The Regular Programme for Technical Cooperation (RPTC) advises member States on how to fulfil their regional and global commitments. Technical cooperation includes advisory services, training activities and field projects, delivered in response to requests by member States. This operational work complements the analytical and normative mandates of the Commission. The choice of service or activity depends on the needs of the requesting country and, in line with the Technical Cooperation Strategy, adopted at the twenty-fourth session of the Commission (resolution 275 (XXIV)), the Commission strives to tailor its services to the needs of its member States. Activities and services are managed along three separate lines: the RPTC, the Development Account, and extrabudgetary resources.
Advisory Services
The Regular Programme for Technical Cooperation includes a pool of regional advisors and ESCWA can, upon request, provide member States with short-term advisory services.
The advisor pool includes experts in economic and social development, project planning, information and communications technology, results-based management, public administration, business administration, international relations, water and environment, social policy, peace building, transition and governance, national accounts and statistics, gender issues, and transport.
Regional advisors can recommend measures on specific problems; undertake capacity-building activities, including training workshops; assist in the preparation of project proposals; and disseminate up-to-date information and know-how in their fields. Advisory services may also be undertaken by Commission staff or short-term consultants.
Capacity building
Through its technical cooperation, ESCWA aims build capacity in the region to address its development challenges effectively with activities that have a multiplier effect. The Commission responds to requests from member States with tailored programmes, workshops, fellowships and study tours designed to hone the skills of professionals in a variety of fields at the national, subregional or regional levels.
Development Account
The Development Account, established in 1997 with a biennial budget of $20-25 million, is a capacity-development programme of the United Nations Secretariat. It is mandated to assist developing States in key areas of the United Nations Development Agenda. It is funded from the Secretariat’s regular budget and implemented by 10 entities of the Executive Committee of Economic and Social Affairs (ECESA), which include the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), five regional commissions, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UN-Habitat and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Projects undertaken by the Development Account, in which ESCWA began to participate in 2003, not only heighten the impact of the Commission’s initiatives, but offer a chance to broaden international outreach, deepen South-South cooperation, share experiences and maintain project ownership. ESCWA continues to seek ways of expanding such projects and creating synergies between them and its regular programme activities.
For the Development Account projects in which ESCWA has participated as a leader or partner please follow the link:
Extra-budgetary resources
Extrabudgetary (XB) resources are mobilized to run with promising and innovative project ideas capable of attracting donors, nurturing regional partnerships and tackling priority problems for member States. Such activities embody the practical outcome of the normative and analytical work carried out by the Commission’s seven subprogrammes.
For an overview of past and ongoing extrabudgetary projects, please follow the below link: