 74% 78% 73% 77% 71% 76% 
Participation  92% 80% 73% 93% 79% 86% 84% 
5.51.  All six ITPCs were successful, 
some of them very successful, in 
transferring an appropriate level of 
knowledge and skills on WTO 
matters, especially on the WTO 
Agreements and the way to use the 
WTO legal texts, to their 
participants.  The average success 
rate of the participants was 9 5%, 
with 76% of correct answers to the 
final exam on average and a 
distinction rate (i.e. final mark 
above 90%) of 30%.  By and large, 
these results are in line with those 
of previou s years.  
5.52.   Like in 2016, two courses had a success rate of 100%.  These results demonstrate that, for 
the mo st part, the objectives of the I TPCs (i . deepened  understanding of WTO Agreements  and 
functioning ; ii. better  understanding of relevant trade policy issues in the regional context;  iii. 
increased  autonomy in using WTO information and documentation; i v. strengthened  network of 
contacts) have been satisfactorily achieved in 201 7.  Target met  
5.1.1.3   Other Face -to-face activities  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Geographical spread of participation in face -
to-face courses  Geographical balance during the 
biennium  Target met  
Quality of participation in interactive parts of 
advanced activities  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
% of participants giving an excellent rating to 
ATPCs' and advanced thematic courses' 
overall content and results  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Revised modules or case studies in ATPCs  Two per year  Target met  
Number of participants trained on t rade 
negotiating skills  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Advanced thematic courses focused on 
implementation  Three in 2016 and four in 2017  Target not met  
Implementation rate of Action Plans within 12 
months  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
5.53.   Since 2016, the same indicators as for the ITPCs can also be used to measure the results of 
the Introduction course for LDCs.  In 2017, the success rate in the course was 95%, the distinction 
rate 43% and the rate of correct answers in the fina l exam 87%.  By comparison, the ITPCs and 
the equivalent online Introduction course respectively had the following results in 2017: success 
rate of 95% and 69%; distinction rate of 30% and 79%; and rate of correct answers of 76% and 
78%.  The results of th e introduction course for LDCs are in line with these two benchmarks, if not 
higher, leading to the conclusion that it was successful in transferring the required knowledge and 
skills to the participants.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 50 - 
 
  0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%Rate of Activities with a BTOR or a report  
0%20%40%60%80%100%
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Reporting Tools  
Memo
BTOR5.54.  The performance indicators 
available to monitor the results of 
other face -to-face activities remain 
less precise than in the case of 
e-Learning, ITPCs and the 
Introduction Course for LDCs, in the 
absence in 2017 of a final exam to 
measure the performance of their 
participants. The immediate results 
of these activities had to be 
measured in the BTOR by the 
trainers themselves.  As BTORs 
continue to be the main evaluation 
tool for face -to-face activities, an 
effort was made since 2009 to make them systematically available for every activity.  Action 
introduced since 2016 to improve  the collection of BTORs yielded a  steady reporting rate  through 
2017 of nearly 100 % (see section 3.3).  
5.55.  The rate of BTORs as opposed 
to notes or simple memos has 
slightly decreased compared to the 
previous two years , as a 
consequence of the higher number 
of activities which did not constitute  
TA per se (see section 3.1.2).  It 
remained  within  the average 
observed since the launch  in 2015  of 
electronic workflows and reports.  
This led to the availability of a more 
comprehensive set of essential data 
on a larger pool of activities, in 
particular on the identification and 
achievement  of their immediate 
objectives.  
5.56.   The external evaluation recommend ed improving the means used by the Secretariat to 
measure the immediate res ults of its TA activities in a more objective manner .  These included the 
reliance on new means of testing participants’ knowledge at the end of face -to-face TA activities 
organized by  the Secretariat .  Evaluating face -to-face activities predominantly on t he basis of the 
feedback from participants through the Participants' Evaluation Forms, as currently done, is not 
sufficient.  One of the main purposes of BTORs is to report on the achievement of each activity's 
immediate objectives on the basis of the key performance indicators identified.   In 201 7, the 
Secretariat t ook some  steps in that direction  by identifying for each specific face -to-face activity  
one or several  indicator s to assess more accurately its results . 
5.57.   WTO TA activities had on average 2.75 dis tinct objectives each, a level which has been 
relatively stable over the years in spite of some annual fluctuations.  To improve the knowledge of 
participants about one or several of the WTO Agreements represented 43% (against 47% in 2016) 
of all the objec tives.44  The improvement of analytical, communication or negotiating skills and of 
the capability to assess the implications of, and deal with, a given WTO subject came next (15%), 
followed by the development of the capacity to find, use or disseminate inf ormation and 
document s on WTO -related issues (12%), the improvement of the general understanding of the 
WTO (8%), the strengthening of the capacity of government officials to operationalize and 
correctly implement provisions of one or several WTO Agreement s (7%), the identification, 
analysis and response  to TA needs,  implementation problems or  other aspects of the local context 
(6%), and the establishment or strengthening of a network of contacts (5%).   These figures show 
a continuation of the diversification of the types of objectives assigned to the WTO TA activities in 
2017 and a reduced focus on the legal provisions of the WTO Agreements.  
                                                
44 Overall, 46%  of the activities for which a BTOR was available ha d at least one such objective  (this 
rate was of 57% in 2016, 66% in 2015, 75% in 2013 and 2014).  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 51 - 
 
  0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%
1 2 3 4 5
Success Rate  Objectives' Achievement in BTORs  
0%20%40%60%80%
Not at all To a
limited
extendAverage To a
large
extentFullyTrainers' Assessment  
All
Activities
Advanced
Activities0%20%40%60%80%100%
Not at all To a
limited
extentAverage To a
large
extentFullyParticipation Quality  
All
Activities
Advanced
Activities
0%20%40%60%80%100%
Not at all To a
limited
extendAverage To a
large
extentFullyParticipants' Assessment  
All
Activities
Advanced
Activities5.58.  When evaluating the 
achievement of the immediate 
objectives o f the activities, 
participants gave an average mark of 
4.7 out of a maximum of 5, in line 
with the figures of previous years.   
Amongst the 550 immediate 
objectives of TA activities for which 
data w as available in 201 7, only one 
objective was given a mark 1 , none a 
mark 2 and 14 a mark 3 (5 being the 
maximum and 1 the minimum).  
Therefore, in 2017, the achievement 
of 98% of the objectives was rated 
as satisfactory or outstanding.  These 
figures are even better than the ones 
from the previous year which were 
already quite impressive.45  However, 
these figures are frequently  based on 
participants' own evaluations and 
should be interpreted with caution.  
5.59.  Section 4.2 above analysed 
the geographical spread of the 
participation in WTO TA activities in 
general and in  face-to-face activities 
in particular.  The major decrease of 
participation in some regions  
observed in 2017 , led to a new 
rebalancing of the geographical 
spread of the participation in WTO TA 
activities .46  Target met  
5.60.   The quality of participation in 
face-to-face activities reported in the 
BTORs was generally satisfactory in 
90% of the cases (62% fully and 
28% to a large extent).  This 
assessment was even better for the 
advanced activities for which data 
are available: 81% of them had a 
fully satisfactory participation and 
16% to a large extent.  These figures 
are significantly  better than th ose for 
2016, which were already very 
satisfactory.   Target met  
5.61.   Participants were generally 
very positive when assessing face -to-
face activities' overall content and 
results.  Like in 2016, when this 
information was available, only the 
top two rates were used in 2017.   
The content and results of the 
activities were considered fully 
satisfactory in 81% of the cases and to a large extent the rest of the time.  The level of  
satisfaction was even higher in advanced activities, as participants declared to be fully satisfied in 
                                                
45 In 2016, the achievement of 92% of the objectives was rated as satisfactory or outstanding.  
46 Year 2017 was marked by the major decrease of participation from the African region, which used to 
be the first recipient of the WTO TA activities.  The same pattern was observed in the Caribbean, Middle East 
and CEECAC regions.  Participation from Asia -Pacific and, to a lesser extent, from Latin America boomed.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 52 - 
 
  0100200300400
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Trade Negotiating Skills Participation  91% of them.  The baseline identified in the TA Plan was 64% for ATPCs and 52% for advanced 
thematic courses.  This year again, participants' level of s atisfaction with the content and results of 
advanced face -to-face activities is more than satisfactory.   Target met  
5.62.   Trainers, whilst remaining very positive on average and well over the baseline too, were 
somewhat less enthusiastic in their assessment of the overall content and results of the activities 
and did not make much of a difference between advanced and other ac tivities.  Once again, the 
data points towards the same trend as in 2016, with the ratings being fully satisfactory in two 
thirds of the cases, and to a large extent the rest of the time.  
5.63.   Two modules of the ATPCs were revised in 2017.  The Trade Policy Pre sentations project 
was repackaged over  four weeks only , in response to previous participants' suggestion .  The 
objectives of the module were redefined in order to improve participants' understanding.  The 
module on Trade Negotiations Skills was also subjec t to some improvements : one day on 
negotiation  theory, a round table with experienced negotiators and recap sessions  were 
introduced .  The TA Plan targeted two revised modules per year.  Target met  
5.64.  In 2017, five activities on trade 
negotiating skills were  organised (1 
national and 4 regional) against nine in 
2016 and seven in 2015.  These activities 
gathered 190 participants, i.e. less than 
half the number  in 2016 and 43% less 
than the baseline in the TA Plan.  This 
significant drop was due to a mixture of  
logistical difficulties to organize regional 
activities and a lower level of demand for 
national ones.   Target not met  
5.65.  Whilst the vast majority of the TA 
provided by the WTO is focusing on the 
implementation of the WTO Agreements in a general sense as for eseen under Key Result 1, the TA 
Plan promote d in its section 5.2 a different approach through the adoption of a distinctive 
methodology based on five key success factors: problem identification, development of an action 
plan, promotion of leadership, coac hing of each participant and follow -up over one year.  In 2017, 
two activities embodied such a methodology or part of it: the advanced course on SPS (which also 
held a follow -up session on the 2016 course) and the advanced workshop on Agriculture 
notificat ions.  No other course adopted the same methodology  or part of it .47  This illustrate s the 
difficulty faced by the Secretariat in spreading  this innovative pedagogical approach.  If most 
people would agree about the very significant results it produces in t he end, very few seems ready 
to make the investment required to develop and implement it at a time of scarce resources.  
Demand from Members was also limited.  Target not met  
5.66.   Section 5.1 already discussed the results obtained in 2016 concerning outstanding  
agriculture notifications.  This activity provided individual coaching to the participants but did not 
require them to develop an action plan.   The indicator identified in the TA Plan is consequently not 
relevant for this activity.  
5.67.   The 2016 advanced SPS course had 25 participants who all submitted the required progress 
reports on the implementation of their action plan s.  However, t hree of them were not able to 
attend the follow -up activity in 2017 due to reasons beyond their control.  The 22  participants  who 
returned to Geneva in 2016 shared their experiences in a very open and frank manner.  Their 
experiences in implementing the action plans varied greatly.  Some achieved tremendous progress 
whilst others had obstacles to overcome.  The difference in the  skills and confidence shown by all 
the returning participants was evident as they  presented t heir action plans.   This illustrates how 
action plans encouraged participants to take initiative and to develop their leadership and 
communication skills, which a re part of the soft skills that the advanced SPS course aims to 
transmit.  
                                                
