Capacity building activities and research
Conflicts, natural disasters, financial and economic shocks, and difficult political transitions are not business-as-usual contexts. They require specific, well-adapted approaches and tools. Those working in such contexts also need special skills. Indeed, although most technical areas of intervention and target groups are similar to those in non-crisis situations, the tools must be modified to fit a given crisis. This highlights the double challenge of crisis practitioners: acting quickly enough to make a difference while tackling problems of extreme complexity in a fast-changing environment. Moreover, the usual institutions that could support responses have often collapsed, as have the socio-economic networks the population relies on.
It is essential, therefore, to have readily available tools that provide appropriate, user-friendly guidance. The ILO Crisis Support Team (CST) develops and updates such tools continually through its research programme. The unit has built a valuable knowledge base comprising detailed manuals, guides on technical topics, fact sheets about areas of intervention and crisis-affected groups, and books on relevant themes.
The CST integrates its research programme with another of its core missions: training actors to tackle employment challenges in crises. The crisis team’s substantial experience enables it to bolster the capacity of ILO headquarters departments and field offices, government institutions, workers’ and employers’ organizations, civil society, and other crisis practitioners. It does so through targeted training programmes that build on ILO publications and expertise.
|
 |
|
|
|
