Programme and Budget 2024–25

Programme guidance letter from the Director-General-elect

Geneva, 8 July 2022

Dear colleagues,
It is with great pleasure and a profound sense of responsibility that I address this letter to
you as the first step in the preparation of the Programme and Budget proposals for 2024–25
that I will present to the Governing Body in March 2023.
Upon my election as the next ILO Director-General, I assured the Governing Body of my
unwavering commitment to representing and advocating the views of all the tripartite
constituents and to give voice to all those who need the ILO the most, those facing the greatest
decent work deficits, the disadvantaged and the most vulnerable. In these uncertain times,
and perhaps more than ever, our steadfast ambition must be to promote social justice as a
basis for universal and lasting peace. In this effort, I confirm that the ILO Social Justice
Declaration and the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work will be my guiding compass.
We are all aware that the world of work is suffering the consequences of combined
economic, social and environmental threats, exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic, extreme geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts. Poverty and inequality, between
and within countries, are on the rise. Social justice is threatened in many countries. As a
consequence, peace and stability are endangered everywhere. The number of countries facing
fragility, conflict and natural disasters aggravated by climate change has increased. The ILO
has the responsibility to lead and support a human-centred recovery from the multiple crises.
A recovery that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient, as demanded by our tripartite
constituents in the 2021 Global Call to Action.
Promoting inclusive structural transformations in the context of evolving labour markets,
triggered by new technologies, climate change and demographic shifts, requires the
adaptation of policies and labour market institutions to promote and support just transitions
for all. Workers and businesses – especially small- and medium-sized enterprises – continue to
face long-lasting challenges generated by non-conducive policy and institutional
environments, high rates of informality, low levels of productivity, skills mismatches,
inadequate social protection, labour right violations, insufficient wage growth and reduced
purchasing power in a context of high inflation, limited social dialogue, and various forms of
discrimination. Gender disparities persist. Women and youth struggle to enter and thrive in
the labour market. In this demanding context, the ILO’s constituents need support to harness
their full capacity as key actors and drivers of positive change in the world of work.
At the same time, multilateralism is at a crossroads. First the pandemic and then the food
and energy crises exposed a world that is more interconnected and interdependent than ever
before. The risks of a fragmented multilateral response are increasingly visible, and
international trade, investments and policies promoted by international financial institutions
may unintendedly come into tension with the goal of social justice, when, in fact, delivering on
the 2030 Agenda requires the opposite. The UN Secretary-General’s report “Our Common
 2

Agenda” has put the ILO’s core values at the centre. This is a significant opportunity for the ILO
to further spearhead social justice as an ambitious and synergetic goal through a Global Social
Justice Coalition that will bring together tripartite constituents, UN entities, international
financial and trade institutions, development partners, civil society organizations, private
sector and the academia.
The ILO has achieved so much during its rich history; we should all be proud of the
Organization’s role in producing international labour standards that have contributed to
shaping more inclusive economies and societies and building a better world through social
dialogue and tripartism. The recent inclusion of a safe and healthy working environment in the
ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work is the most recent example of
how the ILO can bring about transformative and positive change. We should strive to build on
these achievements to ensure that international labour standards and the normative system
respond to the evolving needs and concerns of the ILO tripartite constituents.
I am confident that the ILO has the capacity and talent to develop effective human-centred
global solutions adapted to new challenges and opportunities in the world of work faced by
workers and enterprises, with a positive environmental, economic and social impact. We must
continue to advocate that the quality of work is a distinctive feature of inclusive and productive
economies, cohesive societies and good governance. This should be at the centre of a renewed
social contract rooted in the ILO’s constitutional mandate and founding principles, based on a
global consensus about the urgency to address existing inequalities and disparities within and
between countries by promoting job-rich growth, sustainable enterprises, universal social
protection, social dialogue and rights at work.
The design and implementation of a global social justice programme based on the ILO’s
declarations will give new impetus to the ILO and consolidate our position at the heart of the
global social architecture in the run-up to the 2025 World Social Summit. This programme
should support all countries to make decisive progress towards SDG 8 Promote sustained,
inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all,
as well as the several other SDG targets that are relevant to the realization of decent work. In
order to support this effort, I am further committed to ensuring an increased ILO presence in
the regions with the aim of providing effective delivery of ILO’s services as close as possible to
our tripartite constituents.
I trust that this letter and the specific guidance below will help you develop a robust and
ambitious human-centred Programme and Budget for 2024–25, embedded in the ILO’s
Strategic Plan 2022–25 and informed by strategies approved by the Governing Body and
conclusions and resolutions adopted by the International Labour Conference. This will be the
vehicle to implement the Centenary Declaration and the Call to Action during the next
biennium, and most importantly the renewal of a global social contract to improve the lives of
millions of people who lack decent work opportunities and face social injustice.
Let me thank you all warmly for your hard work and extraordinary commitment.