47 The advanced TBT course did not take place in 2017 . WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 53 - 
 
  5.68.   Participants are encouraged to choose ambitious actions plans and to adapt them in light of 
obstacles encountered.  As a result, many action plans would require longer to implement t han the 
time available prior to participants' return to Geneva.  Therefore, a ssessing the actual rate of 
implementation of the various action plans is a matter of judgement and requires a detailed 
analysis of the various objectives pursued .  The high repor ting rate during the follow -up period and 
enthusiasm of the participants to overcome the unavoidable difficulties encountered confirm that 
the baseline implementation rate of 60% has been surpassed in 2017.  By the end of July , the 
following action plan im plementation rates  could be assessed : 24% completed, 48% partially 
completed -ongoing and 28 % limited progress .  This meant that 72 % of the  participants  had either 
completed or made significant progress in the implementation of their action plan , exceeding the 
rate achieved in 2016 (68%).  The TA Plan targeted stability during the biennium.  Target met  
5.1.1.4   Internship programmes  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Number of interns in FIMIP, NTP and 
RCI Per year: NTP: 15;  
RCI: 8; FIMIP: 15  FIMIP and NTP: target met  
RCI: target partially met  
Final evaluation rate of each intern  100% fully satisfactory  AIP, FIMIP and RCI: target met  
NTP: target partially met  
5.69.   The external evaluation considered that the various long term internship programmes of the 
Secretariat were TA instruments showing stronger evidence of effectiveness, with some minor 
variations between the different programmes.  
5.70.   "Learning -by-doing" is the essence of an internship.  Since measuring how much was 
actually learnt by the interns is a real challenge , a pr oxy indicator  will be to measure  how much 
the interns actually did during their stay in Geneva.  To that effect, the interns were requested in 
2017 to report on a monthly basis how their tim e had been allocated between five  broad 
categories  of outputs .  The compilation of the monthly reports gives a snapshot of the interns' 
work in Geneva.  These data form the basis of this report . 
5.1.1.4.1   Accession Internship  Programme (AIP)  
5.71.   Four new interns were recruited under this programme in 201 7 as in 201 6, and t hree 
interns recruited in 201 6 completed their stay in Geneva at the beginning of 2017.  Participants in 
the AIP are either nationals of Acceding governments, Article XII Members or LDC Members.  They 
were hosted in the Secretariat for a period of seven to ten mo nths.  Participation in the AIP has 
remained steady since 2013 with an average of four new recruitments per year.  N o numerical 
target was assigned to  this programme in the TA Plan .  However, the steady number of  annual 
intake points towards the success of  the programme . 
5.72.   Each intern wa s supervised by a professional staff  who provided  day-to-day guidance, 
coaching and training.  At the beginning o f their internship, objectives wer e set with each intern, in 
consultation with the supervisor and the Director of  the Division.  Accession interns report weekly 
to the Director on their activities and achievements of their objectives.   These reports have not 
been compiled so far, making it impossible to analyse the interns' activities during the year.  
5.73.   Among the six i nterns who completed their internships in 2017, five were assessed by their 
supervisors as 'fully satisfactory' whilst the last one 'significantly exceeded performance 
requirements' and was retained to work in the division  for another year .  Target met  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 54 - 
 
  41% 
17% 13% 12% 17% FIMIP Time - 2017  
WTO Meetings
Regional Group Meetings
Training Sessions
Research, briefing notes needs
assessment, notifications
Other5.1.1.4.2   French -Irish Mission  Internship Programme ( FIMIP)  
5.74.  In 2017, 15 interns were 
selected out of the 137 
applications received for this 
programme (+12% compared to 
2016).  As one of them declined 
the WTO offer  and informed the 
Secretariat too late to replace 
him, 14 interns were actually 
recruited ( -25% compared to 
2016).  During the period 2012 -
2016, an average of 18 interns 
per year was recruited by the 
Secretariat.  The target in the TA 
Plan was to recruit a t least 15 
interns per year.  Target met  
5.75.   The interns' stay in Geneva lasted 9.5 months.  The availability of their monthly reports 
improved compared to 2016 (+ 8 percentage points to reach 88%), as did the reliability and 
coherence of such reports.  Only o ne of the final reports was missing.  On average, the interns 
spent 58% of their time on meeting -related work  (WTO bodies or Regional Groupings), including 
attendance and performing the underlying preparatory and follow -up work.  This task is 
particularly important for small understaffed missions, as it supports their ability to attend such 
meetings.  One intern spent 90% of his time on such meetings, whilst at the other end of the 
spectrum four others devoted only about 40% of their time to it.  On average , the interns spent 
13% of their time attending training sessions, including monthly meetings with the Secretariat, e -
Learning courses, presentations by divisions, etc.; and 12% of their time preparing research, 
briefing notes and notifications.  A substan tive share of the interns' time was devoted to other 
activities (17% on average), such as administrative tasks .  Four interns spent more than a quarter 
of their time on such activities, whilst four others spent only 5%.  
5.76.   The primary issues of interest for m ost of the interns were the negotiation -related topics in 
the lead up to MC11 : Agriculture ( Domestic Support, Special Safeguard Mechanism, Public Stock 
holding); Fishery Subsidies; Development and LDCs; and other issues raised by Members such as   
e-Commerc e, Investment Facilitation and SMEs.  Several interns had to prepare their delegation's 
statements during the TPR of various Members (e.g. for the TPR of Mozambique, Nig eria, 
Cambodia  and WAEMU  countries).  The interns  from newly acceded countries, Tajikis tan and  
Vanuatu,  helped their missions to follow -up on issues relating to the implementation of their 
countries' WTO commitments .  The intern from Sudan took part in the preparation of  documents 
and reports for Sudan's  accession  and participated in working  sessions  between the negotiating 
team from capital and th e Secretariat or some Members.  
5.77.   Several interns were  also involved in the coordination between the Secretariat and relevant 
government agencies in capital regarding WTO obligations in different areas  such as Notifications  
or the ratification of the TRIPs amendment or TFA .  Like in previous years, the  interns had the 
opportunity to visit the permanent mission of France in order to get a better understanding of the 
formulation of trade policy in the European Union, and to meet with Ireland's representatives to 
discuss various trade issues and concerns . 
5.78.   At the end of their stay in Geneva, the interns were evaluated by their supervisor at the 
mission .  All evaluation reports were transmitted to the Secreta riat.  They systematically  praised 
the interns for their hard work and considered that their performance had either fully met 
expectations or even exceeded them in some cases.  Ten interns were evaluated as "fully 
satisfactory", while the others "significa ntly exceeded performance requirements".  Target met  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 55 - 
 
  21% 
8% 
19% 25% 18% 9% NTP Time - 2017  
WTO Meetings
Regional Group Meetings
Training Sessions
Work with Divisions
Research, briefing notes, needs
assessment, notifications...
Other5.1.1.4.3   Netherlands Trainee Programme (NTP)  
5.79.   In 2017, 16 interns (as in 
2016) were selected (11 from 
LDCs) to work in the Secretariat 
from March to mid -December.   
Target met  
5.80.   Almost all the interns' 
monthly rep orts were available 
(96%), as in 2016.  On average, 
the interns spent 29% of their 
time attending meetings (WTO 
bodies or regional groupings) and 
performing the related 
preparatory and follow -up work.  
Only three interns spent more 
than 40% of their time o n such 
meetings.  
5.81.   Working in a division offers the opportunity to learn by doing.  On average the interns spent 
25% of their time on this (+6 percentage points compared to 2016).  Three interns did not report 
any work with a division  whilst three others reported having worked close to half of their time 
there (47%).  The interns worked in the following divisions, according to their p rofessional  
interest: ITTC, TPR, Development, Trade & Environment, Services, Market Access, Intellectual 
Property, EIF , Agriculture (STDF) and Economic Research.  As in the last years, five interns worked 
as assistant tutors for e -Learning courses for a substantial period of their stay.48  Among the 13 
interns who worked in divisions, eight worked in only one division, whi le the other five worked in 
two divisions.  In general, those who worked in just one division dedicated a higher proportion of 
their time to divisional work (e.g. two of the three interns who spent about half of their time 
working in the divisions were a ttached to just one division).  
5.82.   The interns dedicated 19% ( -11 percentage points compared to 2016) of their time to 
training activities specifically organized by the Secretariat on various trade -related matters and to 
e-Learning courses on subjects such as: Notifications, Trade and Environment, TRIPs, Trade and 
Services, etc.  This also included visits to other Geneva -based organizations (ITC, ACWL, WIPO, 
etc.) and a study tour to the Netherlands.  The reduction of the time dedicated to training activities 
which could equally be followed back home (e.g. online cour ses) is a welcome development.  
5.83.   The interns prepared an assessment of their country's TA needs and updated the list of 
outstanding notifications under each of the Agreements for which notification is r equired.  This 
represented 18% of their time on average, as in 2016.  Finally the share of administrative tasks 
increased in 2017 (9%, +2 percentage points).  
5.84.   In 2017, at least one supervisor's Performance Evaluation Report was available for all of the 
16 interns, a marked improvement compared to 2016.  Five interns "significantly exceeded 
performance requirements", ten interns "Fully met required performance standards" and one 
intern's performance was rated as "partially satisfactory".  Target partially met  
  
                                                
48 The interns were involved in the courses on Introduction to WTO (E, F) in which they monitored 
participants' progress; answered questions on t he course substance, exams or administrative aspects; 
participated in one Chat session; suggested discussion subjects for the News Forum; etc.   The interns also 
contributed to the revision of the introduction and MTA courses.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 56 - 
 
  30% 
20% 
6% 18% 26% RCI Time - 2017  
WTO Meetings
Regional Group Meetings
Training Sessions
including e-Learning
Research, briefing notes
etc.
Other5.1.1.4.4   Regional Coordinator Internship  programme ( RCI) 
5.85.  As in 2016, 5 new interns 
were selected to work for the 
mission of Members acting as 
regional coordinators for certain 
groups (e.g. LDCs, Africa, etc.)  or 
for certain regional secretariats  
(e.g. PIF S).  Over the last two 
years, the annual RCI intake has 
decreased by 37% compared to 
the 2010 -15 average (8 interns) 
by strictly adhering to target 
beneficiaries for this Programme.  
The interns'  stay in Geneva 
depended on the duration of the 
coordinator's manda te and was 
almost 8  months on average in 
2017 (+2 months compared to 2016 – three interns stayed 6  months  and the  other two up to 12) .  
The allocation of an intern to a regional coordinator is entirely demand -driven and depends on the 
requests received from those Members who act as coordinator for a region or group of Members.  
It then also depends on the capacity of those Members to pre sent appropriate applications to the 
Secretariat.   Target partially met  
5.86.   The monthly reports of the interns on their  activities and the time allotted to each of the m 
were all received in a timely manner  in 2017 .  On average 50% of the interns' time was dedi cated 
to meetings and the related work (preparation or follow -up), whether for WTO bodies ( 30%) or 
regional groupings ( 20%).   Interns also repo rted that 18 % of their time was devoted to research  
and preparation o f briefing notes, 26% to  other tasks and req uests made by regional coordinators , 
and the remaining 6% to training . 
5.87.   An evaluation was received for four of the five interns who completed their stay in Geneva 
in 2017 .  Two interns " significantly excee ded performance requirements" whilst the other two 
"fully met required performance standards".   Target met  
5.1.2   Output 1.2: Effective partnerships result in substantive contributions of human  
and financial resources, for e-Learning and face -to-face activities  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
% of activities held with a partner 
adding value  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
% of partnerships contributing to 
the substance of the TA activities  Increase substantive contributions 
during the biennium  Target not met  
5.88.   The use of a more focused approach towards partnerships has been identified as one of the 
strategic elements of the TA Plan 2016 -17.49  The cooperation with an extensive network of 
partners is essential for the achievement of the TA outcomes.  Year 2016 was the first  one in 
which detailed data was  systematically collected o n the contributions made by WTO partners to its 
TA activities.  Thanks to this significant improvement in data collection and notwithstanding 
unavoidable teething adjustments, it is now possible to see how the WTO has performed in 2017 in 
comparison to 2016 in terms of leveraging its large network of partners to deliver better -tailored 
TA activities in a cost -efficient manner.  
5.89.   In 201 7, the Secretariat cooperated with 1 17 different partners to organize and deliver 148 
TA activities.   In addition, the Secretariat participated as a partner in 26 TA activities organised by 
other institutions.  Together, these 1 74 activities represent 60% of the TA activities which the 
WTO organized or in which it participated in 201 7. 
                                                
49 See section 5.7 in document WT/COMTD/W/211.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 57 - 
 
  020406080Number of Activities  Partners' Contribution  
Substance
Costs
Logistics020406080100120
1 2 3+Partners per TA Activity  
2016
2017
020406080
1 2 3 4+TA Activities per Partner  
2016
20175.90.   For instance , unde r Key Result 1, most WTO TA activities in the field of TRIPS benefit ed 
from the involvement of long -time partners such as WIPO and WHO, and in the field of 
Government Procurement of the EBRD; under K ey Result 4, outreach activities for academia, MPs, 
civil society and media were organized quasi -exclusively through longstanding partnerships with 
various academic institutions, foundations, parliamentary associations, etc.  National activities are 
also systematically organised in partnership with the local aut horities and ITPCs in their current 
format would not be possible without a strong local partner.  
5.91.   In 2017, 62% of WTO  TA partners were 
involved in a single activity, and 25% were 
involved in two activities.  Similarly, 8 0% of 
the TA activities which involved a partnership 
were organised with one single partner and 
16% with two partners.  This means that in the 
vast majority of cases  and as already noted in 
2016, a specific partnership was dev eloped in 
order to organize one single activity with this 
partner and with this partner only.  As the 
negotiation and organization of a partnership is 
a resource intensive process for the 
Secretariat, economies of scale in such a 
system can only be pursued over several years .  
The economies that can be tapped over such 
long periods of time will remain limited , which  
confirms that relying on partnes hips can only 
very partially alle viate the current resource 
limitations of the Secretariat .  The most 
valuable contribution of partnerships is to  
better tailor the activit ies to the requirements 
of the beneficiaries and to assist with the local 
organization and logistics for a smooth delivery 
of the training.   The Secretariat had already 
organised TA activities in 2016 with two thirds 
of its 2017 partners, but only 54% of t he 2016 
partners were still WTO TA partners in 2017, as 
the pool of partners shrank by almost 20%.  
5.92.   The TA Plan 2016 -2017 identified four 
domains in which partners could usefully add 
value to the TA provided by the WTO: 
substance, cost -sharing, logistics a nd outreach.   
For an activity to qualify as WTO TA, it was 
assumed that the Secretariat would need to 
provide a majority of its substance.  This 
means that the contribution of partners to 
substance will be considered as low between 
0% and 19%, as average b etween 20% and 
39% and as high above 40%.  No comparable 
limit exists for partners' contribution to costs 
and logistics, which may reach up to 100% 
without compromising the WTO nature of a TA 
activity.  Partners' contribution to costs and 
logistics will co nsequently be considered as low between 0% and 34%, as average between 35% 
and 69% and as high above 70%.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 58 - 
 
