Mobilizing Extra Resources for Development
| Author | Joe Bradley |
| Position | WIPO Section for the Mobilization of Extrabudgetary Resources |
WIPO has enjoyed long-term relationships with a number of key donor countries, which provide what are known as Funds-in-Trust (FIT), to finance technical assistance projects. WIPO's FIT arrangements with France and Japan, for example, began as far back as 1981 and 1987 respectively. Currently, WIPO also has FIT agreements with the Republic of Korea (see next article), Finland, Spain, the United States, and the European Union, and on September 10 signed a new agreement with the government of Italy. Most of these are managed by staff in WIPO's Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Sector.
WIPO's work also benefits in many other ways from donor support, such as through direct financial support for activities, and through a number of cost-sharing and co-hosting arrangements. One recent innovation is the WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities, which was set up to enable representatives of indigenous and local communities to participate in the meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC). The Fund, which began operating last year, has received contributions from, the Swedish International Biodiversity Programme (SwedBio/CBM), the Christensen Foundation, the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, as well as the governments of France and South Africa.
"Mobilizing extra-budgetary resources to support WIPO's technical assistance and capacity building work is core to our ability to deliver results in this area of ever increasing demand for WIPO's expertise. This is why we are reaching out to the donor community and other potential partners" - WIPO Assistant Director General Geoffrey Onyeama.
As demand from developing countries evolves, so WIPO's activities have expanded from offering advice on how to modernize IP laws and administration to helping countries build up their national capacity for creating, managing and exploiting IP assets. Increasing recognition of the role of IP in promoting economic growth within the knowledge economy has brought with it increased interest and potential new partners for WIPO's work with developing countries. At the same time, the UN system as a whole has been exploring the potential synergies offered by broader partnerships in enabling the international community to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
Recognizing the potential benefits of such partnerships and of...
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