WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/555 
17 March 2005 
 (05-1111) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
  
STANDARDS AND TRADE E-LEARNING COURSE: 
"CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRY EXPORTS" 
CALL FOR APPLICANTS 
 
Communication from the World Bank
 
  
 The following communication is being circulated a the request of the World Bank. 
 
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Background 
 
1. Standards and technical requirements are an increasingly important part of the trade and 
development agendas.  Standards pose major challe nges as well as potential opportunities for the trade 
of developing countries in agricultural, food a nd other products.  Interv entions to strengthen SPS 
management capacities can contribute to growth, p overty reduction and the pursuit of national and 
international public goods.  For these reasons the World Bank is in the process of increasing its 
support in this area, particularly through analys is, advocacy and training related to food safety and 
agricultural health management and its relati on to competitiveness in international trade. 
Course Objectives and Target Audience 
 
2. Policy-makers, regulatory agencies, NGOs, private companies and others make choices that 
influence the development and application of sta ndards over time.  This on-line learning program 
intends to make the representatives of such stak eholder groups more aware about the opportunities 
and risks, costs and benefits and developmen t potential associated with the application of 
internationally recognized product and process standa rds.  The on-line learning program will examine 
the political economy dynamics of standards-setting, a pplication, and enforcement at international and 
national levels, with a particular  emphasis on the position of developing countries.  Participants from 
around the world are encouraged to register.  A maximum of 100 participants will be accepted.  Total 
expected time commitment from participants is about  50-70 hours.  A certificate will be issued to 
participants. 
3. The audience of this on-line learning program will consist of: 
- government officials, including officials dealing with standard setting and 
enforcement; 
- World Bank staff, other representatives of donor community, and NGOs that may 
want to support higher standards and st andards-related capacity-building in 
developing countries; G/SPS/GEN/555 
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 - staff of policy and research institutions  and national standard bodies;  and 
 
- managers of companies or industry associa tions that may have to make strategic 
decisions about how to respond to rising  product and process standards, and other 
interested parties. 
Fee 
 
4. Participants from developing countries will not be  assessed a fee.  The cost for participants 
from developed countries will be US$140.   For electronic registration go to: 
www.worldbank.org/wbi/trade 
Deadline for Application 
 
5. 4 April 2005. 
 
Mode of Delivery 
 6. The course will be offered by the World Ba nk Institute (WBI) in English and will use 
elearning delivered via WebCT (Web Course Tools) learning platform.  The course will use presentations, video recorded lectures, and ensuin g e-discussions will be available on the Internet 
using a WebCT Interface.  WebCT will be the Virtual Classroom  Site which allows external 
participants to register and login into the cour se platform.  Moderated e-discussions will guarantee 
interaction, where course participants of various regional, organizational a nd functional backgrounds 
will share their point of views and address critical issues of application, implementation and other 
technicalities.  
7. A first "face-to-face" version of this program was delivered in January 2004 to an audience of 
Bank staff and selected outsiders.  The feedback from this delivery was used to fine tune the course 
and to develop new modules so that the course is releva nt to the needs of target audiences.  Also in the 
interim, the World Bank completed a global study entitled "Food Safety and Agricultural Health 
Standards: Challenges and Opportuniti es for Developing Country Exports" .  Materials from this 
analysis are included in the training program.  Part icipation in the course is intended to provide a 
platform for follow up events such as video-conf erences and workshops that emphasize the local 
context, seek to capture and disseminate best practices, and develop action plans. 
8. The course will be comprised of six weekly modules, beginning on 11 April 2005.  Each 
week, two days will be dedicated to the participan ts viewing and reading the course materials.  The 
following three days will be available for an on line discussion among participants guided by that 
week’s moderators (the same as the presenters/a uthors in most cases).  Each module will focus on a 
specific topic and will include three components:  
(a) mandatory and optional readings, accompanied by a video lecture; 
(b) PowerPoint presentation;  and 
(c) participation to an e-discussion of releva nt experiences with questions and comments 
related to video/readings and modera ted by an expert resource person.  G/SPS/GEN/555 
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 9. Participants will also receive a CD that has all the materials for this course, which includes 
the PowerPoint Handouts, videos and related mate rials and also includes the background reading 
material for which the World Bank owns the copyright. 
10. To successfully complete the course, each partic ipant is required to view and read all the 
mandatory materials and to substantively participat e in the online discussion.  Participants are also 
required to complete an end-of-course evaluation form  (not a test of learning) and also required to 
prepare a "Response Action Plan".  This short-pape r will illustrate – in a maximum of two pages - a 
problem related to standards and trade in their country of employment.  The "Response Action Plan" 
will have the following format: 
(i) statement of a problem that participants are facing or are aware of; 
(ii) past and current efforts to address this problem; 
(iii) strategies for future action, possible new approaches;  and 
(iv) next three proposed concrete steps or  actions, and the responsible actors. 
11. Feedback will be given by three othe r participants and one resource person. 
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