  23% 
44% 22% 11% Substance  
None Low Average High18% 
59% 13% 9% Costs  
None Low Average High13% 
24% 
37% 25% Logistics  
None Low Average HighPartners' contribution to:  
5.93.   In terms of substance, partners' contribution decreased compar ed to 2016.   In 23% of the 
partnerships , the partner did not contribute at all to the substance; it either shared part of the 
costs or provided logistical support.  At the other end of the spectrum, a majority of the substance 
came from the partner in 11% of the cases .  This was particularly th e case under Key Result 4 for 
certain outreach activities and the WCP, and for some activities with EBRD on Government 
Procurement.  The TA Plan had targeted an increase in the substantive contribution of partners 
compared to 2014 when the distribution was  20% high, 18% average and 62% low.  In 2017, 
these figures were respectively 11%, 22% and 67%.  Target not met  
5.94.   Analysing these three dimensions together shows that approximately 16% of the partners 
made a very modest contribution to the 2017 TA activities  in any area , against 20% in 2016 .  
Conversely, all the other partners contribute d in a meaningful way to the substance, budget or 
logistics of the activities.  Like in 2016, logistics is the area where the Secretariat received the 
highest contribution fro m its partners in 2017.  Partners took care of the majority of the logistical 
arrangements related to the implementation of its TA activities in 44% of the cases.  That 
proportion was 17% only for the costs of TA activities and logically only 5% for their substance.  
Conversely, partners did not provide any logistical support in only 13% of the cases and did not 
contribute to costs and substance in 18% and 23% of the cases respectively.  
5.95.   In 9% of the cases, the partner ship allowed the WTO TA to reach out to a wider public than 
the traditional audience of government officials in developing Members and Observers .  This 
proportion is considerably higher for the activities under Key Result 4 for which 36% of the 
partnerships led the WTO to reach a wider public.  
5.96.   The TA Plan had identified as a baseline that in 2014 87% of the WTO TA partners added 
value to the activities .  As already underlined last year, t his figure was based on partial data and 
probably overstated the contribution of partners, since there was no major shift in this domain 
over the past two years.   The target was to see the share of partnerships adding value to the TA 
activities increase during the biennium.  Target met  
5.1.3   Output 1. 3: Members' needs and priorities are identified annually  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Number of needs assessments conducted  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
5.97.   The TA Plan states that the assessment of the TA needs of the beneficiaries was essential 
and that consultations would be held with them to that effect.50  The consultations held in 2017 in 
preparation of the TA Plan 2018-19 showed that beneficiaries' priority needs were, in order of 
decreasing importance, on the following subjects: TF, Services, SPS, TBT, Trade N egotiation Skills, 
Trade Remedies, Agricultu re, M A for Goods, TRIPS, e -Commerce, RTAs, Development, 
Notifications , TPR follow -ups and Dispute Settlement.51  The informal consultations between the 
Secretariat and Members held regularly during the course of 201 7 confirmed these priorities , which 
have been fairly stable for several years .  The analysis presented in section 4.4 above showed that 
                                                
50 See section 6.1.3 in document WT/COMTD/W/211.  
51 See section 4 in document WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 59 - 
 
  the WTO TA provided by the Secretariat in 201 7 responded to the needs and priorities identified by 
Members.  
5.98.   Most of the consultations regularly held with Members  and Observers about their needs and 
priorities during the course of the year were informal and have not been systematically 
documented.  This was the case in particular when analysing and responding to the requests for 
national activities .  These requests  always trigger ed multiple bilateral exchanges between the 
Secretariat and the authorities of the requesting country , with the aim of  specify ing more precisely 
the actual needs of the requesting authorities  in order to design the most suited TA activity.  
Engaging in this process was a challenge for a number of beneficiaries who had difficulties in 
defining precisely the problem they wanted to fix or the objectives they wanted to reach at the end 
of the activity.  Another difficulty came from requests seeki ng the Secretariat's advice on 
negotiating strategies, for example for RTAs.  As such request s fall clearly outside of the 
Secretariat 's mandate , they had to be denied and the request s had to be re -focused.  The result of 
these consultations is embodie d in the national activity request eventually submitted.   However, as 
the number of national request s for TA received by the Secretariat has been  progressively 
declining for several years,52 the number of needs analysis that they trigger ed also went down.  
5.99.   As already noted last year, n eeds assessment prior to the delivery of a dvanced activities  
continued to rely frequently on pre -course questionnaires  in one form or another .  The responses 
received are then used to better tailor the content of the activities to t he specificities of the 
participating countries .  In 2017 , a pre -course questionnaire was used for example in preparation 
for the advanced thematic course on RTA s, Services, Intellectual Property, SPS, Services statistics, 
etc.  For the thematic workshop on Agriculture notifications , participants were sent in advance 
instead of a questionnaire a lin k to a test version of the new online notification database, which 
they had to use in preparation for the activity.  This real scale  trial of the database allowed the 
organisers to better tailor the programme of the workshop to the needs identified by  the 
participants  when testing the database , and ensured fluidity in the exercises during the workshop 
as participants were already famil iar with the online database.   For the advanced workshop on 
Government Procurement, participants were asked to share in advance information on relevant 
national experiences and practices , on the basis of which some of them presented  their respective 
nation al systems  to the group .  The submissions were also use d in the practical breakout policy 
discussion sessions, and made available to all participants for reference.  
5.100.   Meanwhile, the TPR completed in 201 7 for the eight WAEMU Members (Benin, Burkina 
Faso, Côte  d'Ivoire, Guinea -Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo)  incorporated an analysis of the 
TA needs and priorities of the se countr ies, taking into account the TA they had received from the 
WTO since the previous review.  This was also done for  Chad, Colombia , Congo, Guatemala, 
Honduras, Solomon Islands and UAE , in which a follow -up to their TPR was organised in 201 7. 
5.101.   The TA Plan had targeted an increase in the number of needs assessments conducted 
during the biennium by the Secretariat.  In the absence of a c omprehensive record of all the 
initiatives and actions of the Secretariat in this domain, no definitive conclusion c ould normally  be 
reached concerning this target.  However, the anecdotal evidence mentioned above suggests that 
the significant improvements  registered last year were further consolidated in 2017 , even if they 
cannot be quantified with certainty .  Target met  
5.2  Key Result 2: Acceding governments are participating in accession negotiations, in 
line with WTO accession processes and procedures  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Number of Acceding governments, including LDCs, 
with a Working Party meeting held  Stability during the 
biennium  Target met  
5.102.   The Annual Report on WTO Accessions for 2017 presented the main developments of the 
year on the accession  front.53  Two Acceding governments, Bosnia Herzegovina and Comoros 
made major progress  in their respective accession processes.  The initial target was even to 
complete the accession of Comoros by MC11.  Excluding Andorra, whose accession pr ocess is 
inacti ve, and Libya,  Sao Tome & Principe and Sudan who were under  administrative measures  and 
                                                
52 See section 3.1.2 above.  
53 WT/ACC/ 31. WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 60 - 
 
  could not be  invited to  WTO TA activities,54 the number of A cceding countries who benefited from 
the TA provided by the Secretariat remained constant in 2017 (18 countri es as in 2016).55 
5.103.   The Accession Annual Report states that the following meetings were held during the year:  
a. seven formal Working Party meetings,  against two in 2016: Azerbaijan (one); Belarus, 
Comoros and Sudan (2 each);  
b. three plurilateral meetings addresse d specific technical issues in the area of Agriculture, 
against one in 2016: Azerbaijan, Belarus and Sudan; and  
c. one informal Working Party meeting was held for Iraq (none in 2016) and no technical 
verification meeting (as in 2016).  
5.104.   A Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) was circulated to the Working Parties 
of Somalia and Timor -Leste.  A revised MFTR was circulated to the Working Party of Sudan.  
Factual Summaries of Points Raised were prepared for the Working Parties of Comoros and Sudan.  
Elements of a draft Report for the Working Party of Comoros and a first version of a draft Report 
for the Working Party of Belarus were prepared.  Draft Reports of the Working Party were revised 
for Azerbaijan, Bosnia Herzegovina and Lebanon.  Overall, only t wo such documents had been 
circulated in 2016.  
5.105.   This situation points to a much higher level of activity in 2017 compared to the previous 
year.  The number of Working Parties meetings increased four -fold (11 meetings against only 3 in 
2016) and the amount of documentation issued for these meetings surge d from 1,200 pages in 
2016 to over 3,000 pages.  
5.106.   Year 2017 saw intensive effort s to reactivate several accessions whose processes had been 
inactive for many years.  Five such accession processes were reactivated in 2017.56  No Working 
Party meeting was held during the year for Equatorial Guinea and Lebanon.  Nevertheless, the TA 
activities held in Malabo and Beirut in January and February  met their objectives.  Lebanon then 
issued eight revised negotiating inputs which were circulated to its Working Party.  A second 
activity requested by Equatorial Guinea to help them complete the analysis of their trade policy 
was cancelled by the Secretariat.  On top of these reactivations, Azerbaijan which maintained the 
regular pace of its 20 -year old accession process al so had a Working Party meeting in 2017.  The 
assumptions made when defining the TA Plan targets were that accession negotiations would 
remain active and that Acceding governments would submit the required documentation to their 
Working Parties.  Ten out of  21 Acceding governments held at least one meeting or submitted new 
documents related to their accession processes.  Even if only 4 8% of the Observers had an active 
accession process, this represents a substantial improvement compared to the level observed  in 
2015 and 2016.  Target met  
5.107.   Accession to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) is another area in which the 
Secretariat provides support for many years, even if the TA Plan did not  define specific indicators 
and targets in this regard.  Two nationa l activities, three regional activities, one global activity and 
one thematic course were delivered by the Secretariat in this area in 2017.  The national activities 
were organized in China and Sri Lanka, two regional activities for the CEECAC region took place in 
Georgia and in Geneva, one activity for Latin America in Argentina, and a Symposium on 
Sustainable G overnment Procurement  and a thematic course on G PA were organized in Geneva.  
In 2017, there were five active GPA accessions involving WTO TA-eligible Members, including one 
new accession application.57  One of these countries, China, received a national seminar, while the 
                                                
54 Sudan was under administrative measures until the beginning of March 2017.  
55 South Sudan accession request was received on 5 December 2017 leading to the creation of a 
Working Party on 13 December during MC11.  It was consequently not an Acceding country during most of 
2017.  
56 Belarus (after 12 years), Equatorial Guinea (after 9 years), Iraq (after 9 ye ars), Lebanon (after 
8 years) and Sudan (after 13 years).  In the case of Equatorial Guinea and Sudan, the reactivation started with 
the payment of their WTO contributions in arrears to put an end to administrative measures.  
57 China, Kyrgyz Republic, Russi a, Tajikistan and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (GPA/145, 
dated 16 November 2017, para graphs 3.1, and 3.5 -3.20).  The F ormer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia applied 
for accession in March (GPA/143, dated 17 March 2017).  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 61 - 
 
