Trade promotion capacity building - ITC

TISIs such as trade and investment promotion organizations, chambers of commerce, and sector organizations help businesses prepare their export offers and connect with partners in target markets. TISIs also promote public-private dialogue and advocate for the interests of the business community to the government. Empirical studies demonstrate a strong multiplier effect and impact on SMEs’ performance achieved by working with and through efficient and effective institutions. For ITC, TISIs are key partners in the implementation of trade and development-related projects, programmes and initiatives.

ITC’s TISI Strengthening Programme is designed to improve the managerial and operational performance of TISIs. Through the Programme, ITC provides advice, training and information either on a modular basis or under a full-fledged performance improvement programme, following a comprehensive approach called ‘AIM for Results: Assess, Improve and Measure’.

Assess: analyse the trade-support infrastructure in a country or region and identify TISI effectiveness and efficiency.

• ITC's proprietary benchmarking and related institutional assessment tools provide independent and objective assessments of the institutional situation, efficiency and performance;
• ITC assesses the trade and investment environment in which a TISI operates before making recommendations for institutional development in a country or region; and
• ITC supports its partner countries in establishing TISIs by conducting feasibility studies and helping the TISI leadership to identify needs and make strategic decisions.

Improve: understand and address needs through capacity-building and business advisory solutions.

• On the basis of its institutional assessments, ITC prepares ad-hoc capacity-building solutions or comprehensive performance improvement roadmaps, which are validated by beneficiary TISIs.
• Solutions focus on enhancing strategic direction and operational management, and on designing, developing and delivering efficient and effective trade support services to the final beneficiary SMEs; and
• ITC offers business generation solutions supporting institutions to increase business transactions in targeted sectors.

Measure: determine how to measure performance and what to measure

• ITC has developed a solid set of tools and methodologies to help TISIs put in place effective result-measurement mechanisms that will help them understand, manage and continuously improve performance; and
• ITC has developed, in partnership with its beneficiary institutions, other organizations and academic institutions, specific studies to assess the impact that TISIs have on the performance of business in general and SMEs in particular.

The ITC TISI Strengthening Programme also encourages collaboration and partnerships among institutions. ITC provides advisory and training services to address issues that affect TISI networks’ impact and sustainability and actively supports good practices sharing among national, regional and international networks. In particular, ITC facilitates exchanges through different platforms, such as the Benchmarking on-line platform (www.tisibenchmarking.org) and the biennial Trade Promotion Organization  Network World Conference and Awards.