Figure 6. ILO’s strategies (and policies) demonstrate good understanding of comparative advantage

from MOPAN Assessment of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)

Strategic management

KPI 1: Organisational architecture and financial framework enable mandate implementation and achievement of expected results Score: 3.46

The organisational architecture of the ILO is coherent, with a long-term vision in place. As the only tripartite organisation in the UN system, the ILO has a mandate to bring together governments, employers and workers of 187 member states in order to set international labour standards, develop policies, and implement projects and programmes promoting decent work. The ILO’s Strategic Plan for 2018-21 established a link between this mission and an overall strategic vision that is “founded on the conviction that the ILO’s tripartite constituents recognize that their co-operation is key to the realization of social justice and hence securing peace in the rapidly changing environment, and are committed to working together to achieve the ILO’s goals in accordance with its Constitution”.

The Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work 2019 provides a long-term vision for the ILO, which is reflected in the strategic framework of the organisation. This long-term vision is based on a comparative advantage that is reiterated across the ILO’s strategic instruments: a human-centred approach based on tripartism and social dialogue, and supported by international labour standards. The organisation’s partners and staff also believe that the ILO’s comparative advantages include its expertise in the world of work and its “convening power” and ability to mediate between tripartite constituents to reach consensus, notably on international labour standards. The large majority of surveyed partners agreed that the ILO’s strategies (and policies) demonstrate a good understanding of these comparative advantages (Figure 6).

The strategic instruments are aligned with the long-term vision of the ILO. The ILO’s strategic framework comprises specific instruments that follow a hierarchy. The long-term, strategic vision of the ILO is shaped by its constitutional mandate and relevant declarations, including the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work. Based on this strategic direction, the Strategic Plan establishes a medium-term vision. The Strategic Plan is then operationalised through the biennial Programme and Budget and supported by relevant management strategies, including the Development Cooperation Strategy. Outcome-based Workplans support this strategic framework and set out the priorities and strategies for each of the ILO’s eight policy outcomes (listed in Table 3 in Section 1.1).

The ILO’s internal reform initiated in 2012 has improved the organisation’s operating model, but has yet to fully address internal co-ordination issues. The ILO has increased interaction between headquarters and the field through Global Technical Teams, and has introduced a mobility policy. The Global Technical Teams are responsible for