ILO hosts “EIIP Day: the past, present and future”

ILO hosted an “EIIP Day: the past, present and future” at the ILO Headquarters on November 29, 2019, with the participation of 32 former and present ILO officials involved in Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP). The event served as an opportunity to: introduce the Centenary publication “100 years of Public Works Programme (PWP) in the ILO” which is currently under development; learn from past experience; discuss challenges and opportunities around the current 6 key thematic areas of the EIIP; and conclude how the EIIP contributes to the Future of Work debates.




The meeting reflected on the historical background in which the groundwork of the EIIP was created; it included the ILO’s World Employment Programme (WEP) launched in 1969, through which the theoretical basis was established, followed by technical cooperation initiatives such as ASIST (Advisory Support Informtation Services and Training for Employment-Intensive Infrastructure) programme launched in 1990, leading to the current EIIP portfolio with 6 thematic areas with an extended focus on social and environmental dimensions.

Participants discussed a wide range of topics such as challenges around tensions between labor- and capital-intensive approaches and applying the right modality in the right context. They also shed light on good practices and tangible impacts that the Programme should continue to make on local communities it serves, including poverty reduction and enhanced rural accessibility, among others. They equally pointed out the multi-disciplinary nature of the EIIP intervention that provides entry points for the different departments and branches of the organization.