RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/W/82
28  March 2001
(01-1546)
Committee on Trade and Development
REPORT ON TRAINING 1:  TRADE POLICY COURSES (TPCs) 2000
Note by the Secretariat
In 2000, the WTO organized three twelve-week TPCs. They were conducted in English (13th
and 15th TPCs) and in Spanish (14th TPC).2
Eighty-two officials from 70 countries/customs territories participated in the Courses.
Twenty-four fellowships were granted for each course. Eleven auditors were self-financed, including
one from a regional secretariat .3
The Governments of Finland, Spain and Canada hosted and, in the cases of Finland and
Canada, contributed to the financing of Study Tours which formed part of the programme of the
respective TPCs. Switzerland hosted three short study tours and financed three Workshops on
Negotiating Techniques.
The Training Division is in charge of organizing and partially conducting TPCs. This activity
is highly dependent, under the present staffing of the Training Division, on the active participation of
experts from other WTO Divisions. Moreover, experts from other international organizations also
contribute to the TPCs, in particular the World Bank, the ITC (WTO/UNCTAD), the UNCTAD, the
WIPO, the WCO, the ITU and the ISO. Furthermore, guest speakers – essentially trade diplomats –
also participate in some of the activities which form part of the programme of the courses.
Objectives
The overall objective of the regular Trade Policy Courses remained unchanged in 2000 and
was to widen the participating officials' understanding of trade policy matters, the multilateral trading
system, international trade law and the functioning of the WTO. The knowledge acquired is expected
to allow the participating officials to improve the effectiveness of their work in their own
administrations and to promote a more active participation of their countries in the work of the WTO.
The degree to which TPCs alone can contribute to the realization of this broad  objective is
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to measure.  Consequently, the Training Division has started
reviewing the formulation of the TPCs' objectives, building on the experience of past courses, with aview to ensuring that such objectives can effectively be measured. In so doing, work conducted by the
Committee on Trade and Development in the context of its consideration of the "Strategy for WTO
Technical assistance" is being duly taken into account. It is intended that the results of this review will
be circulated to the Members as an addendum to this note in due course.
                                                     
1 A number of activities carried out by other WTO Divisions/Groups could be classified as "training ". The present
report only refers to the activities conducted in the context of  the "residential Trade Policy Courses", sometimes referred to
as the "longer TPCs".
2 One TPC in French is scheduled for 2001.
3 Further information on budgetary matters will be provided in the context of the documents prepared in the
context of the Financial report prepared for the Budget, Finance and Administration Committee.WT/COMTD/W/82
Page 2
Course delivery in 2000
In 2000, the Trade Policy Courses continued to be designed to meet the general objective
mentioned above. Moreover, an emphasis was placed in the training delivery and on approaching the
various topics from a practical point of view. Examples and cases were used more systematically to
illustrate rules and disciplines. Greater focus was also progressively placed on the "developmentdimension" of the WTO rules. Interaction between course participants and experts was ensured
through a number of simulation exercises and round tables conducted on various topics. In this
context too, attempts continued to be made to develop practical negotiating skills.
The programme of the regular TPCs is comprehensive and consists of various theoretical and
practical components designed to explain the trade policy context of the WTO as well as its key
functions: facilitating the implementation and operation of the Multilateral Trade Agreements;providing a forum for negotiations;  administering the understanding on dispute settlement and the
TPR mechanism; and cooperating with other international organizations to achieve greater coherence
in global economic policy-making and securing adequate technical assistance in the form of training.
Given its role and expertise, the WTO Secretariat, in close cooperation with other relevant
organizations (World Bank, UNCTAD, ITC, WIPO, ITU, WCO and  ISO), is well placed to plan and
deliver this kind of specialized training service to officials from eligible Members and observer
countries/customs territories.
Overall assessment of the Trade Policy Courses
One of the objectives of the selection process is to ensure an equitable participation of
beneficiary countries/customs territories. Consequently, given the large number of applicants (over
300) and applying countries/customs territories (more than 125), only one fellowship per eligible
country/customs territory can be guaranteed over a cycle of six Courses (presently two years),
provided the other criteria are met by the applicant.