Gilbert F. Houngbo
Director-General-elect
 3

Appendix
Guidance for the preparation of the Programme and Budget proposals for 2024–25

Programme guidance
Social justice faces significant challenges posed by greater inequalities and socio-
economic insecurity, while emerging opportunities for breaking this pattern are not always
being seized. A continuation of these trends threatens human dignity, social and economic
development and global peace.
It is therefore crucial to tackle the root causes of the ongoing imbalances and missing
opportunities. In general terms, these can be ascribed to three main factors. First, existing
labour market and social protection institutions, as well as the environment under which
enterprises have to operate to be sustainable and contribute to social justice, need to be
adapted and strengthened in light of the transformations associated with new technology,
green transitions and shifts in globalization patterns. Second, these transformations
exacerbate pre-existing gaps. Third, in such a disruptive context, fragmented multilateral
responses are increasingly problematic. Indeed, international trade, investment and policies
of international financial institutions may act as obstacles rather than as incentives for decent
work and social justice.
To address these root factors of inequalities in the world of work and persistent decent
work deficits, the ILO will:

• Continue to strengthen and disseminate the model of good governance in the world of work
based on international labour standards and on social dialogue and tripartism, as the
distinctive value added by the Organization.

• Provide support to constituents to develop and adapt policies and institutions of work for a
human-centred recovery that: (a) responds to challenges and opportunities generated by
technology change, the expansion of the digital and green economies and other structural
transformations; and (b) addresses persisting and pre-existing deficits affecting workers and
enterprises, notably in terms of gender inequality, discrimination, youth unemployment and
underemployment, low productivity and an unconducive business environment, skills
mismatches, informality and insufficient development of the rural economy.

• Promote coherence in policies and a significant increase in investments for social justice
globally and in countries, focusing on the integration of policies and alignment of financing
aimed at creating decent employment, achieving universal social protection, ensuring
respect for rights at work and promoting just transitions.
The following principles should inform the design of the programme:

• Every ILO initiative should be human-centred and rights-based. This requires the effective
integration of relevant international labour standards, social dialogue and tripartism in
every component of the strategy, and the implementation of the ILO-wide strategy for
institutional capacity development, including through the International Training Centre of
the ILO (ITC-ILO) in Turin.

• All aspects of the ILO’s work should be gender-responsive and promote non-discrimination
to ensure a collective push towards gender equality, inclusion and non-discrimination in the
world of work.
 4

• All the elements of the programme are interrelated. Therefore, the ILO’s support must be
integrated and multidisciplinary.

• Synergetic initiatives with existing or potential partners should be identified and further
promoted, especially in relation to the United Nations’ system and international financial
institutions. The programme should include specific initiatives to promote financing for
social justice, and clear links to relevant SDG targets.

Policy priorities for the biennium

The programme for the biennium will be organized around the three result areas
presented above: good governance in the world of work, policies and institutions of work for
a human-centred recovery, and policy coherence. There are two policy outcomes under the
first result area, three policy outcomes under the second result area, and one policy outcome
under the third, encompassing specific policy priorities for the biennium that should inform
the development of outputs for the programme and budget proposals. The policy outcomes
must be formulated to stimulate interdisciplinary, integrated and collaborative policy
responses to address world of work challenges that are increasingly complex and multi-
dimensional.

Results area 1: Good governance in the world of work

The ILO’s world of work governance model requires furthering the influence and impact
of ILO’s normative action and strengthening tripartism and social dialogue, foundational ILO
objectives that are closely interrelated and permeate the work in all the policy areas.

 Policy outcome 1: Stronger normative action for social justice

Policy priorities:
• Enhanced support to the supervisory bodies and the SRM–TWG, and support to constituents to
ensure follow-up to their recommendations.
• Better integration of ILS in trade, investments, development plans, programmes and projects.
• Enhanced respect of fundamental principles and rights at work, including through concerted
action to ensure decent work in supply chains.
• Enhanced legal and advisory services to support ratification and implementation of ILS.
• Improved implementation of sectoral standards and tools to promote decent work and enhance
resilience in specific economic sectors.

The ILO will continue to facilitate and support the work of the supervisory bodies in order
to further strengthen coherence, transparency and effectiveness, and will enhance its support
to the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group (SRM–TWG) in discharging its
mandate in the most effective manner. It will also strengthen the capacity of constituents and
Member States to timely follow up on the recommendations of the SRM–TWG in relation to the
status of international labour standards (ILS), standard-setting and development of non-
normative guidance, considering the profound changes in the world of work generated by
digital and green transformations, among other factors.
The effective functioning of the normative system also requires a consistent strategy to
maximize the role of ILS as a reference framework for the promotion of rights at work through
labour and social clauses in international trade agreements, lending and investment
programmes of international financial institutions, national development plans, UN
 5

Cooperation Frameworks, Decent Work Country Programmes, strategies for responsible

business conduct, social and environmental safeguards, and development cooperation
projects. This is instrumental for ensuring policy coherence globally and in countries.
The enriched framework of fundamental principles and rights at work is a major asset and
entry point to affirm and promote ILO’s core values and the Decent Work Agenda. The ILO will
continue to support constituents to promote and realize all five categories of principles and
rights, accelerating action towards the elimination of child labour and forced labour –
considering the ambition to end child labour in all its forms by 2025 expressed in SDG
target 8.7 – and with enhanced focus on the development of effective and comprehensive
policies to create a safe and healthy working environment. Work on supply chains will also
contribute to the promotion of fundamental principles and rights at work,
The ILO will continue working to strengthen the capacity of constituents to ratify and
implement ILS and to give effect to the recommendations of the ILO supervisory bodies. This
requires enhancing legal and standards-related advisory services for the provision of technical
assistance to constituents, including through development cooperation. The ILO will also
support Member States to promote decent work in specific economic sectors including by
implementing sectoral standards and tools, facilitating a human-centred recovery and
enhancing resilience.

 Policy outcome 2: Stronger and more influential tripartite constituents and social dialogue

Policy priorities:
• Strong, independent and representative EBMOs and workers’ organizations.
• More influential social dialogue institutions.
• Reinforced labour dispute prevention and resolution mechanisms.
• Strong labour administrations.

Tripartism and social dialogue are at the heart of the ILO’s mandate and its normative and
developmental action, and have an enabling role in the implementation of the programme.
Respect for freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining are preconditions for ensuring that tripartism and social dialogue deliver
sustainable results.
Strengthening the institutional capacity of employer and business membership
organizations (EBMOs) and workers’ organizations will continue to be a central element of the
ILO programme, including to build resilience and improve the support that they provide to
their members in times of crisis. The focus will be placed on membership strategies,
leadership, representation and performance, as well as on the development and delivery of
relevant services adapted to the evolving needs of businesses and workers. The ILO will also
support the social partners’ organizations to play a more influential role in socio-economic
policies, including through social dialogue, and for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda,
globally and at country level. A dedicated development cooperation programme will be put in
place to mobilize resources and talent towards this objective.
Social dialogue is a central element of the ILO mandate and a pillar of the Decent Work
Agenda. The ILO should therefore continue to strengthen the capacity of governments and
social partners to enable and support national social dialogue processes through the creation
or enhancement of relevant frameworks, institutions and mechanisms. At the same time, the
ILO will continue to mainstream social dialogue across the rest of the policy outcomes, in
 6

Decent Work Country Programmes in development cooperation projects and across the work
of the UN system.
The ILO will also assist Member States to develop labour dispute prevention and
resolution mechanisms through policy and normative advice to review legal frameworks and
procedures, and through individual and institutional capacity-building initiatives. In addition,
the ILO will continue to support national administrations in developing labour and social
policies and ensuring effective compliance with labour law and international labour standards,
especially through stronger and modernized labour inspection systems.

