Technical Assistance Workshop for the IACML

Topics: 
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
International cooperation
Event date: 
05/08/2007
Place: 
San José
Host Country: 
Costa Rica
Objectives: 
  • Greater understanding on the part of the Ministries of Labor of the available channels and current priorities of technical assistance (Canada, USDOL, IDB, AECI).
  • Greater understanding on the part of the donors of the expectations of the Ministries of Labor when receiving technical assistance.
  • Identification of specific problems faced by the Ministries of Labor when interacting with donors.
  • Identification of topics or areas of technical assistance where the Ministries of Labor require more training (e.g. design, monitoring and evaluation tools; definition of priorities; strategic planning; performance indicators, etc.), in order to develop them within the framework of the RIAL.
  • Training in the basic components that a successful proposal for technical assistance must have.
Organizers: 

The Technical Assistance Workshop for the IACML, held in San José, Costa Rica, on May 8, 2007, was organized jointly by Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and the Department of Social Development and Employment, SEDI of the Organization of American States (OAS).
 
This Workshop is part of the activities of the Inter-American Network for Labor Administration (RIAL), which is the cooperation mechanism of the OAS Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML). This Workshop, in particular, is an outcome of the IACML Calendar of Activities 2006-2007, approved by the IACML authorities in the Planning Meeting of December 2005.

Participants: 
The Workshop was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Labor of 26 countries of the Americas. Also present were representatives from COSATE, CEATAL, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI).
Relevant documents: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon Agenda59.04 KB
PDF icon Lista de Participantes217.13 KB
PDF icon Conclusions Document38.73 KB
Presentations: 

Opening Remarks

Francisco Pilotti, Director of the Department of Social Development and Emlpoyment (DSDE) of the OAS

Session 1: Priorities, trends and challenges in technical assistance

Introduction by the moderator: David Morris, Executive Program Manager, Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI) of the OAS

Priorities, objectives and characteristics of the technical assistance

CANADA - Pierre Bouchard, Director of Inter-American Labour Cooperation, Labor Program, Human Resources and Social Development Canada
UNITED STATES - Laura Buffo, Project Manager, United States Department of Labor (USDOL)
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) - Jaime Granados, Trade Specialist and Central America Coordinator, Department of Integration and Regional Programs
Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) - Pedro Pablo Viñales, AECI Coordinator and José Ramón Aparicio, Labor Counselor, Embassy of Spain in Costa Rica, and Ignacio Nicolau Ibarra, Regional Coordinator of FOIL Program, AECI
Open dialogue (30 minutes)

Experiences and challenges in managing technical assistance

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Nelson Reyes, Director of International Relations, Secretariat of Labor
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - Lynda Jonhson-Bobb, Director of Research and Planning, and Omalisa Baldeo, Senior Research Officer, Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development
EL SALVADOR - Walter Palacios, Director of International Relations, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare
Open dialogue (45 minutes)

Session 2: Key components of a successful proposal

José Luis Alvarez, independent consultant and specialist in strategic planning and project management
Question and answer session
Closing remarks by the moderator

Conclusions

The following document contains the main conclusions and lessons learned that can be extracted from the presentations and discussions that took place during the workshop.  They have been divided in three categories including the perspective of the suppliers of TA, the perspective of the developing countries and a summary about the components of a successful proposal.  Additionally, the document provides some ideas for future training and analysis on the issue of technical assistance.
 
It is important to highlight that during the workshop representatives from 26 Ministries of Labor were present.  They shared the need to continue working towards improving their capacities on the design, implementation and evaluation of technical assistance.