WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/W/192 
4 November 2009 
 
 (09-5498) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA GLOBAL TRUST FUND 
 
Technical Assistance and Training Plan  2010 – 2011
 
  
1. According to the General Council's decision on the Operation of the Doha Development 
Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF), the Co mmittee on Trade and Development (CTD) and 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration ( CBFA) jointly supervise the Fund.  In this 
process, the two Committees:  (i) review and e ndorse the Plan including its estimated cost;  
(ii) recommend an annual target level for the DDAG TF to the General Council;  and (iii) keep the 
execution of the Plan under periodic review.
1 
2. In its meeting on 3 November 2009, the CTD examined and endorsed the WTO Technical 
Assistance and Training Plan for the biennium 2010-2011.2 
3. The most important new feature of the 2010–2011 TA Plan is the progressive learning 
strategy, which will be applied for the delivery of  the training courses.  Training courses will be 
placed on a multi-modular approach, each training path having three levels.  Successful completion of 
each step will be a prerequisite for progression to the next step. 
4. The training courses included in the TA Plan will vary in length and degree of specialisation, 
ranging from one-week short cour ses covering basic information to more comprehensive 12-week 
programmes.  In addition, there will be specialized  courses.  Regional-level seminars are planned on 
virtually every area covered by th e WTO agreements.  The trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) 
also provides for outreach activities with parliamentar ians and civil society.  Most of these courses are 
run by the WTO Secretariat, often in cooperation w ith other international or  regional organizations.  
Some TRTA activities will specifically target Gene va-based work, such as topic-specific symposia to 
which both Geneva and capital-based officials will be  invited.  The TRTA will continue to promote 
partnerships between the WTO Secretariat and the trade policy-related academic community in developing countries, through institutional co-ope ration, workshops for university professors and 
financial support for doctoral students and studies.  E-training and other distance learning tools, an 
alternative to more traditional training programmes,  which take advantage of information technology 
will be offered on a wide range of specific topics such as agriculture, SPS, GATS, TBT, TRIPS, in 
addition to an overview of the WTO.  E-training w ill be an important element in the implementation 
of the new strategy, i.e.  the progressive learning approach, as the on-line Introduction to the WTO  
course will be a prerequisite for participation in ot her courses.  Provisions exist for national activities 
that are meant to be taken up by the Secretariat in response to requests from national governments for 
TRTA with respect to specific issues.  The Secretar iat will give priority to issues not covered in other 
courses, as well as those that are important either fo r national policy-making or for the negotiations as 
a whole.  Provisions have also been made for internship and trainee programmes as well as other 
human resources in order to give the WTO Secretar iat the capacity needed to implement the mandate. 
                                                     
 
1 WT/BFA/56 dated 18 December 2001. 
2 WT/COMTD/W/170.Rev.1 dated 20 October 2009. WT/BFA/W/192 
Page 2  
 
  5. WTO trade-related technical assistance is demand-driven.  The Organization must deal with 
demands formulated by the beneficiaries within th e constrains of the human and financial resources 
available.  It tackles this in a number of ways.  Adjusting the mix of products offered, maintaining a 
regional balance and coordination with relevant  international and regi onal intergovernmental 
institutions are among the means, which are used to  ensure a proper response in the delivery of the 
WTO TRTA with the available resources. 
6. In this context, the financial implications of the technical assistance and training activities for 
the next biennium are presented in document CRP(09)20.Rev.2
3, which follows the structure of the 
Products Matrix contained in document WT/COMTD /W/170.Rev.1.  Globally, the total estimated 
cost of the Plan for each year of the biennium is approximately CHF 30.4 million to be financed from 
the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund, re gular budget and other trust funds.  It should be 
noted that the figures relating to the parts of the regular budget allocated to TA for each year of the 
biennium are provisional pending the examination of the budget proposals by the CBFA. 
7. Regarding the technical assistance activities to be financed from the DDAGTF, the new 
strategy for the delivery of technical assistance, i.e., progressive learning, will not entail additional 
costs.  Continuous emphasis is placed on partners hips with other institutions for cost sharing 
arrangements.  The regional balance and scope of the activities have b een adjusted to better respond in 
a flexible way to the needs identified by the be neficiaries, but the planned volume in the next 
biennium is approximately the same as in the previous  years.  Consequently, the estimated cost of the 
activities contained in the Plan and requiring financ ing from the DDAGTF, has been maintained at the 
same level, i.e. CHF 24 million.  It is identical to what had been asked of donors since 2003 with the 
same main objective to try to improve the value-for-money at the same cost. 
8. In arriving at the total cost of CHF 24 million, the Secretariat has applied the standard cost 
methodology as in the previous years, for calculati ng the cost of the regional, national and Geneva-
based activities included in Chapters A, B, and C in document CRP(09)20.Rev.2.  This methodology 
uses the standard daily costs per person for these ac tivities that are updated periodically based on the 
actual costs incurred in the preceding years.  This da ily standard cost is then multiplied by the number 
of persons to be invited to take part in the event, and the number of days of duration in order to arrive 
at the total cost of a particular activity.  As the average rate of participa tion is never 100 per cent, a 
no-show discount of 30 per cent ha s been applied to the cost estimates for 2010 and 2011.  The 
estimated costs of the three-month Regional Trade Policy Courses included in Chapter A, on the other 
hand, have been based on actual costs incurred in th e previous years, as the cost structure of these 
courses are different than the other regional activiti es whose costs are estimated using the standard 
cost methodology.  Finally, the cost sharing arra ngements with some of our partners have been 
factored in and the 13 per cent overhead charge has been  added to arrive at the total projected cost of 
the Plan. 
 
 
     
 
                                                     
 
3  In English only.  WT/BFA/W/192 
 Page 3 
 
 
  9. The following recommendation is proposed to the CBFA's approval: 
10. Pursuant to paragraph 404 of the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the Fourth Session 
of the WTO Ministerial Conference, the Commit tee recommends to the General Council that : 
a) the target level of resources in the Doha  Development Agenda Global Trust Fund 
(DDAGTF) be set at CHF 24 million for each year of the biennium 2010 - 2011 ; 
 
b) the purpose of the DDAGTF be in 2010 and 2011 to finance the implementation of 
the WTO Technical Assistance and Training Plan, as authorised by the CTD ; 
 c) Members be reminded that, on 19- 20 December 2001, the General Council 
approved the following periodic benchm arks for contribution receipts: (i) by 
December of the year preceding the funds' revolving annual target period, 25 per 
cent of the annual total should be in the bank;  (ii) by 31 March, another 50 per 
cent for an overall 75 per cent of the tota l; (iii)  by 30 June, 100 per cent of the 
funds;  
 
d) in this context, Members be informed th at the projected year-end balance of the 
Fund is likely to be sufficient to cover the 25 per cent of the target amount;  and  
 
e) Governments be urged to make financia l contributions in a manner which would 
preserve the global nature of the programme and facilitate the management and 
reporting with a view to greater tr ansparency (i.e. making un-earmarked 
contributions) and pledge multi-year cont ributions to create more predictability in 
terms of financing . 
 
__________  
                                                      
4 "40.  We agree that there is a need for technical  assistance to benefit from secure and predictable 
funding.  We therefore instruct the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration to develop a plan for 
adoption by the General Council in December 2001 that will ensure long-term fund ing for WTO technical 
assistance at an overall level no lower than that of the current year and commensurate with the activities 
outlined above.