Results area 2: Policies and institutions of work for a human-centred recovery

The development and adaptation of policies and institutions of work to new socio-
economic realities is a necessary condition for a human-centred recovery that is inclusive,
sustainable and resilient, that generates more decent jobs, promotes an enabling environment
for sustainable enterprises, and that extends and enhances social and labour protection to
everyone throughout their lifetime.

 Policy outcome 3: Full and productive employment for just transitions

Policy priorities:
• Comprehensive gender-responsive employment policy frameworks.
• Inclusive skills and lifelong learning systems.
• Effective and efficient labour market programmes and services to support transitions.
• Inclusive digital economies.

Achieving full and productive employment requires the development of comprehensive

gender-responsive employment policy frameworks that promote structural transformations
and inclusive digital, environmental and demographic transitions for decent work, and that
strengthen the connection between economic growth, decent employment, formalization,
wages, social protection and labour income and productivity.
The programme will promote the development of skills and lifelong learning systems,
with a focus on apprenticeships and the recognition of prior learning, as well as the
strengthening of capacity to deliver technical and vocational education and training taking
advantage of digital transformation and through the anticipation of skills needs. Reskilling and
upskilling of young and older workers will be at the heart of the strategy in this area.
Active labour market programmes and employment services to support workers through
transitions in the labour market, that are integrated with employment, rights, social protection,
education, training and enterprise policies, also make a decisive contribution to full and
productive employment.
The programme will also include strategies to generate decent work opportunities for all
in the digital economy, ensuring that international labour standards apply to diverse forms of
employment and work arrangements.
In pursuing this priority, the ILO will promote the development of strategies to promote
productive employment and decent work in the rural economy and policy initiatives focusing
on women and youth, including those not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
 7

 Policy outcome 4: Sustainable enterprises for decent work

Policy priorities:
• Enabling environment for entrepreneurship, sustainable enterprises and productivity growth.
• Concerted action to ensure decent work in supply chains.
• Increased enterprises’ action to achieve social justice goals through the promotion of responsible
business conduct.
• Increased support to enterprises – especially SMEs – for just transitions and formalization.
• Concerted action for strong and resilient social and solidarity economy entities.

The programme will put special emphasis on sustainable enterprises as generators of

employment and promoters of innovation and decent work, recognizing the key role of the
private sector to advance sustainable development processes that generate improved living
standards for all.
The ILO will develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to support constituents in
promoting an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, sustainable enterprises and
productivity growth for job creation and decent work, and to ensure that enterprises provide
better incomes, improve working conditions and living standards and promote quality
employment.
Work on supply chains will contribute to promote sustainable enterprises and address
decent work deficits. The promotion of responsible business conduct through all means of ILO
action to achieve decent work in supply chains will be a central part of the programme.
The ILO will support constituents to put in place policies and measures to accompany
businesses’ efforts to align their practices with international principles and standards,
including those contained in the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational
Enterprises and Social Policy, in partnership with other relevant international organizations
and stakeholders.
Support for enterprises, particularly SMEs, for successful and inclusive transitions to a low-
carbon and digital economy is increasingly important and will be a focus of ILO action. It is also
essential to facilitate enterprise formalization, and, in line with the relevant conclusions of the
110th International Labour Conference, provide stronger support to the social and solidarity
economy, acknowledging its contribution to poverty reduction, inclusive societies, economic
recovery and resilience.

 Policy outcome 5: Universal social protection and protection at work

Policy priorities:
• Universal social protection with sustainable financing strategies.
• Effective protection of workers through adequate wages, decent working time, safety and health
and the elimination of violence and harassment, including in supply chains.
• Fair labour migration frameworks.
• Transformative agenda for gender equality and non-discrimination.