4 Nevertheless, more than one nominee per
country/customs territory may participate over a cycle of two years if places are available. In that
case, priority is given to countries having received less training in the previous years, in particular
least-developed countries.
In the context of the selection process, emphasis is laid on getting clear information from
governments on the following questions regarding th eir nominees for the courses: relevance of the
course to the current or immediately prospective duties of a nominee;  use by the nominee of
knowledge and skills gained on the course upon returning to work;  expectations regarding the
nominees' future positions and ability to make significant impact in the relevant ministry;  assessment
of the nominee's language (WTO working languages) skills including ability to grasp
technical/legal/economic vocabulary. The above criteria are spelled out in the invitation sent to the
governments for the nomination of candidates and in the application form for candidatures.  On thebasis of the information received, the Secretariat selects the most suitable candidates. The above
underlines the critical role that the authorities of the nominating countries must play if they want the
training to constitute a serious contribution to capacity building.
At mid-point of the present cycle of six courses, which started in January 2000, 47% of the
total number of eligible countries/customs territories had been represented by at least one participant.
                                                     
4 Officials most likely to benefit from the training are th ose currently working in the field of foreign trade policy
who need to obtain a wider knowledge of the WTO and the multilateral trading system before assuming further
responsibilities in this field. Additional criteria related to age and language proficiency (English, French or Spanish) are al so
taken into account.WT/COMTD/W/82
Page 3
As to the assessment of the quality and appropriateness of the training delivered during the
courses, all participants were asked to prepare several evaluation reports.  The method was based on
weekly questionnaires covering each course component together with an end-of-course
comprehensive questionnaire. Discussion sessions were also  held at the middle and the end of the
courses to examine their functioning. This eval uation system provided the Training Division with
feedback on the value of the information and knowledge received by the participants and on whetherthe specific objectives of that component were met. Conclusions were th en drawn with a view to
making concrete improvements to the next course, i.e., discarding course elements perceived to be
redundant and adapting existing components or developing new ones, etc. As indicated above, the
Training Division is presently revising its evaluation mechanism in the context of the review of its
objectives. In this context, internationally-recognized evaluating techniques are being considered and
adapted to the specificities of the WTO's trade policy courses.
Detailed evaluation reports on the courses held in 2000 are available from the Secretariat. The
general trend seems to be that participants value highly the TPCs. Useful and constructive criticism
was always well received and noted in the evaluation reports. Subsequently, the necessary
modifications were made to TPCs..  The Training  Division, in close cooperation with operational
divisions of the Secretariat, has for example developed, as part of its continuous adaptation, a moreinteractive course curriculum containing more practical exercises in which participants perform
individually or in teams. In 2000, a particular emphasis was also placed on the consolidation of
training material and background information which provides a solid basis and a useful reference that
can be used by participants once they return to their official duties.
A number of follow-up activities were and are being conducted with former participants,
including daily e-mail and transmission of WTO-related information, and several on-line fora offering
former participants and trainers the possibility to extend the assessment of the impact of the trade
policy courses on participants' ability to perform more efficiently as a result of training.
Recent developments in 2001
 As indicated above, the Training division is reformulating the objectives of the Course and
simultaneously integrating a modernized evaluation system which will be fully operational in 2002.
Modifications are being made on a continuous basis to ensure the fullest possible adaptation of
the courses' content to new developments in the WTO field of activity. On the delivery side, more
concrete and practical presentations are being developed and introduced progressively.
On the follow-up front, where the intention is to ensure that the network created during the
courses between participants and WTO staff remains active and productive, former participants to the
trade policy courses posted in Geneva (presently 68) reactivated in February 2001 the Association ofFormer Participants to GATT/WTO Trade Policy Courses. More activities are planned during the
current year.
Lastly, with a view to increasing the number of fellowships granted to eligible countries (24 per
courses in 2000) and to allow for more time in the programme to address issues of particular interestto the participants' countries/customs territories, the traditional one-week study tour abroad has been
provisionally withdrawn from the programme in 2001, on a trial basis. Though such study tours have
always been considered, as emphasized by former participants at the 12 February meeting, to offer a
very useful opportunity to be acquainted with the WTO-related realities of the countries which hosted
the tours, it has been considered more desirable to offer, through the savings made by the suppressionof the study tour abroad, two additional fellowships per course.
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