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for weak bureaucracies, and many developing countries require support and time in addressing the difficulties. Much of the delivery of trade-related technical assistance, including in the service trade, involves short training activities. Effective course design, delivery, and, above all, attention to the context are critical ingredients. Box 2.9 highlights several best practices in trade-related technical assistance design and delivery drawn from Australia’s recent experience in Indonesia.
Box 2.9
Best Practices in Trade-Related Training: Course Design and Delivery Best practices may be employed in delivering technical training to government officials through the typical short-term course formats within which the bulk of trade-related technical assistance in services is delivered. The purpose of the training is to ensure that the skills and capabilities of staff in the trade ministries, line ministries, or regulatory agencies concerned with trade negotiations and implementation matters are durably upgraded. The two main areas on which effective training resides are course design and course delivery. Courses that are effectively designed have the following main characteristics: • They are tied to the ministry’s strategic vision, mission statements, and main functions. • They are conducted in a location free of office distractions. Training courses of less than a week may take place in the capital, but all training should occur outside the office. Longer-term training should be located far enough away to prevent staff from being called back to their offices. • They provide participants with training materials that are specifically tailored to the country’s problems and the ministry’s needs. • They are carried out in coordination with other providers of training to the ministry to avoid overlaps or substantive inconsistencies. • They target the most suitable participants, that is, those for whom the training is directly relevant. While most training tends to be aimed at junior or new professional staff, the training needs of more senior managers often require attention because of the expertise of the latter, the greater pressures they face (especially if trade expertise is (continued)