The ILO will support the reduction of inequalities and promote well-being and income
security through a combination of social protection and labour protection for all.
 8

Recent crises have painfully shown the importance of developing social protection
strategies and policies – including floors – based on international standards and social dialogue
to achieve universal, comprehensive, sustainable, and adequate social protection for all,
including access to healthcare. Strategies should consider the reality of those that are still
excluded or do not benefit from adequate protection such as workers and enterprises in the
informal economy, rural populations, migrant workers and persons with disabilities. This
requires social protection systems that are adequately designed, financed, governed and
managed to protect all against life and work-related risks, facilitate life and work transitions,
and respond to emerging needs and global challenges.
The extension of social protection necessitates sustainable and adequate financing
strategies, including by increasing the fiscal space through domestic resource mobilization and
international solidarity. It also requires integrated policy approaches linking social protection,
employment, labour market, skills, wages, just transition, labour inspection, occupational
safety and health and other policies and institutions to improve working conditions and living
standards of all people, and to ensure just transitions for all.
The ILO will also continue to support constituents in the development of effective
institutions to ensure protection for all workers through adequate living wages that ensure a
just share of the benefits of progress, decent working time, occupational safety and health and
the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work, including in supply chains. A
particular focus will be placed on workers in diverse work arrangements, including on digital
working platforms and in informal employment. Labour migrants also require special attention
as well as fair labour migration frameworks, institutions and services.
Progress in this area requires the urgent implementation of a transformative agenda for
gender equality and non-discrimination with an intersectional perspective, focusing on
equality of opportunities and treatment for women and men, the care economy, gender
responsive social protection, and the inclusion of persons with disabilities, people living with
HIV, indigenous peoples and other groups that are discriminated against in the world of work.

Results area 3: Policy coherence for social justice

The ILO will ensure that its research and its policy advice are multidisciplinary and
consider systemic policy interactions, promoting social justice as a joint objective across the
multilateral system and in national socio-economic development strategies, through a whole-
of-government approach. In addition, the ILO will develop specific action programmes
focusing on areas that require integrated and coherent approaches and that cut across the
policy priorities.

 Policy outcome 6: Policy coherence for social justice

Policy priorities:
• Policy coherence in the multilateral system and acceleration of policy integration and investments
at the national level.
• Transitions from the informal to the formal economy.
• Just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies.
• Decent work in trade and investments, with a focus on supply chains.
• Decent work in crisis and post-crisis situations.
 9

The ILO will continue to promote policy coherence for social justice in the multilateral
system, while supporting policy integration at the national level and increased investments for
decent work.
The ILO will lead a Global Social Justice Coalition bringing together constituents, UN
agencies, international financial institutions, development partners, private foundations,
enterprises, the academia and other stakeholders to develop specific initiatives to recover from
the crisis and in support of the social justice programme, including on universal social
protection, just transitions to green and the digital economy, formalization, inequality, climate
action with green jobs and the inclusion of social measures in trade agreements. The Global
Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions led by the ILO will also be
pivotal to promote partnerships for the development of integrated and coherent social justice
policies and mobilize sufficient investments and political support to implement them in
countries. The ILO will continue to play a pivotal role in UN high-level coordination bodies, in
high-level policy coordination groups and in relevant summits, as well as in other forums for
international coordination and cooperation.
The programme of work for 2024–25 will also include four action programmes focusing
on critical bottlenecks that are an obstacle for achieving social justice and that should be
addressed through a coherent mix of different socio-economic policies: (1) transitions from the
informal to the formal economy; (2) just transitions towards environmentally sustainable
economies and societies; (3) decent work in trade and investments, with a focus on supply
chains, in line with the outcome of the 2022 meeting of the tripartite working group on
achieving decent work in supply chains; and (4) decent work in crisis and post-crisis situations.
The action programmes will aim at advancing the human-centred approach and ensure the
achievement of substantial and sustainable results at country level, following a shared theory
of change based on constituents’ needs. The programmes will be implemented by a core team
of dedicated staff supported by a broader team of staff from departments, regions and
development cooperation projects that dedicate all or part of their time to these issues. These
programmes will integrate resources from all sources of funds to create a critical mass of
knowledge and expertise, and will serve as a basis for resource mobilization.

