Collaboration between constituents,
the ILO field structure and SECTOR

In an extensive review and evaluation of the Sectoral Activities Programme, carried out in 1993-95, the ILO's Governing Body decided that increased emphasis should be put on following up the requests and decisions of international sectoral meetings. This implies a strengthening of cooperation between the specialists in SECTOR, the ILO field structure, and constituents.

In the past this cooperation has taken many forms; with imagination, it could take still other forms in the future. The overall objective is to impart a sectoral dimension to the technical work of the ILO. Sometimes this is best done by SECTOR's own staff, sometimes through mobilizing other units in the field or headquarters, sometimes through cooperative "joint ventures". SECTOR's specialists are a resource that can be used by constituents and the ILO field offices in various ways. Some examples: to provide information and advice on sectoral matters; to identify sources of specialized sectoral expertise going beyond that of the individual specialists; to participate in project preparation (e.g. TSS-1), evaluation or other technical missions; to help initiate, finance and conduct national tripartite or joint workshops on sectoral issues; to initiate and support technical cooperation projects of a sectoral character, especially in sectors such as forestry, maritime and public service activities where MDTs have limited expertise; to provide documentation and guidelines from past tripartite or joint meetings that reached a consensus (expressed in conclusions and resolutions) on various sectoral issues. Assignments of sectoral specialists to field offices, for a duration from one month to one year, can be envisaged when it would serve a useful purpose; in one such case, the forestry specialist spent a year with the ILO's Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) in Santiago, Chile in the context of the interdepartmental project on the environment. Exchanges of staff for such periods could also be considered.

Cooperation is a two-way street. If SECTOR can assist constituents and ILO field units in carrying out their work, it also needs their contributions to sectoral work. It calls on them in specific instances for information to be used in preparing the reports used as the basis for international sectoral meetings. In some cases this may mean existing information ready-to-hand. In others it may mean commissioning external collaborators to do case-studies, survey work or other papers.

All these forms of cooperation require a lively, two-way flow of information to be effective. This Web Site represents another step in that direction.