The main objective of ESCAP's capacity development work is to develop the technical, managerial and institutional capacities of member and associate member governments to plan and deliver more effective policies and programmes in support of inclusive and sustainable development with special attention to least developed and landlocked developing countries as well as small island developing states. In this effort the various sub-programmes of ESCAP develop e-learning courses, training programmes, tools and other online platforms to help member governments increase their institutional capacity to address development challenges as well as share technical knowledge in order that Asia and the Pacific fulfill the 2030 development agenda. A listing of these platforms is available below.
Environment and Development
- SDG Help Desk
UN ESCAP has established a Sustainable Development Goals Help Desk (SDG Help Desk) to assist member States in the Asia-Pacific region to develop effective strategies, methodologies, tools and institutional mechanisms for implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the SDGs. It is serves as the primary modality for coordinating UN ESCAP’s support to member States in specific priority areas such as integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development, stakeholder engagement, and effective follow-up and review.As a one-stop online platform, the SDG Help Desk yields access to tools, knowledge products, expertise, good practices, advice and chances for peer-learning and regional South-South cooperation through thematic areas, covering topics related to sustainable development.
Support is being offered through:
- Knowledge Hub: thematic areas; e-learning courses; e-library (articles, publications, videos, WebEx archives);
- Capacity Building: capacity development support through training of trainers’ seminars to foster the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development and the SDGs into national planning;
- Community of Practice: on-line platforms and forums for networking and peer-learning for a regional network of experts on sustainable development;
- Technical Assistance: advisory services for national policy makers;
- Statistical Data Support: data portals; and
- Partnerships: access to events, knowledge products, best practices, policy toolboxes and training tools, methodologies, pools of experts, beyond the wider UN family.
Social Development
- Social Protection Toolbox
Using multimedia and data visualization techniques, the Toolbox aims to present the argument for strengthening and broadening social protection in a user-friendly and interactive fashion. It provides users with a point of departure for navigating the complex – and at times fragmented – nature of social protection policymaking. The Toolbox utilizes a database of good practices and a network of social protection experts to facilitate South-South co-operation and the building of consensus in “moving forward” toward broader and more robust coverage.
Trade, Investment and Innovation
- E-Learning Series on Business Process Analysis for Trade Facilitation
The Business Process Analysis (BPA) online training course has been developed by the ESCAP Trade, Investment and Innovation Division based on the UNNExT Business Process Analysis (BPA) Guide to Simplify Trade Procedures. BPA is considered the first necessary step to simplifying trade procedures. The course consists of seven modules and introduces a step-by-step approach to conducting BPA. It is aimed at government officials and other stakeholders responsible for trade facilitation.
- E-learning course on Non-Tariff Measures and Sustainable Development
The course has been developed by the ESCAP Trade, Investment and Innovation Division based on Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report (APTIR) on Navigating Non-tariff Measures towards Sustainable Development, jointly published by ESCAP and UNCTAD.
- Online Course on Negotiation of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements
The course has been developed by the ESCAP Trade, Investment and Innovation Division. Countries have increasingly moved from negotiating narrow-scope preferential trade agreements to more comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPAs). Such agreements cover not only traditional trade in goods issues such as tariff liberalization, but also issues such as technical barriers, investment measures, services trade and e-commerce. This course is designed to help trade officials from all countries to better understand these emerging issues, so that they can more effectively deal with them during CEPA negotiation.
- Online Course on Enhancing Trade Information Portals
The course has been developed by the ESCAP Trade, Investment and Innovation Division. Trade information portals (TIPs), sometimes also called National Trade Portals/Repositories (NTP/Rs), are websites where one can obtain information on laws, regulations and procedures that need to be followed when engaging in international trade. While many countries already have some forms of TIPs, ensuring their effectiveness and sustainability often remains a challenge. The objective of this online course is to provide a framework and guidelines for assessing the as-is conditions of a TIP and generating recommendations for its improvement.
Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development
- E-Learning Series on Public-Private Partnerships
PPP online training materials have been developed over the years by the ESCAP Secretariat. These materials are for self-study and are tailored to provide a basic minimum knowledge of various issues that policy-makers dealing with PPPs have to be aware of. While the courses are general in nature, most of the examples are from the infrastructure sectors, in particular the transport sector.
Information and Communications Technology for Development
- Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders
The “Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders Programme” (Academy) is APCICT’s flagship initiative to equip government officials and policymakers with the essential knowledge and skills to leverage ICT for national and regional socio-economic development. Launched in 2008, the Academy’s comprehensive curriculum was developed in partnership with ICT experts from countries throughout the world. Currently, 11 Academy modules are available in 12 languages, with new training modules and more translations underway to meet the ICT capacity needs of ESCAP member and associate-member States.
Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP)
- SIAP e-learning platform
SIAP recognizes the need for high quality training in official statistics as a means of strengthening staff skills of national statistical systems. E-learning gives individuals that have busy work schedules, and therefore limited opportunities to participate for residential training an opportunity for high quality on-line learning in official statistics. SIAP offers e-learning with a dedicated team of experts. Training programmes focus on all areas of official statistics and target national statistical systems.