WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22 
27 July 2010 
 
 (10-4007) 
Committee on Trade and Development 
Aid for Trade  
  
 
  
CALL FOR CASE STORIES 
 
Joint Communication from the OECD and WTO Secretariats
1 
 
 
I. OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVE 
1. This communication launches a call for Aid-for-T rade case stories.  The objective of the call 
is to probe deeper into Aid-for-Trade objectiv es, challenges and processes to acquire better 
knowledge about outcomes and impacts of Aid-for-Tra de through the submission of case stories.  
Case stories are well suited to offer a large group of stakeholders an opportunity to share experiences 
about what is working (or not) at the national and re gional level, why it is working (or not) and what 
improvements are needed.   
2. Case stories submitted will provide an important  source of information for the next Aid for 
Trade at a Glance publication and Third Global Review of Aid for Trade – the focus of which will be on outcomes and impacts.  Case stories complement  the joint OECD/WTO questionnaire.  A separate 
call for the submission of completed questionnaires w ill be circulated in the final quarter of 2010. 
II. WHO CAN SUBMIT CASE STORIES? 
3. Case stories can be submitted by WTO Memb ers, Observers, international financial 
institutions, multilateral and regional organizations , the private sector, civil society, academia and 
other interested parties.  Case stories which ar e the result of collaborations between different 
respondents (e.g., groups of Members, Observers, Inte rnational Organizations, etc., and collaborations 
between these groups) are particularly encouraged.  
4. Respondents may submit more than one case story.  There is no limitation to how many case 
stories can be submitted.  Case stories must however focus on issues which fall within the scope of the 
definition of Aid for Trade given by the Aid-for-T rade Task Force (hereafter "Task Force").  The 
Task Force defined the scope of Aid for Trade: " in a way that is both broad enough to reflect the 
diverse trade needs identified by countries, and cl ear enough to establish a border between Aid for 
Trade and other development assistance of which it  is a part.  Projects and programmes should be 
considered as Aid for Trade if these activities have been identified as trade-related development 
priorities in the recipient country' s national development strategies "
2.   
III. WHY SUBMIT A CASE STORY? 
5. Case stories provide respondents with an opportu nity to highlight their work, their successes 
and lessons learned. Furthermore, respondents can increase visibility of the problems and challenges 
they face.  
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the res ponsibility of the OECD and WTO secretariats and 
without prejudice to the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the OECD or WTO. 
2 Document WT/AFT/1. WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22 
Page 2  
 