  0 200 400 600 800 1000Middle EastCEECACCaribbeanAsia- PacificAfricaObservers' Participation by Region  
National
Regional
Global
E-learningregional workshop for CEECAC countries covered the remainder.  Georgia, Kazakhstan,  Kyrgyz 
Republic, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and  Tajikistan also benefited from th ree 
WTO/EBRD workshop s delivered on the margins of the GPA Committee meeting s.  No accession 
process was completed in 2017 while two accessions were completed in 2016 and one in 2015.  
5.108.   In 2016, the Secretariat d eveloped a new indicator on the volume of documentation 
circulated as a proxy measure for GPA accession activity.  A 50% decrease occurred in 2017 
compared to the base year 2016.  The average number of documents circulated per Acceding 
Member was also cut in half.  Whilst the level of TA provided in 2017 in this domain was fairly 
constant compared to previous years, measurable results were certainly more limited.  This points 
to the non -linear nature of such negotiations' results and to the absence of direc t correlation 
between the WTO TA provided and the achievement of negotiated results, since these depend 
essentially on Members' ability to reach a political compromise.  
Documents circulated  Base Year (2016)  2017 
GPA/ACC/* Series  53 25 
All other Documents  4 1 
Total 57 26 
No. of TA eligible GPA Acceding Members  6 5 
Average No. of documents circulated per GPA Acceding Member  9.5 5.2 
5.2.1   Output 2.1: Acceding governments have expertise on  WTO rules, accessions 
negotiating best practices and core accession obligations acquis  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Share of Acceding governments in Outcome 1 indicators  Stability during the 
biennium  Target met  
Roadmaps and endgame plans  Stability during the 
biennium  Target met  
Use of Secretariat advice and accession tools  Stability during the 
biennium  Data not available  
5.109.   In 2016, Acceding governments had been invited to 87 WTO TA face -to-face activities (i.e. 
30%) and had the same access to the 67 online courses as Members, which means that they were 
invited to 154 activiti es.  In 2017, Acceding governments were invited to 69 TA face -to-face 
activities (i.e. 37%) and had access to 73 online courses, building up a total of 142 TA activities.  
On average, the 18 active Acceding governments were each invited to 32 face -to-face activities.  
5.110.   In total, 1,355 participants from 
Acceding countries were registered in the 
TA database as having participated, 
whether online or face -to-face, in TA 
activities in 2017.  This figure includes all 
the participants who registered for an 
online course, whether they completed it 
or not.58  Out of 849 e -learners, only 573 
completed their courses.  Deducting the 
276 e -learners who dropped out or 
failed, the total number of participants 
from Observers for the year was 1,079, 
which is only 2% lower tha n the 1,101  
participants  from Acceding governments 
(including 575 e -learners) registered in 2016.  The target included in the TA Plan for the year was 
to maintain a stable level of participation.   Target met  
5.111.   A closer look at the level of participation per country shows different patterns according to 
the status of their respective accession processes.  Except for Algeria, Bhutan,  Ethiopia  and Iran, 
who had many participants in online courses, other countries with inactive Working Parties had no 
                                                
58 Only the participants w ho completed the online course had been counted in previous years, excluding 
those who dropped out or failed.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 62 - 
 
  18% 
12% 
7% 63% Observers' TA Mix  
National
Regional
Global
E-learning
0 200 400 600 800TRIPSStandardsServicesRulesMAGPAGeneralEnvironmentDSAgricultureAccessionsObservers in TA by Subject  
 
National
Regional
Global
E-learningmore than 20  participants.59  Conversely, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Sudan and Timor -
Leste whose accessions were very dynamic in 2017 registered all a surge of the number of 
participants to WTO TA activities which generally doubled compared to 2016.  In Equat orial 
Guinea, the n ational workshop on Trade Policy Analysis  held in January stimulated the participation 
in TA activities which had been negligible so far.60  Comoros and Sudan also registered high levels 
of participation in 2017.61 
5.112.   With some minor variati ons, the 
balance between participation of 
Observers in national, regional, global or 
online WTO TA activities was fairly 
similar to Members' own mix.  A lmost 
two thirds  of the participants followed 
online courses; 18% were trained in 
eleven national activi ties; and the rest 
through some regional or global 
activities.  
5.113.   In terms of subjects, A cceding 
governments logically had the very same 
predilection for activities with a general 
scope as Members, since their officers  
have s imilar  needs to learn about the 
MTS in general.  Quite predictably, 
activities focused on the accession 
process came second and involved a 
much higher proportion of national 
activities.  
5.114.   In 2017, the Secretariat's 
accessions -related TA focused on the 
regions with the largest number of 
ongoing and future accessions (Africa, 
Middle East and CEECAC).  The first 
regional dialogue on WTO Accessions for 
the Greater Horn of Africa was held in 
August in Nairobi.  The workshop offered 
a platform for Acceding governments 
from the region to exchange l essons learnt from their accession processes and to compare notes 
on the sequencing of the WTO accession process with regional integration initiatives.  National 
activities were conducted in Belarus, Bhutan, Equatorial Guinea, Lebanon and Somalia (1 each);  
Comoros (2); and Sudan (3) to stimulate the national work required by the accession process.  
Taking the specificities of the national situations into account, these activities allowed the 
authorities to take stock of the progress made so far in the accession process; to meet with 
national stakeholders and consider with them the pros and cons of their country's accession to the 
WTO; and to identify the outstanding issues that required decision -making, whether in Parliament 
or by the government.   In 20 17, accession Roadmaps were formulated or updated for Azerbaijan, 
Belarus, Comoros, Lebanon and Sudan.  The TA plan targeted a stability of this indicator during 
the biennium.  Four roadmaps had been  formulated/updated in 2016.  Target met  
5.115.   The use of the S ecretariat advice and accession tools has been identified by the TA Plan as 
one of the indicators to measure this output.  These tools include: the accession commitment 
database, the register of bilateral market agreements, the accession intelligence porta l and the 
use of various templates for accessions -related documents.  Unfortunately, the Secretariat did not 
gather these data in 2017.  Data not available  
                                                
59 In 2017, inactive accessions included Algeria, Andorra, Bahamas, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Iran, Libya, Sao 
Tome & Principe, Serbia, Syria and Uzbekista n. 
60 A total of 102 participants (24 in online courses) were registered in 2017, against 7 in 2016.  
61 Comoros: 164 participants (130 in online courses) in 2017 against 92 in 2016; Sudan: 226 
participants (121 in online courses) in 2017 against 104 in 2016.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 63 - 
 
  5.3  Key Result 3: Members are accessing and using the most recent and relevant WTO -
related information and data enabling them to better enforce their rights and obligations  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Members' satisfaction with data availability  Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
5.116.   As already mentioned  in last year's report, t he external evaluation noted that the WTO 
website was generally the main source of information of most beneficiaries, and did not identify 
any particular problem concerning Members' level of satisfaction with the availability of WTO -
related data.  This was  confirmed by beneficiaries' responses to the questionnaire circulated in 
preparation for the TA Plan 2018 -19, which identified the WTO public website and Members' WTO 
website as their main source of trade -related information, documents and data.  The exte rnal 
evaluation also noted that any evolution in the level of satisfaction of Members in this domain 
would be extremely difficult to measure and the availability of the data in many WTO databases is 
frequently dependent on Members' own submissions.  
5.117.   The absence of any complain from Members on the availability of the WTO website during 
the year confirms the conclusions reached by the external evaluation in this domain.  However it is 
impossible to measure in any credible way whether Members' satisfaction in t his domain increased 
or not.   It may be  assumed that this level of satisfaction remained stable during the year.   Data 
not available  
5.3.1   Output 3.1: The WTO RCs network is operational in targeted Member/Observer 
economies  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Rate of opera tional RCs  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
5.118.   Since its inception in 1997, more than 150 RCs have been established in beneficiaries.  
Over the years, due to the rotation of staff and the obsolescence of equipment, the WTO lost 
contact with many R Cs, which means that the Secretariat never operated a network of 150+ RCs.  
RC reporting rate on their activities has always been low, which prevented the Secretariat from 
properly measuring the results produced by the pr ogramme.   
5.119.    At the end of 2017, the Secretariat 
had a registry of 124 RCs, many of which 
established more than 10 years ago in 
developing Members and Observers.  More 
recent RCs are predominantly, though not 
exclusively, in LDCs which have become 
the main target of th e programme.  Within 
the universe of 124 RCs, 31 (25%  which is 
the same rate as in 2016 ) responded to the 
annual evaluation survey and can therefore 
be considered as active.  Amongst the 
respondent RCs, 15 (48%) were in LDCs.  
Restricting the analysis to t he RCs that 
were installed or upgraded in the last three 
years shows a similar situation .  At the end 
of 2017, 20 RCs had been installed or upgrade d since 2015,  out of which 13 (65%) were in LDCs. 
Only 10 of them (50%) responded to the survey.  Consequently, there does not seem to be any 
correlation between the recent upgrade or installation of an RC and its operational status.  On the 
other hand, a certain correlation was found between the long-term internship pro gramme s (see 
section 5.1.1.4 above)  and the operational status of RCs:  80% of the RCs who responded to the 
survey had at least one long -term intern in Geneva in 2015, 2016 or 2017 .  Target not met 
5.120.   Over half of operational RCs (55%) indicated that they were  open all the time during office 
hours (80% in 2016).  Office space and the obsolescence of the equipment w ere the main reason s 
given by the others for not being always operational.  Being a RC manager was  a full-time job for 
which they had received specif ic training in around three -fifths of the cases .  As a result, 77% of 
the RC managers were confident to navigate and use the resources available on the WTO website.  0%20%40%60%80%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Operational Reference Centers  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 64 - 
 
  0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%0 - 3031 - 6061 - 9091 - 120121+RC Visitors per Month  
42% 
26% 23% 9% Affiliation of visitors  
Government
Academics
Private sector
Other38% 
21% 17% 14% 7% 3% Reason for vist  
Research
E-learning course
Retrieve a WTO
document
Seek advice on the
WTO
Technical meetings
Consult WTO
databasesMost RCs (94%) worked in close collaboration with the department directly responsible for WTO 
issues inside their institution.  Each of them organized approximately 5 activities during the year 
on average.  These included technical meetings, seminars and courses for colleagues from the 
Ministry or Universities.  Some RCs also cooperated and exc hanged information with each other 
(23%), like those in regional organisations such as IICA in Costa Rica.  
5.3.2   Output 3.2: RCs are used by the various stakeholders to access WTO -related 
information and data or to follow online courses  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Requests or visits to the RCs during the year by 
category of stakeholders and type of needs  Increase during the 
biennium  Target not met  
5.121.   Following previous years'  trend, 70% 
of the reporting RCs had a relatively small 
number of visitors every month (less than 60, 
and even much less for 43% of them), and 
13% had a high number (more than 120).  
This means that a relatively small number of 
RCs (4) were dynamic and seem ed to respond 
to a real need in their country, whilst the 
relevance of the others was more limited , as 
noted in the 2016 external evaluation .  The 
evolution detected in 2016 continued in 2017 
as the proportion of RCs with fewer or with 
many visitors  decreased .62  The proport ion of 
visitors from the government sector continued 
to decrease (42% , -8 percentage points compared to  2016), as 26% were academics and 23% 
came from the private sector.  As in 2016, the visitors came mainly for research purposes (38%), 
to follow an e -Learning course (21%) , to retrieve WTO document s (17%) or to seek advice on the 
WTO (14%).  In 2017, 70% of the RCs coordinated WTO online courses against only 58% in 2016.  
Around three -fifths of those who did so hosted between 10 and 30 e -learners during th e course of 
the year, 33% between 30 and 100 and the remainder (10%) between 10 1 and 200.  The TA Plan 
had targeted an increase in the overall number of visits, by category of stakeholders and types of 
needs.   Target not met  
5.122.   In 2017, a lesser proportion of  the reporting RCs produced and disseminated a newsletter 
(47% instead of 58% in 2016), but at a higher frequency (14% daily, 14% weekly, 36% monthly, 
36% other).  Approximately 70% of these newsletters were circulated to less than 100 persons, 
and 14% to more than 250.  No obvious correlation could be observed between the number of 
visitors and the existence and circulation of a newsletter.  
                                                
62 In 2015, 20% of the RCs had more than 200 visitors per month; 2016, 17% of the RCs had more 
than 120 visitors per month.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 65 - 
 
