Independent external review of technical assistance

By E.C.V. & ASOCIADOS

From October 17 to 21, 2022, at Geneva, Venezuela participated of the Twenty-Ninth Session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

During the meeting, Venezuela supported a proposal from the delegation of Algeria, on behalf of the African Group, concerning the conduct of an independent external review of technical assistance in the area of cooperation for development.

Through its technical assistance for development programs, the WIPO seeks to ensure that developing and least developed countries can benefit from the use of intellectual property for their economic, cultural and social development.

The goal of its review is to assess, at the macroeconomic level, WIPO technical assistance activities in the area of cooperation for development, measuring their effectiveness, impact, use of resources and relevance. Another aim is to assess whether existing internal coordination mechanisms are suitable for those activities, given that the review will be conducted at a time of significant change in the way the organization operates and delivers services, in line with senior management’s new strategic thinking.

The African Group proposed that the main goal of the review is to pinpoint ways of improving the organization’s technical assistance activities, including how to strengthen its results-based management framework and thereby facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of those activities’ impact on development. To that end, baselines will need to be set for the relevant strategic pillars, expected results and implementation indicators where they are not yet in place.