  6. Case stories are potentially a very useful tool in facilitating dialogue between ministries, 
stakeholders, partners and donors about what works and what does not work.  
7. The case stories also gives respondents the chance to focus on an issue that is important to 
them, in a way that is not possible through the qu estionnaire process. Moreover by relating local and 
regional experiences to the debate, it enri ches the global discussion on how to improve the 
effectiveness of Aid for Trade.   
IV. WHAT SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AS A CASE STORY? 
8. What to submit is the decision of the responde nt.  When selecting the subject, respondent 
should keep in mind that the objective of the exercise is to understand better the outcomes and 
impacts of Aid-for-Trade activities and approaches.   Allowing respondents to address all the issues 
they consider relevant is coherent  with the guiding principle of ownership that underlies the Initiative.  
Furthermore, it will encourage a broad variety of  assessments of the different components of the 
Initiative.   
9. It is envisaged that case stories on impacts and outcomes may cover, inter alia ,  the following 
categories: approaches, processes and projects/programmes 
10. Assessing the impact and outcomes of aid projects, including Aid-for-Trade projects is 
methodologically challenging.  Work is on-going in the Aid-for-Trade community to overcome these 
practical difficulties.  The use of c ase stories is an inte rim step which should build a body of evidence 
and help spur this process.  In this context, suggestions on how to take evaluation forward, good 
practices that members are currently using, and ex amples of projects and programmes that might be 
considered for further evaluation work could be discussed. For example case stories may be submitted 
which consider experiences of approaches to identif y binding constraints, articulate results chains, 
select indicators used to measure results, econometric studies, etc. 
11. Case stories on processes may consider the exte nt to which national and regional Aid-for-
Trade processes are working effectively and, in pa rticular, the challenges partners are facing in 
articulating a "demand" for Aid for Trade, donors in  formulating a "response" and matching the two at 
local and regional level.  For example, the Task  Force highlighted the following challenges:  
• How is trade mainstreamed in national deve lopment strategies, such as Poverty Reduction 
Strategy Papers (PRSPs)?   
• What role is the Enhanced Integrated Framew ork playing in strengthening the demand side 
(for least-developed countries (LDCs))? 
• How is the private sector involved in the design of the national trade strategy? 
• How do donors respond to trade priorities iden tified at the national and regional levels? 
• How do donors coordinate their res ponse and is this response coherent? 
• Are Aid-for-Trade resources sufficient? 
• South-South (e.g., how is the expertise of th e South being used to deliver Aid-for-Trade 
programmes, including through tr iangular schemes of cooperation)?  
• How are trade-related country policies and donor  activities monitored and evaluated?  Are 
baselines established, targets being set, indicators selected to measure results?  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22 
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  12. Case stories about the impact of Aid-for-Trade projects and programmes should be drawn 
from all types of activities identified by the Task Force:   
• trade-related technical assistance (i.e. trade policy and regulation);   
• trade development;   
• trade-related infrastructure (i.e. transport a nd storage, communications, energy supply and 
generation);   
• building trade capacity (i.e. business, banking, agri culture, forestry, fishing, industry, mining, 
and tourism);   
• trade-related adjustment;  and  
• other trade-related programmes (see An nex II for a more detailed outline). 
13. Outcome and impacts can be described at the le vel of individual projects or programmes.  
Alternatively, or in tandem, impacts at the macro- level of the impact of an individual project or 
programme or the combined effect of (several or all) projects or programmes can be elaborated.  For 
instance, case stories could tell whether Aid-for-Tra de projects and programmes work at the national 
level (e.g., the links between Aid for Trade and export  performance in country A), at the sector level 
(e.g., Aid for Trade and agricultural exports in count ry B), at the sub-sector level (e.g., Aid for Trade 
and horticulture exports in country C), and at th e product level (e.g., Aid for Trade for mangos in 
country D).   
V. WHAT TIME PERIOD SHOULD  CASE STORIES COVER? 
14. Ideally, case stories should be used which come  from the period since the launch of the Aid-
for-Trade Initiative in December 2005.  However, ai d-for-trade projects predate the launch the launch 
of the Aid-for-Trade Initiative.  Furthermore, given th e nature of some type of aid-for-trade projects, 
e.g., infrastructure projects, it may be necessary to examine projects which commenced earlier than 
the start of the Initiative to ensure  that results are available.  As a general rule, however, projects 
completed earlier than 2002 should not be submitted as case stories. 
VI. HOW SHOULD SUCCESS OR FAILURE BE ASSESSED? 
15. Success or failure should be assessed against th e specific project/programme's aims and the 
objectives defined for the Initiative by the Recommenda tions of the Director-General's Task Force on 
Aid for Trade.3  These objectives are: 
• Enabling developing countries to use trade more effectively to promote growth, 
development and poverty reduction and to ach ieve development objectives, including the 
Millennium Development Goals; 
• Helping developing countries to build supply-si de capacity and trade-related infrastructure 
in order to facilitate access to markets and increase exports; 
• To facilitate, implement and adjust to trade reform and liberalization; 
• To assist regional integration; 
                                                      
3 Document WT/AFT/1. WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22 
Page 4  
 
  • To assist smooth integration into the world trading system; and 
• To assist in the implementation of trade agreements. 
16. Furthermore, there is particular interest to focus more in detail on issues that have gained 
prominence in the Aid-for-Trade debate such as, inter alia , the impacts of trade on poverty, gender 
and sustainable development. 
VII. WHAT SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE TO RESPONDENTS?  
17. Financial support will not be offered for the completion of case stories.  The case story format 
has been chosen so as to facilitate responses fro m all members of the Aid-for-Trade partnership.
4   
18. Respondents with questions on the process are enco uraged to consult the dedicated web page 
for this exercise on the OECD website.  This web pa ge will provide guidance to potential respondents.  
The web page can be consulted at the followi ng address:  www.oecd.org/dac/aft/casestories  
19. Advice on how to complete the case stories and the topics that may be covered is also directly 
available from the OECD and WTO Secretariats.  Ques tions should be addressed electronically to the 
following addresses: 
aft.monitoring@oecd.org 
and 
aft.monitoring@wto.org 
20. The World Bank, regional development ba nks, the UN regional commissions and other 
relevant organizations are requested to provide guida nce to respondents.  Members are encouraged to 
work collaboratively and to provide assistance to each other in completing case stories. 
VIII.  HOW SHOULD CASE STORIES BE SUBMITTED? 
21. Case stories should be drafted in one of the working languages of the WTO: English, French 
or Spanish.   
22. Stories should be submitted in line with the st andard template reproduced in Annex I.  The 
use of a standard template will allow for comparability between case stories.  
23. Case stories should be submitted electronically to both the WTO and OECD at the following 
e-mail addresses:   
aft.monitoring@oecd.org 
and 
aft.monitoring@wto.org 
                                                      