  5.3.3   Trade in services statistics and supply -use tables are developed and used by the 
various stakeholders to monitor WTO -related trade developments  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Availability of detailed trade in services 
statistics and broader coverage of databases on 
trade in value added  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
5.123.   In 2017, as in previous years, the Secretariat continued to focus on the improvement of 
trade in services statistics in LDCs , Africa and the Middle East.  The two regions remain the most 
problematic in terms of data availability at a detailed level.  With the assistance of Central Banks  
of France and Italy and other international organizations , such as OECD, ITC, PARIS21,63 UNCTAD, 
UNESCWA and UNSD, the Secretariat organised a regional workshop on services statistics for each 
of these two regions , on top of several national seminars .  Prior to the workshops, p articipants 
were required to complete an online course on services statistics and a pre -course questionnaire to 
identify their services sectors of trade interest and related data collectio n and compilation 
difficulties.  
5.124.   The project to  improve trade in services statistics launched last year thanks to a voluntary 
contribution of the European Union continued in 2017.  The goal is to develop and maintain a 
global dataset on trade in services statistics by modes of supply  by the end of 2018 . 
5.125.   The Secretariat's efforts to promote the understanding of TiVA and G VCs continued in 
2017, as already explained under section 3.4.2 above, with the organization in Geneva of the first 
course on this subject complemented by several national activities.  T he focus remained on Africa.  
5.126.   In terms of results,  the collection of statistics requires time to materialise  and when new 
surveys are carried out, data are collected for a very limited number of years.  Thus, the 
availability of statistics for more recent y ears is higher than for older years.  As far as services 
statistics from LDCs are concerned, only 20 of them reported financial services exports for 2005; 
following national and regional capacity building activities, this number increased gradually to 
reach 32 LDCs reporting their financial services transaction for 2015.   For Computer -related 
services, these figures were 12 and 20 respectively, and for telecommunication services 27 and 
37.  In addition, Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS), which so far were compiled only by Zambia in 
Africa , have also been published for the first time by Zimbabwe in 2017 and other countries in the 
region were actively working on them.  Overall, only 43 countries in the world produced FATS, 9 of 
which were developing countri es.  FATS are very helpful to measure trade flows under mode 3 of 
the GATS, but a re rather technical to compile.  
5.127.   These anecdotal evidences confirm that, slowly but surely, the availability of trade in 
services statistics is improving in terms of both volum e and quality.  Target met  
5.3.4   Digital Dispute Settlement Registry (DDSR)  
5.128.   The DDSR should progressively replace the current paper -based filing system for dispute 
settlement cases.  The DDSR was not explicitly identified in the TA Plan for 201 6-17, as the DDSR  
pilot phase was launched during the summer 2015 , after the finalisation of the TA Plan .  The last 
two TA annual report s acknowledged the need to assist Members in the transition from paper to 
digital filings .  In 201 7, training on the DDSR continued to be  a part of the Geneva -based WTO TA 
pursuant to Article 27 of the DSU .  Three  half-day training sessions on  different aspects of the 
DDSR w ere organised for Geneva -based delegates in March .  A short national training on the 
DDSR was also held back -to-back w ith another activity  and d uring the course of the year, upon 
request the DS and A ppellate Body Registrars provided one -to-one training to delegates for on -
going disputes and trained other Secretariat staff and Panellists on how to use the system.  
  
                                                
63 Partnership for Statistics in Development in the 21st Century.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 66 - 
 
  65% 12% 23% DDSR use by DS Parties  
Voluntary Filing
Mandatory Filing
No participation5.129.   Two decisive steps towards 
implementation of the DDSR took place in 
2017.  The first step was that two disputes 
chose DDSR as the only filing method, 
moving to e -filing procedures in dispute 
settlement for the first time in history.  
This meant that 18 Memb ers used the 
DDSR to file their submissions, exhibits, 
and correspondence to the Panel.64  More 
than half of those Members attended the 
training course s organized in March 2017.   
In 2017, the Registrar received 95 
requests for new accoun ts from Members 
and created 45 P anellist accounts.  
5.130.   The second step was that the Secretariat started to use the DDSR as its electronic archive.  
The timetables of all disputes that began their panel procedures in 2017 were uploaded into the 
DDSR.  At the end of the proceedings , Panel Secretaries updated the final status of the claims 
addressed in their respective reports, and the DS Registrar uploaded the Panel record in DDSR to 
make it available for the Appellate Body, in case of appeal using the DDSR.  The ABS received 3 
appeals using the system.  
5.131.   The direct costs of the above -mentioned activities was negligible (they represent an 
opportunity cost for the Secretariat) .  Their results can be difficult to measure as participation in 
the pilot is dependent not only the willingness  of the parties , but also on the existence of a dispute 
involving that Member.  Feedback for participants suggests that these activities have been 
effective in achiev ing their intended objectives.  
5.4  Key Result 4: MPs, journalists and civil society interactin g with WTO; and students 
or academic institutions supported by WTO are de aling with trade policy and WTO -
related subjects  
Indicators  Targets  2017 
Chair's contribution to their country's trade 
policy formulation  Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
Sustainability of Chair's results  Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
Exposure of MPs, media and civil society to 
WTO-related issues and work  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Articles, discussions and positions on WTO-
related matters  Increased quality during the 
biennium  Target met  
5.132.   For the reasons identified in the external  evaluation and discussed in the 2016 annual 
report,  measuring the actual contribution of the Chairs to their countries' trade policy and the 
sustainability of the Chairs' results is difficult.  The final evaluation of the programme due in 2018 
will address this challenge and will aim to collect factual evidence on the results achieved by the 
Chairs in these regards.  At this stage no assessment c an be made with regard to these indicators.   
Data not available  
5.133.   The first phase of the WCP (2011 -14) showed that the attribution dilemma was potentially 
the most serious challenge when trying to measure the re sults of the programme.  Since t he WCP 
relies o n academics already active in the field of trade issues, it is not easy to identify the research 
which can be confidently ascribed to the programme.  Since the beginning of the second phase at 
the end of 2014, the Secretariat has tried to mitigate this ris k through monthly contacts with the 
Chairs and through a regular monitoring of their activities.  The monthly videoconferences helped 
tell what resulted directly from the WCP from what was produced only indirectly.  The attention of 
the Chairs has been reg ularly raised to this issue.  
                                                
64 The DSB was informed early May 2017 that the use of the DDSR to f ile submissions for new disputes 
was suspended in order to work on various improvements of the system.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 67 - 
 
  0%20%40%60%80%100%
Benin Brazil Oman South
AfricaTunisia TurkeyChairs Budget Allocation  
Outreach
Curriculum
Development
Research5.134.   The WCP is structured 
around three main pillars: 
research, curriculum 
development and outreach.  The 
definition  of the relative 
importance given to each pillar 
is the responsibility of each 
Chair.  This led to significant 
variations in budget allocations 
between the six active Chairs.  
However, the correlation noted 
in 2016 between the budgetary 
choices of the Chairs and the 
volume of their output under 
each of the pillars was no longer 
apparent in 2017.  
5.135.   The Secretariat held ei ght outreach activities in 2017 at regional (7) and global levels (1).  
This was one activity more than in 2016 and translated into a significant increase in the 
geographical coverage of the programme.  This was mainly due to the higher number of regional 
events organized in 2017 (3 more than in 2016).  Regional activities targeted participants from 
Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and CEECAC regions.  As in every Ministerial year, the 
higher level of outreach activity in 2017 was not surprising at all.  As stated in previous reports,  
media, MPs and civil society  tend to have more interest in WTO related matters when a Ministerial 
Conference takes place during the year.  This situation usually beefs up the demand for briefings 
and discussions from th ese stakeholders.  The TA Plan had anticipated an increased exposure of 
MPs, media and civil society to WTO -related issues during the biennium.  Target  met 
5.136.   The number of newspaper articles on WTO surged in 2017 compared to 2016, as a 
consequence of MC11.  Journalists from various countries and sub -regions in Latin America 
gathered in Buenos Aires to report on the event in their respective media.  An onsite evaluation of 
one of the seven regional outreach activities was performed by the Secretariat to measur e results 
and can be used as a proxy to measure the results of the programme, in the absence of other 
means to measure the results of each activity individually.  The evaluation covered the regional 
seminar for Latin American journalists organized in prepa ration for MC11.  The evaluation 
conducted concluded that the activity was very successful and responded well to its main 
objectives.  One of its major outcomes was the ability of the journalists to publish better quality 
articles on WTO and MC11.  The num ber of published articles related to the WTO in the traditional 
and social media rose significantly during and after the seminar.  Substantial improvements were 
also noted in the quality of the articles, as journalists were better informed on the role and 
functioning of the WTO, and on the most topical issues.65  This seminar was very representative of 
the type of activity conducted by the Secretariat as part of Key Result 4.  Given the impossibility to 
gather  data on the newspaper articles produced as a res ult of all outreach activities , it can be 
assumed that similar TA activities produced similar results .  However, as already mentioned in 
previous reports, position papers and parliamentary proposals of law or regulation may not be 
automatically produced as  a result of the TA activities.  Target met  
5.4.1   Output 4. 1: Improved understanding by MPs, journalists, civil society and 
businesses of WTO issues and trade policies  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
MPs reached during the year  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
Journalists and civil society members reached 
during the year  Stability during the biennium  Target met  
5.137.   No national outreach activity was held in 2017.  R egional activiti es were held in Austria in 
February, Singapore in May , Madagascar in September, Cambodia and Morocco in October and 
Argentina in November .  A global seminar for Spanish -speaking journalists took place in Geneva in 
September.  Attendance in these activities was as follows: 18 MPs from CEECAC, 41  MPs for Asia 
                                                
65 SMEs and the role of the private sector, e -Commerce, TF, RTAs; and DS.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 68 - 
 
  16% 
15% 
15% 
12% 12% 13% 5% 3% 1% 
8% Public Forum Participation  
Business
NGO
Student
Academia
IGO
Government
Lawyer
MP
Journalist
OtherPacific , 49 journalists  for Latin America and 38 MPs for Mediterranean region.  These workshops 
focused on topical  issues such as  ITA, e-Commerce, the role of SMEs, etc., the expectations from 
MC11 and the way to further engage MPs or journalists on international trade and the WTO.  Other 
meetings with government officials, business or the media frequently took place around these 
activities.  The activities in Cambodia and Madagascar mainly gathered government officials, some 
academics and representatives from the private sector and regional economic communities.  
5.138.   Fifteen Latin American journalists specialized in trade and economy gathered for five days 
in Geneva in September to cover  a wide range of topics including the new challenges in 
international trade, DS, RTAs, Agriculture, pre paration for MC11, etc.  
5.139.   Overall, 127 MPs, 90 journalists, 590  civil society organisations (including the private 
sector) were reached during the course of the year.  These figures capture all the categories of 
stakeholders reached by the Secretariat throug h its TA activities and are not limited to the 
participants from the eight activities mentioned above.  They are much higher than in 2016, noting 
that the breakdown by category of stakeholders differs significantly.66  The baseline in the TA Plan 
was the 80  MPs, 56 journalist and 24 civil society organisations reached in 2014.  The TA Plan had 
targeted stability in this domain, which was significantly exceeded for all three categories of 
stakeholders.  Targets met  
5.140.   Another way to enhance 
outreach is ensuring  visibility for the 
activities through social media.  As an 
illustration, the number of followers of 
the WTO on Twitter  has increased by 
17% in the aftermath of the activity 
held in Buenos Aires ahead of MC11.  
The WTO also organises every year a 
Public Fo rum gathering in Geneva 
hundreds of people over three days to 
share their views on the WTO issues 
related to a specific theme.  In 2017, 
1,221  persons participated in the 
Public Forum on " Trade: Behind the 
headlines ", more than half of who m 
were MPs or rep resentatives of the 
private sector,  journalists,  civil society 
or academia.  
5.4.2   Output 4.2: Research on trade policy and WTO -related matters generated by WTO 
Chairs and PhD students through provision of grants  
5.4.2.1   WTO Chairs Programme  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Number of publications in internationally 
peer-reviewed journals  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Number of research papers per year  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
  
                                                
66 The statistics in 2016 were: 85 MPs, 37 journalists, 50 civil society organisa tions.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 69 - 
 
  01020304050607080WTO Chair's Research  
2015
2016
2017
024681012Chairs' Research Subjects  0510152025303540
Benin Brazil Oman South
AfricaTunisia TurkeyWTO Chairs' Research  
Thesis
Books
Working
papers
Journal
Articles5.141.   Research is one of the three 
pillars of the WTO Chairs Programme 
(WCP).  The main indicators identified in 
the TA Plan in this domain focused on  
the volume of research produced or 
published annually by each Chair.  Since 
2016, the Secretariat also devoted some 
efforts to the assessment of the quality 
of these publications .  The year 2017 
was characterized by an overall increase 
of the Chairs' production.  The six active  
Chairs collectively published 71 working 
papers and 11  articles in peer -reviewed 
journals.67  This represents an overall 
46% increase compared to 201 6.  This 
also translated into an increase of the average number of publications per C hair from 10.5 in 2016 
to 13.7 in 2017.   The Chair s in Oman and South Africa were the only ones to publish  in peer -
reviewed journals in 2017 (1 and 10 article s respectively) , a decrease of  15% compared to 2016.68  
The Chairs in Brazil and Tunisia did not publish any article in a peer -reviewed journal in 2017.  The 
TA Plan had targeted an increase during the biennium.  Target not  met 
5.142.   The number of working papers 
produced by the Chairs (82) increased 
by 82%  in 2017 compared to 2016.  
This rise is mainly the result of the 
substantial increase of the number of 
working papers produced by the Chairs 
in Tunisia (21 articles in 2017 versus 7 
in 2016) and in Benin (13 articles in 
2017 ve rsus 4 in 2016).  The important 
increase in the number of working 
papers more than compensated the 
slight decrease in the number of articles 
published in peer -reviewed journals.  
The TA Plan had targeted a research 
volume increase by the end of the 
bienniu m.  Target met  
5.143.   Beyond articles and working papers, the Chairs also released in  2017 several books  and 
PhD or Master's thesis , which  contributed to the overall research production of the Chairs, even if 
the attribution of these other publications to the WCP  is not always certain.69 
5.144.   A relatively wide range of trade -
related subjects were covered by the 
research of the Chairs, as can be seen 
from the graph.  The interests of the 
Chairs were logically influenced by their 
local context and government policies  
that they tried to influence.  Subjects 
related to TF and Non -Tariff Barriers 
attracted the highest level of int erest, 
followed by  issues  related to trade 
policies, Development and Trade 
Finance .  This is somewhat wider than 
the WTO agenda, which should not come 
as a surprise.  
                                                
67 Working papers are generally presented in seminars or conferences, whilst articles are published in 
journals or other research publications.  
68 In 2016, the six active Chairs published 13 Articles in peer -reviewed journals.  
69 Contrary to previous y ears, data about the Chairs' production of Newsletters are not available.  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 70 - 
 
  00.10.20.30.40.50.60.7
2015 2016 2017SJR Average Ratings  
Brazil
Oman
South Africa
Tunisia00.20.40.60.81
2015 2016 2017SNIP Average Ratings  
Brazil
Oman
South Africa
Tunisia5.145.   Since last year,  the rankin g or rating of the peer-reviewed journals  in which the Chairs 
publish their articles has been used as a proxy to measure the quality of the ir research .  Two 
systems of journal ranking have been  used: SCImago  Journal Rank (SJR), which measures the 
“scientific influence” of scholarly journals by accounting for both the number of citations received 
by a journal and the importance or prestige of the journals where such citations come from; and 
Source Normalised I mpact per Paper (SNIP) rating, which measures how often a journal is cited 
taking into account the citation potential in its subject field.  The SNIP and SJR scores of the 
Journal of International Economics, which is the primary outlet for theoretical and empirical 
research in international economics, are provided as reference/benchmark.  
Ratings of Journals in which the WTO Chairs pu blished Articles in 2017  
Journal  SJR SNIP  
Agrekon  0.228  0.380 
Asian Economic Papers  0.273  1.020  
Journal of International Trade Law and Policy  0.143  N/A 
Journal of World Trade  0.513  0.690  
Journal of Agroecology and sustainable Food Systems  N/A N/A 
Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences  N/A N/A 
Review of Middle East Economics and Finance  N/A N/A 
South African Journal of Economic and Management Science  0.219  0.400  
South African Journal of  Economics  0.412  0.800  
South African Journal of  Industrial Engineering  0.228  0.560  
   
Journal of International Economics  2.67 3.72 
5.146.   No SJR or SNIP rating was available for the 
journal which published the article of the Chair in 
Oman.  The Chair in South Africa was the only one 
which published in peer -reviewed journals for 
which SJR and/or SNIP ratings were available.  
However and as already stated last year,  an 
absence of SJR or  SNIP rating cann ot be equated 
with poor quality .  The table shows a relatively 
modest level of the Chairs' average ratings.  Like 
any other work based on reputation, it will take 
time for the Chairs' notoriety to grow and to gain 
access to better rated jo urnals.  
5.147.   Over the three years for which an SJR or 
SNIP rating is available, comparison can be done 
for the three -year period only for the Chair in 
South Africa.  If a continuous and sustained 
improvement could be observed for the SJR 
average rating, no obvi ous trend can be observed 
for the evolution of the SNIP average rating.  
5.148.   The number of staff deemed as the team 
of each Chair is not an indicator identified in the 
TA Plan.  Overall, these numbers of staff constituting a WCP team increased marginally in 201 7, as 
a significant increase in Oman more than compensated decreases in Brazil and Turkey.  The 
variation in the numbers is mainly explained by the involvement of junior researchers, who are 
either newly hired faculty members or existing staff who want to acquire higher degrees.  
 Benin  Brazil  Oman  South Africa  Tunisia  Turkey  
WCP Team in 2016  18 13 4 24 8 10 
WCP Team in 2017  18 10 10 25 9 8 
 
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 71 - 
 
  051015PhD Students  5.4.2.2   PhD Support programme  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Number of PhD students per year  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Completion of their PhD by the students  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
5.149.   The PhD support programme assists 
doctoral students from developing countries 
to conduct advanced research for the final 
stage of their thesis at the WTO for periods 
between three and six months and to 
provide them with mentoring/advice.70  In 
2017, five PhD students were selected 
based on the following criteria:  (i) their 
research had to be on a trade -related or 
WTO-related topic and (ii) they had to be in 
the final stage of their PhD and specifically 
in the writing -up stage (75% completion) of 
the thesis.  These students were from 
Cameroon (2) and China, Ukraine and 
Vietnam (1 each).  Three of them were majoring in Economics and two in Law.  Four of them 
completed their stay in Geneva in 2017 and the last one in 2018.  The TA Plan had targeted an 
increase in the number of PhD students hosted by the Secretariat during the bienium.  Eleven PhD 
students were hosted by the WTO during the bienium 2014/2015 agains t eight during 2016/2017. 
Target not met  
5.150.   A major benchmark for the programme is whether the mentors assigned to the students 
considered that they had made satisfactory progress to present their work to the Geneva trade 
policy community in a seminar organiz ed by the Secretariat.  All of the PhD students rose to the 
challenge in 2017 and the Secretariat benefited for its work from some spinoffs from the research 
conducted by the students.  The students' assessment of their stay in the WTO suggests that the 
programme significantly improved their dissertations.  
5.151.   To date, one of the four students who completed their stay in Geneva in 2017 has obtained 
his PhD, but none of the three PhD students hosted by the Secretariat in 2016 did so.  The TA plan 
had targeted an  increase in the completion of their PhD by the students during the biennium.  
Even if many other factors may affect the ability of the students to defend their PhD thesis, these 
results are way below those of the previous biennium, since all the students hosted in 2015 had 
already been awarded their PhD by the end of 2016 .  Target not met  
5.4.3   Output 4.3: Academic courses on WTO -related subjects introduced and updated 
with WTO support  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Number of students in WTO -related courses or getting  a 
degree per year  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
  
                                                
70 See section 6.4.2 in WT/COMTD/W/2 11. WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 72 - 
 
  0246810121416
Benin Brazil Oman South
AfricaTunisia TurkeyNew or Updated Courses  
2015
2016
2017
0200400600800100012001400160018002000
Benin Brazil Oman South
AfricaTunisia TurkeyStudents in WTO -related Courses  
2015
2016
20175.152.   A new generation of 
undergraduate and graduate students 
benefitted from training in WTO -related 
topics in 2017.  The number of newly 
designed or updated courses introduced 
by the Chairs in 2017 continued to 
grow, although in a less significant 
proportion c ompared to last year (23% 
increase  between 2016 and 2017 
against 56% increase between 2015 
and 2016).  The Chairs in Brazil and 
South Africa accounted for nearly 60% 
of the new or updated courses released 
during the year.  The Chair in South 
Africa was again the best performing 
Chair in this domain, as it released 30% 
of the new or updated courses like the 
Chair in Brazil.  The Chairs in Benin,  
Oman and Turkey also registered 
significant improvements, even if their 
overall performance in this domain 
remain ed more modest.  Examples of 
new courses introduced in 2017 
included:  (i) courses on Intermediate 
Econometrics and International Political 
Economy in Tunisia; and (ii) an Online 
Course on International Trade 
Regulation, with open access to the 
public in Br azil.  Examples of upgrades 
included the expansion by the Chair in 
South Africa of the curricula and 
content of existing International Trade 
modules to feature more WTO -related 
content; and the update of various core modules by the Chair in Tunisia includi ng courses on 
micro - and macroeconomics and the course on international relations.  
5.153.   The trend observed in 2016 towards a  greater integration between the Research  and 
Curriculum Development  pillars of the WCP was confirmed in 2017.  The Chairs in South Africa and 
Tunisia used research outcomes to develop new course materials, give exposure to the research 
teams and provide mentorship programmes for students.  Two courses developed by the Chair in 
South Africa aimed at providing Master’s and PhD st udents in Economics and International Trade 
with the analytical skills (based on STATA and other tools) and the academic writing skills require d 
to carry out  and publish research . 
5.154.   As in  2016, a number of partnerships supported  curriculum development and 
diversification by the Chairs.   For instance, the Prosperity Fund, UK Embassy in Brasilia and Brazil 
Foreign Trade Chamber  helped  the Chair in Brazil to adopt  a novel approach for its online course s.  
Instead of recording an open and complete course on inte rnational trade issues, it used the 
outcomes of a research activity to build the course on GRP in collaboration with these partners.  
The course was tailored for the needs of government officials and was based on the results of 
studies on regulatory models  for trade in goods in Brazil,  the EU, US and UK, and regulatory 
coherence and convergence.  Another example is the new partnership established between the 
Chair in Tunisia and University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business for virtual exchange 
program me, which also contains an in -person exchange component, funded by the Aspen 
Institute.  The programme enables students to benefit from an online training on soft skills, 
business model canvas, global marketing, financing entrepreneurial vent ures, etc.  
5.155.   The n umber of students attending courses organized by the Chairs continued to grow in 
2017, reaching 3,183 students (52% more than in 2016).  The Chair from South Africa continued 
to host the largest share of the Chairs' students (57% of the total number of stu dents in 2017) .  
The most dramatic increase in the number of students in 2017 was for the Chair in Brazil, 
consistent with the introduction of a large number of new or upgraded courses.  Target met  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 73 - 
 
  0100200300400500600700800Outreach Events Participation  
2015
2016
2017051015202530Outreach Events  
2015
2016
2017
0%20%40%60%80%100%Proportion of Policy Makers in 
Outreach Events  
2016
20175.4.4   Output 4.4: Outreach activities on trade policy and WTO -related matters organised 
by WTO Chairs through the provision of grants  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Number of outreach events per year  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Involvement of key decision -makers  Increase during the biennium  Target partially met  
Availability of a Chair public website  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Content of the Chair website  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Number of visitors to and downloads from the 
Chair website  Increase during the biennium  Data not avai lable 
5.156.   The third pillar of the WCP requires the 
Chairs to increase the visibility of WTO -related 
academic research, and its influence on trade 
policy formulation, by reaching out to decision 
makers and other stakeholders.  The number of 
events organized yearly continued to grow.  On 
average each Chair organized 13 events in 2017 
against 9 in 2016 (+41%).  The Chair in Benin 
registered the most spectacular growth 
(+375%), whilst those in Brazil and Tunisia 
organised less eve nts than last year.  Target 
met 
5.157.   Overall, the average size of the 
audience of outreach events organised by the 
Chairs continued to decline in 2017.  The total 
number of participants dropped by 40% 
compared to 2016.  On average, each Chair 
reached 230 parti cipants in 2017 making the 
average size of each event equal 18 participants 
against 42 in 2016.  It is an accepted  fact that 
the smaller the audience of the event the higher 
the opportunity for interaction between the 
conveners and the audience and among 
members of the audience.  But this also 
depends on whether you actually reached the 
targeted audience.  
5.158.   Assessing  the Chairs' influence on and 
contribution to policy making is a challenge due 
to attribution dilemma .  The level of 
participation of key decision makers in events 
organized by the Chair is used as a  proxy  
indicator of the quality and possible impact of 
the Chairs' outreach  efforts .  Trade policy 
makers considered as key in that regard include 
trade officials and civil servants from the various 
ministries, regulatory bodies and other public 
agencies involved in the formulation of the 
national trade policy.  Collec tively, they 
influence and contribute to the decisions 
affecting the trade regime of their country.  A 
total number of 309 key policy makers 
participated in the outreach events organised by 
the Chairs in 2017, representing 22% of the 
total participants on average.  This represents a decrease of  approximately 20% compared to 
2016, even if the proportion of policy makers in the total audience increased by 5 percentage 
points .  Except for Benin, where the proportion of policy -makers in the total public reached  by 
Chairs' events halved, and for Turkey where it was stable, it increased for all the remaining Chairs, 
with the most significant increase observed for Oman.  The Chair in Oman chose to organize a 
limited number of outreach events, but to target  exclusiv ely key policy makers.  The TA Plan had WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 74 - 
 