4 A case story provides a concise but comprehensive narrative treatment of an issue.  Ideally, case 
stories should not exceed 6 pages in length.  Case storie s differ from case studies in that the latter are typically 
based on an in-depth investigation.  The reason to request case stories, not case studies, is to generate 
substantive information, without the cost or  burden of in-depth academic research.   
  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22 
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IX. WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR THE SU BMISSION OF CASE STORIES? 
24. The deadline for the submission of case stories is 31 January 2011 .   
25. Case stories submitted after this date will be included on the dedicated website, but will not 
be used for the analysis which will inform  the Aid for Trade at a Glance publication. 
X. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE CASE STORIES? 
26. The OECD and WTO will publish case stories received on a dedicated website: 
www.oecd.org/dac/aft/casestories. 5  The case stories will be publishe d in the language in which they 
are submitted.  They will not be translated in other working languages of the OECD and WTO.   
27. The case stories received will be used, along with  the replies to questionnaires, as the basis 
for the narrative in the 2011 Aid for Trade at a Gl ance publication.  This publication will be prepared 
under the responsibility of the OECD and WTO Secretar iats and without prejudice to the positions of 
Members and their rights and obligations.   
XI. HOW WILL A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF CASE STORIES BE ENSURED? 
28. The process is driven by respondents.  Engageme nt will provide for a ba lanced coverage of 
the different groups of countries (e.g., low-income , middle-income, land-locked, small and vulnerable 
economies, etc.), different development actors (e.g., bilateral, multilateral, S outh-South) and different 
objectives, challenges and programmes. Engageme nt by respondents is essential to ensure a 
representative sample of case stories. 
29. Response to the call for case stories will be tr acked by both the OECD and WTO secretariats 
in close consultation with the Committee on Tr ade and Development (CTD).  Respondents are 
encouraged to provide an early signal to the Secret ariats of their intention to respond to the call for 
case stories. 
30. It is also stressed that the aim of the case story process is not just to draw lessons on good 
practice from success stories, but also to draw the lessons from failures.   
                                                      
5 The OECD and WTO reserve the right not to publish material which they deem incompatible with 
their rights and obligations as international organizations.   WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22 
Page 6  
 
  ANNEX I 
 
Case Story Template
 
  
Title 
 
Date of submission:   
Region:   
Country:   
Type:  approach/process/project or programme  
Author:  
Contact Details: address, phone, e-mail 
 
 
Table of Contents 
Executive Summary 
1. Issues Addressed  2. Objectives Pursued  
3. (For projects and programmes: Design and Implementation) 4. Problems Encountered 5. Factors for Success/Failure 
6. Results Achieved  
7. Lessons Learned 8. Conclusion (applicability to other programs) Annexes and/or References  
_______________ 
 
 
 
  WT/COMTD/AFT/W/22 
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  ANNEX II 
 
Aid-for-Trade Projects and Programmes; CRS codes  
 
AID-FOR-TRADE PROGRAMMES 
Category Sub-category CRS codes 
Trade Policy 
and Regulations  
 Trade policy and administrative management 
Trade facilitation Regional trade agreements (RTAs) Multilateral trade negotiations Trade education/training  33110 
33120 
33130 
33140 
33181  
Economic 
infrastructure Transport and storage 
Communications 
Energy supply and generation  21010 to 21081 
22010 to 22040 
23010 to 23082  
Building 
productive capacities 
 Business and other services 
Banking and financial services 
Agriculture Forestry Fishing Industry Mineral resources and mining Tourism   25010 
24010 to 24081 
31110 to 31195 
31210 to 31291 
31310 to 31391 
32110 to 32182 
32210 to 32268 
33210  
Trade-related 
adjustment  33150 
 
Other trade 
related needs   
 
__________