  targeted an increase in the involvement of key decision -makers during the biennium.  Target 
partially met 
5.159.   Other  anecdotic evidence of the Chairs ' influence on policy making is their involvement in 
some strategic init iatives led by government entities.  For instance, t he Brazilian Chair Holder also 
chairs the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, a public body in charge of making 
recommendations to CONMET RO, a ministerial -level council .  The South African Chair was  
commissioned by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to carry out a 
comprehensive study of the most promising export opportunities for South Africa in the 
agricultural sector, with special emphasis on vegetables.   This study aimed to be used by the DAFF  
for sectoral policy decisions.  
5.160.   Except for Benin, where the website was subject to major overhaul and was therefore not 
fully operational throughout the year, all the remaining Chairs had an operational website in 2017.   
Target met  
5.161.   The WCP platform became operational  in 2017.  The platform is intended to facilitate 
exchange and sharing of resources among the Chairs, while also publicizing more broadly their 
work.  The platform includes a presentation of each Chair with a  link to its website .  Browsing 
through the content of the  Chairs'  websites led to the same conclusion already  reported in 2016.  
The performance of the various websites in terms of update and content  was uneven with exactly 
the same limitations  as those reported last y ear for each of the Chairs.   Only the websites of the 
Chairs in Tunisia and South Africa appeared to be of a fair quality.   Considering the 2016 level as 
the baseline, the increase in the content of the websites during the biennium targeted by the TA 
Plan was not achieved.  Target not met  
5.162.   Efforts were made in 2017 to monitor the number of visits received by the various Chairs' 
websites.   Here again, the performance in terms of traffic monitoring was uneven among st Chairs.  
Only the Chair in Tunisia had enou gh historical data to demonstrate  an increase in traffic.  Its 
website registered 12,302 visits  in 2015; 41,277 in 2016 ; and 61,153 in 2017.   The remaining 
Chairs collated the data for different periods.  The Chair in Brazil recorded 29,955 visitors since the 
launch of its website in 2015 and was unable to disaggregate the data by year , while the Chair in 
Turkey recorded 318 users for the period July 2016 -August 2017 ; and the Chair in South Africa 
5,338 users over the period July 2016 -June 2017.   The two re maining Chairs provided no data as 
the website of Benin's Chair was unavailable due to  major revamping  during the year and the 
Chair in Oman started collating statistics in 2018 only.  The discrepancy in the data gathered 
makes it impossible to provide a d efinite judgement on the cumulated performance of the Chairs in 
this regard.  Some of th e data could be used as a baseline in the future .  Data not available  
5.163.   While the use of social media was not considered as an outreach indicator in the TA Plan, it 
is a tool which adds  value for the Chairs that use d them, as reported last year.   Not only does it 
expand the channels by which audience is reached but it also increases the visibility of the Chairs.  
Part of the traffic on the Chairs' websites act ually came from social media (8% through Facebook 
for Brazil and 3% through Twitter for the South African Chair).  The publication of a newsletter by 
the Chair in South Africa also contributed to increasing the traffic on its website (7% of the visits 
recorded for the period originated from the newsletter's URL clicks).  
5.4.5   Output 4.5: Young professional s under the Young Professional Programme are 
exposed to WTO issues and work  
Indicators  Targets  2017  
Number of YPs enrolled per year  No less than 5 per year  Target met  
Final evaluation rate of each YP  100% fully satisfactory  Target met  
5.164.   This was the inaugural year of the YPP.  A comparison of the programme's progress with 
previous years is consequently not possible. The programme is still at a testing phase a nd is 
improved progressively as lessons are learnt.  Following a merit -based recruitment process, 6 YPs WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 75 - 
 
  were retained out of 848 applicants and five of them started to work in the Secretariat in January 
2017.71  Target met  
5.165.   They were hosted by six divisions for a period of close to 12 months (early January to mid -
December 2017).72  Under the supervision of WTO staff, t heir daily tasks included contributing to  
drafting  working papers, assisting in servicing WTO bodies, attending meetings and preparing 
minutes; and, preparing and co -delivering presentations in WTO TA events organized in Geneva.  
All five YPs easily integrated in the work of the divisions and their supervisors were very pleased 
with the quality of their work as reflected in the final evaluations: the work of three YPs was 
considered as  significantly exceed ing performance re quirements and the two others as fully 
satisfactory.  Target met  
5.166.   The YPs made valuable contributions to the work of their respective divisions.  Some of 
their key achievements in clude: a substantial contribution to the Central European Free Trade 
Agreement (CEFTA) factual presentation in the context of the RTA transparency mechanism; 
working as part of the legal team servicing a DS panel; contributing to the finalization of the ne w 
WTO Agreements volume; co -authoring a working paper on LDCs and TRIPS entitled LDCs, 
transfer of technology and the TRIPS Agreement ; and providing inputs on accession processes 
including drafting sections of Working Party reports.  
5.167.   Upon arrival in Geneva,  YPs had to agree with their supervisors  on their specific objectives  
for the year and progress towards their achievement was regularly monitored thereafter.  All five 
YPs fully achieved their specific objectives; benefited tremendously from the Programme;  
enhanced their knowledge of the WTO ; and  expanded their professional network among 
themselves and with the WTO staff members.   The YP serving in the Legal Affairs Division was 
offered -a short term contract  in 2018 to work as part of a team of lawyers in a  DS case.  
5.168.   The main recommendations received from the YPs include the following ones:  
 earlier announcement and recruitment process to allow selected YPs sufficient time to 
prepare their move to Geneva;  
 create a YP alumni association  on social media to link successive generations of  YPs; 
 organize a one -day induction to the Secretariat for future YPs;  
 introduce various training and support programmes available to the YPs during their 
time with the WTO; and,  
 perform a guided tour of the WTO building.  
These recommendations were implemented in 2018.  Recruitment for the programme started two 
months earlier and was given the widest possible publicity through the WTO website and social 
media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn).  As a result, the number of ap plications 
received in 2017 almost doubled (from 848 in 2016 to 1,502 in 2017).  Thanks to the very 
satisfactory results of the first YPs and the availability of more divisions to host them, the intake 
tripled (15 YPs were recruited by 13 divisions).73 
 
_______________  
 
                                                
71 The five YPs are from: Chile, Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic (two professionals) and Montenegro.  
One selected participant postponed her internship for personal reasons.  
72 Accessions, Market Access, Trade & Environment, Trade Policy Review, Legal Affairs and Intellectual 
Property Divisions.  
73 The 15 YPs who joined the Secretariat in 2018 include the participant selected in 2016 who differed  
her participation.  The countries of origin of the 15 YPs are: Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Cameroon, Côte 
d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mongolia, Panama, Paraguay, Thailand, 
Togo, and St Vincent & the Grenadines.   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 76 - ANNEX  I 
FOLLOW -UP ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF T HE TA EXERNAL EVALUA TION  
The details of the WTO Management Response to the various recommendations of the external evaluation can be found in document  WT/COMTD /90.  
They have not been reproduced here to make the table easier to read.  The true meaning of Agreed  or Partially agreed  in the table below refers to the 
comments contained in the Management Response.  
 
# Recommendation  WTO Response  Action in 201 7 Status  
1 Use the review and response to this Evaluation as the first 
opportunity in a decade to consider and communicate the 
Organization's agreed commitment, vision and basic 
approach to technical assistance, taking account of the 
strong base established and re maining challenges 
identified.  Agreed   CTD dedicated meeting on 27 January 2017 
(WT/COMTD/M/101, item C.)  
 Consultations in preparation of the TA Plan 
2018-19. Implemented/  
ongoing  
2 If justified by the results of this deliberation, re ‑affirm the 
crucial role and need for sufficiently substantial and 
reliable Regular Budget allocations as the contribution by 
all Members to maintaining the foundations of the TA 
programme and recognise voluntary support to a Global 
TA Trust Fund as the most essential supplem entary 
funding for TA activities.  This is more 
appropriate for 
Members   Discussions on the funding of TA were held 
in the CBFA in the context of the preparation 
of the WTO budget 2018 -19.  TA funding 
remained unchanged compared to previous 
biennium.  
 No change expected as long as the zero 
nominal budget growth policy prevails.  Implemented/  
ongoing  
3 Include a commitment to use WTO's TA activities wherever 
possible to strengthen sustainable training capacities within 
beneficiary countries and regions, e.g., by engaging more 
local trainers, academic centres, and past participants in 
WTO training. In consultation with delivery partners, the 
Secretariat should identify and share existing good 
practices and promising candidates for these roles.  Partially ag reed – 
This will also  
need to involve 
Members   Changes introduced in the Key Results 
promoted by the TA Plan 2018 -19 did not 
focus on this.  
 Members validated the continuation of past 
approach.  Implemented/  
ongoing  
4 Use the reviews of Annual TA Reports and  biennial Plans 
as more important strategic openings than in the past to 
take stock of progress and key issues in WTO's TA.  This is more 
appropriate for 
Members  The 2016 Annual Performance Report on TA and 
Training (WT/COMTD/W/225) was discussed in 
the CT D meeting of 15 November 2017.  Implemented/  
ongoing   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 77 - # Recommendation  WTO Response  Action in 201 7 Status  
5 Strengthen mechanisms at Senior Management level for 
strategic monitoring, direction and problem ‑solving in this 
area of shared responsibility across the Organization. It 
should be supported by a clearly‑mandated inter ‑
divisional task force chaired by ITTC and charged with 
identifying cross ‑cutting problems and opportunities and 
proposing appropriate actions.  Partially agreed   The audit of RBM  procedures was completed 
in March 2017 and its recommendations 
were presented to the TACTF.  
Subsequently, part of the work of the TACTF 
was refocused in 2017 on the improvement 
of existing RBM workflows, leading to the 
creation of three new workflows in Nov 
2017.  
 In 2018, the TACTF will focus on the 
recommendations 8, 10, 14, 22 and 23.  
 Work on the development of a new TA 
application started in 2017.  In progress  
6 Ensure that adequate administrative resources (financial 
and human) are made available to maintain and extend 
the investment to date in WTO's improving TA capacity. As 
the key organising and coordinating centre for TA, the 
longstanding structures and staff ing of ITTC should be 
reviewed and if necessary revised to ensure that they can 
meet the needs of a transformed Programme.  Agreed   Pending  
7 Seek agreement and suggestions from beneficiary 
Members for direct focal point contacts in capitals to 
expedite and follow up essential and timely 
communications with all relevant stakeholders in country 
(e.g., on needs assessments, course nominations) while 
keeping Geneva missions fully informed.  Partially agreed – 
This will also  
need to involve 
Members  Rejected by  some Members in the CTD meeting 
on 27  January 2017  (WT/COMTD/M/101 §18).  
No Member communicated a capital -based TA 
focal point to the Secretariat in 2017.  Implemented/  
ongoing  
8 Re‑double efforts to produce the most user ‑friendly 
information materials possible on course offerings and 
take all available steps to ensure that they reach all the 
appropriate target users in good time (i.e.  not just core or 
focal point ministries).  Agreed – This 
will also need to 
involve Members   Sporadic actions exist already (e.g. Notes by 
the Secretariat containing TA information 
circulated to  Members ) and need to be 
strengthened  
 Reflection started on ways to reach out to 
potential beneficiaries (e.g. through 
Committee's distribution list poi nting to a n 
online  calendar of event ). In progress  
9 Consider and propose options for opening up at least 
some WTO training courses or topics (e.g., in e ‑learning) 
to wider audiences in all countries, perhaps on a fee ‑
paying basis.  Agreed – This 
will also  need to 
involve Members   Paper prepared (WT/COMTD/W/226). 
Proposal rejected by Members.  
 Results reflected in 
WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 3.3.4.  Implemented/  
ongoing   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 78 - # Recommendation  WTO Response  Action in 201 7 Status  
10 In collaboration with Members, improve the selection 
process for intermediate and advanced courses to ensure 
the level of participants is more uniform.  Partially agreed – 
This will also  
need to involve 
Members   Pending  
11 Continue to monitor and report on participation of women 
and men with a view to addressing remaining gender 
imbalances of participation in WTO TA.  Agreed – This 
will also need to 
involve Members   Same approach since 2012.  
 Data for 2016 in WT/COMTD/W/225 Section 
4.7. Implemented/  
ongoing  
12 Study and propose ways to share good practices and 
otherwise help Members  grapple with informing and 
engaging private sector actors in WTO ‑related issues 
affecting them. One suggestion was made for a specifically 
designed course for the private sector which the 
government could request as a national level activity.  Agreed – This 
will also need to 
involve Members   Pending  
13 Reinforce the staff capacity to service the interactive 
requirements of the vital e ‑learning courses, including 
accessible service across time ‑zones.  Partially agreed – 
Already partially 
implemented   No change in staff allocation to e -Learning.  
 Efforts made to exploit synergies where 
possible.  Implemented/  
ongoing  
14 Examine and report on the pros and cons of discontinuing 
the "Advanced Trade Policy Course" (ATPC) in favour of 
expanded advanced offerings  at the regional level, 
allowing for wider participation and deeper 
contextualisation. Also consider the possibility of short 
executive courses suitable for the ministerial or 
permanent secretary levels.  Partially agreed – 
This will also  
need to involve 
Members   Review conducted (WT/COMTD/W/228).  
 Results outlined in WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 
Section  3.3.3.  
 Reform of ATPC planned for 2018.  In progress  
15 Investigate and report on the possibilities for developing 
new training options to follow ‑up on recommendations 
from Trade Policy Reviews (TPR).  Agreed – Already 
partially 
implemented –  
This will also  
need to involve 
Members   Consultations in preparation of the TA Plan 
2018-19 (Questionnaire Q 8).  
 Results described in 
WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 3. 3.5 and 
§§ 59 and 133.  
 Example provided on a regional activity held 
in 2017 (Section 3.4.2 of this report)  In progress  
16 Safeguard the credibility and usefulness of national and 
regional courses by ensuring sufficient advance 
consultation in countries so  that "off ‑the‑shelf" 
presentations are tailored to specific contexts, and by 
soliciting specific questions or pertinent issues of 
stakeholders prior to the training.  Agreed – This 
will also need to 
involve Members   Improvements of course materials and 
curricula reported in various courses held in 
2017.  
 Efforts will continue to expand this positive 
trend.  Implemented/  
ongoing   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 79 - # Recommendation  WTO Response  Action in 201 7 Status  
17 In collaboration with the External Relations Division, 
examine and propose alternative approaches to reference 
centres to help Members provide information and outreach 
on WTO issues to key opinion ‑leaders in tune with current 
technologies.  Agreed – This 
will also need to 
involve Members   Consultations in preparation of the TA Plan 
2018-19 (Questionnaire Q 6).  
 Results reported in 
WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 3.3.5 and 
§ 57. Implemented/  
ongoing  
18 In light of the planned final evaluation of the WTO Chairs 
Programme, which should be an independent external 
evaluation, be prepared to explore and propose alternative 
approaches to building working and policy ‑oriented links 
with a wider range of academic centres, e.g., through 
involving them more systematically in helping deliver WTO 
courses wherever practicable.  Partially agreed – 
This will also  
need to involve 
Members   Planned for 2 018. 
 WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 6.3, § 
145. Pending  
19 Take every opportunity to integrate issues of gender 
equality and the empowerment of women into TA 
programmes and training material in the context of 
emerging initiatives on social and poverty implications of 
trade, including the Sustainable Development Goals.  Agreed – This 
will also need to 
involve Members   WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 3.3.1 . In progress  
20 Consider including workshops to explore issues of 
multilateral nature for which Agreements are yet to be 
concluded, for example the Singapore issues.  Agreed – This 
will also need to 
involve Members   Consultations in preparation of the TA Plan 
2018-19 (Questionnaire Q 7).  
 WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 3.3.5 and 
§ 58. 
 Several activities implemented in 2017.  Implemented/  
ongoing  
21 In consultation with Human Resources and delivering 
Divisions, ensure that a coherent system of training for 
trainers and trainer ‑evaluation is put in place and applied 
as needed.  Agreed   Some pilot ToT  implemented in 2017 on a 
voluntary basis . In progress  
22 Continue work to apply the PLS and consider introducing 
pre‑tests and examinations in all training courses, in 
addition to following up with a sample of trainees in 
appropriate courses after 6 ‑12 months to establish how 
they are using the skills gained.  Agreed   Pending   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 80 - # Recommendation  WTO Response  Action in 201 7 Status  
23 Regularly review and report on the availability of course ‑
offerings in French, Spanish and other languages relative 
to the size of the pools of potential trainees.  Agreed – Already 
implemented   Review conducted (WT/COMTD/W/229).  
 Monitoring participation by language follows 
same approach since 2012 (see 
WT/COMTD/W/225 for 2016 data).  
 Summary of findings in 
WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 3.3.2.  
 Two global activities offered with 
interpretation in 2017.  
 Progress in language diversification to be 
monitored.  Implemented/  
ongoing  
24 Share good TA practices (e.g. on Advanced Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary (SPS) and new Technical Barriers to Trade 
(TBT) courses and thematic approaches) for possible 
inspiration and adaptation by others and ensure that 
innovation is promoted within the TA procedures and 
systems.  Agreed – Already 
implemented –  
This will also  
need to involve 
Members   The TACTF will continue to be a forum for 
sharing good practi ce. 
 Actions will continue to disseminate good 
practice and foster its uptake as described in 
WT/COMTD/W/227/Rev.1 Section 5.3 . Implemented/  
ongoing  
25 Benchmark WTO courses (including e ‑learning) against 
offerings by other institutions with a view to improving the 
learning experience and increasing interaction and interest 
for course participants, e.g., possibly pilot courses 
blending e ‑learning and in situ participation. Ensure that 
relevant training materials are available to participants in 
advance.  Partially agreed – 
Already partially 
implemented   Pending  
26 Strengthen practical and clearly understandable measures 
to track and improve results, calling on facilitation and 
training attuned to WTO's business model, work to get 
"buy‑in" across the Organization for a clear and sensible 
logical framework and meaningful indicators to guide the 
Programme; spell out a practicable M&E plan, including 
manageable and useful monitoring and frequency and 
levels of evaluation coverage.  Agreed – Already 
partially 
implemented   Audit of RBM procedures and workflows 
completed in March 2017.  
 Initial recommendations implemented in Nov 
2017.  
 M&E work plan released in Nov 2017.  In progress  
27 Further strengthen financial reporting on actual 
expenditure against budget by instrument and result areas 
and at portfolio level across all funding sources.  Agreed   Adjustment of Qlikview tools in 2017.  
 Reform of quarterly CBFA reports launched.  In progress   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 81 - # Recommendation  WTO Response  Action in 201 7 Status  
28 Monitor and follow ‑up on issues raised in the participant 
evaluation forms and back ‑to‑office reports. Consider 
introducing a requirement for internal briefing/training of 
colleagues by training participants and interns, with 
country authorities taking responsibility to ensure that 
such sharing takes place.  Partially agreed – 
This will also  
need to involve 
Members   Follow -up on BTOR recommendations 
launched in Nov 2017 . Implemented/  
ongoing  
 
 
_______________  
 
 
   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 82 - ANNEX  II 
MAIN RESULTS MEASURE D IN 201 7 
The information contained in the Remarks column  in this annex summarises  the analysis presented in section 5 of the report.  Their true meaning can 
only be understood in the light of the comments included in this section.  One should be careful not to read too much in the dry statements included 
in thi s table.  As frequently indicated in the body of the report, unavoidable trials and errors also affect the results presented in this report.   The 
assessment  is mainly  based on a desk analysis and was complemented in 201 7 with only a limited number of  field visits.  When relevant and useful, 
some of the finding s of the external evaluation conducted in 2016 have also been taken into account.  
 
 Results  Indicators  Targets  Remarks  
Outcome  1: Government officials are 
implementing WTO Agreements 
and making full use of Members' 
rights   Compliance with WTO Agreements   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 Number of documents submitted by developing and 
LDC Members in WTO Bodies   Increase in participation/ 
submissions of  documents  Target met  
 Number of outstanding notifications of TA beneficiaries 
Members   5% decrease of  outstanding 
notifications  Target partially met  
 Publication of trade policies on Member's website   Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
Output  1.1: Government officials have 
enhanced knowledge about the 
WTO Agreements, formulation of 
trade policies and conduct of trade 
negotiations   Number of participants at each PLS level   Increased % of participants in 
advanced training by end of 2017  Target not met  
 Number of participants in WTO TRTA activities   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 Interactive training methods' share of time   Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
 Geographical spread of participation in face -to-face 
and e -Learning courses   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 Geographical balance during the 
biennium  Target met  
 Changes in 8 -week ITPCs' curriculum   Implementation of the 2014 
recommendations  Target partially met  
 Success rate in 8 -week ITPC final exam   90% during the biennium  Target met  
 Quality of participation in interactive parts of advanced 
activities   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 % of participants giving an excellent rating to ATPCs' 
and advanced thematic courses' overall content and 
results   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 Revised modules or case studies in ATPCs   Two per year  Target met  
 Number of participants trained on trade negotiating 
skills  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
 Advanced thematic courses focused on implementation   Three in 2016 and four in 2017  Target not met  
 Implementation rate of Action Plans within 12 months   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 Number of interns in FIMIP, NTP and RCI   Per year: NTP: 15; RCI: 8;  
 MIP: 15  FIMIP and NTP: 
target met  
RCI: target partially 
met 
 Final evaluation rate of each intern   100% fully satisfactory  AIP, FIMIP, and 
RCI: target met  
NTP: target  
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 83 -  Results  Indicators  Targets  Remarks  
partially met  
 New online courses released each year   3 courses/year  Target not met  
 % of participants rating the balance between theory 
and practice as good or excellent in online courses   70% during the biennium  Target met  
 % of participants rating the quality of the online 
course content as good or excellent   70% during the biennium  Target met  
 e-Learning success rate   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 e-Learning drop -out rate   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 e-Learning rate of correct answers in the exam   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 e-Learning distinction rate   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 Total participation in e -Learning courses   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
Output  1.2: Establishment of effective 
partnerships resulting in 
substantive contributions   % of activities held with a partner adding value   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 % of partnerships contributing to the substance of the 
TA activities   Increase substantive contributions 
during the biennium  Target not met  
Output  1.3: Members' needs and priorities 
are identified annually   Number of needs assessments conducted   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Outcome  2: Acceding governments 
participate in accession 
negotiations   Number of acceding governments, including LDCs, 
with a Working Party meeting held   Stability during  the biennium  Target met  
Output  2.1: Acceding governments are 
familiar with WTO substantive and 
procedural matters   Share of acceding governments in Outcome 1 
indicators   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 Roadmaps and endgame plans   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
 Use of Secretariat advice and accession tools   Stability during the biennium  Data not available  
Outcome  3: Members are accessing and 
using WTO -related data to better 
enforce their rights and obligations   Members' satisfaction with data availability   Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
Output  3.1: WTO RCs network is 
operational in targeted countries  Rate of operational RCs   Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Output  3.2: RCs are used by stakeholders 
to access WTO -related data or 
online courses   Requests or visits to the RCs during the year by 
category of stakeholders and type of needs   Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Output  3.3: Improved analysis of trade 
developments for policy making   Availability of detailed trade in services statistics and 
broader coverage of databases on trade in value added   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Outcome  4: MPs, journalists and civil society 
are interacting with WTO; and 
students or academic institutions 
supported by WTO are dealing with 
trade policy and WTO -related 
subjects   Chair's contribution to their country's trade policy 
formulation   Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
 Sustainability of results   Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
 Exposure of MPs, media and civil society to WTO -
related issues and work   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 Articles, discussions and positions on WTO -related 
matters   Increased quality during the 
biennium  Target met  
Output  4.1: Improved understanding by 
MPs of WTO issues and trade 
policies   MPs reached during the year   Stability during the biennium  Target met   
  WT/COMTD/W/235  
 
- 84 -  Results  Indicators  Targets  Remarks  
Output  4.2: Improved understanding by 
journalists, civil society and 
businesses of WTO issues and 
trade policies   Journalists and civil society members reached during 
the year   Stability during the biennium  Target met  
Output  4.3: Research on trade policy and 
WTO-related matters generated by 
WTO Chairs and PhD students 
through provision of grants   Number of publications in internationally peer -
reviewed journals   Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Number of research papers per year   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Number of PhD students per year   Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Completion of their PhD by the students   Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
Output  4.4: Academic courses on WTO -
related subjects introduced and 
updated   Number of students in WTO -related courses or getting 
a degree per year   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
Output  4.5: Outreach activities on trade 
policy and WTO -related matters 
organised by WTO Chairs through 
provisions of grants   Number of outreach events per year   Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 Involvement of key decision -makers  Increase during the biennium  Target partially met  
 Availability of a Chair public website  Increase during the biennium  Target met  
 Content of the Chair website  Increase during the biennium  Target not met  
 Number of visitors to and downloads from the Chair 
website  Increase during the biennium  Data not available  
Output  4.6: YPPs are exposed to WTO 
issues and work   Number of YPPs enrolled per year   No less than 5 per year  Target met  
Final evaluation rate of each intern   100% fully satisfactory  Target met  
 
 
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