Enabling the implementation of the programme

This ambitious programme can only be implemented if the ILO develops a series of
enabling strategies and functions, which are required to accelerate changes in the policy areas
(policy enablers) and to further increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the ILO’s
governance, oversight and management (organizational enablers).

• As already indicated, the engagement and commitment of the multilateral system to pursue
social justice is essential to make progress in this agenda, and therefore the need of the
Global Social Justice Coalition, which should be at the centre of the ILO’s partnerships’
strategy.

• The ILO must consolidate its position as the global centre of excellence for knowledge on
all issues related to the world of work, including through the compilation, analysis and
dissemination of statistics, and research. The latter requires optimization of existing
research capacity and research products, including flagship reports in the policy
departments and in the field through a streamlined and impactful publication policy. The
ILO’s Research Department should promote the social justice agenda through relevant high-
quality flagship reports and outlooks on the world of work, which can be guided by the
positive experience of interdepartmental collaboration of the “ILO Monitor on the world of
 10

work”. The ILO will work with and support constituents and engage with academic
institutions to develop research on world of work issues. It will also work with national
statistical offices to promote timely and robust production and dissemination of labour
statistics and sound statistical standards. The ITC–ILO will be strengthened to continue to
play a key role in building the capacity of the tripartite constituents and Member States.

• The ILO will also increase its capacity to promote and scale-up innovations. Building on the
experience accumulated by the Organization in the last few years and positive examples
from other UN entities, the ILO will establish an integrated facility to support constituents
and key stakeholders in their efforts to put in place innovative policies and strategies for
decent work and social justice, and to facilitate continued improvement of business
processes in the Office.

• Expansion of the ILO development cooperation programme, firmly anchored on the 2018
General ILC discussion on development cooperation (DC) and the DC strategy. The
structured funding dialogues approach will be applied to support resource mobilization and
the integration of resources for the implementation of the programme and budget. Existing
flagship programmes and DC-related strategies should be revised and aligned with the
programme and budget. Development cooperation will also be undertaken with the support
of enterprises and non-state actors through public–private partnerships in accordance with
the guiding principles adopted by the Governing Body. South–South and triangular
cooperation will also be prioritized for institutional capacity development of tripartite
constituents, peer-to-peer exchanges and the mobilization of local expertise.

• The ILO will also continue to develop a very active and engaging advocacy and outreach
strategy, based on evidence of ILO’s impact through specific policies and programmes as
well as integrated decent work approaches, developing fully accessible digital and social
media, promoting the human-centred approach of the Centenary Declaration.

• The Office should continue developing effective and efficient management systems and
further strengthen its accountability framework. This requires the reinforcement of the ILO’s
field presence and operations through an increase of the technical and human capacity in
the field and the decentralization of decision-making, ensuring responsiveness and
accountability. It also demands a competent, diverse, qualified and highly motivated
workforce and a better integration of resources from the regular budget and voluntary
contributions to achieve the results established in the programme. Efficient management
should be built on strong and reliable systems and infrastructure, taking advantage of the
experience on digitization acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the adoption of
working methods that allow for the efficient provision of integrated support to constituents,
ensuring transparency.

• Finally, the Organization requires the continued functioning of the ILO governing organs
so they can exercise the leadership and strategic direction of the Organization. This entails
high levels of performance of ILO’s oversight and evaluation functions so as to better
manage growing risks and ensure organizational learning. The implementation of the ILO’s
Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework will be a major priority in this area.
Improved representativeness in ILO’s tripartite governance will be sought through
increased efforts to promote ratifications of the 1986 Amendment to the ILO Constitution.
 11

Resource guidance
The crisis is generating resource constraints, but Member States recognize the central
importance of the ILO for the human-centred recovery. This increases the ILO’s responsibility
in developing budgetary proposals that maximize the value offered by the Organization to the
constituents.
All department directors and regional directors are required to prepare operational
budgets considering the priorities indicated in this guidance letter. Special attention should be
placed in generating savings based on efficiency gains and progress in digitalization, to be
redeployed towards the provision of support to constituents in priority areas. Such savings
should represent at least 5 per cent of the relevant allocations in the approved 2022–23 regular
budget levels. If necessary, senior management may consider adopting further savings in
order to support new priorities in the coming biennium.
Department directors at headquarters are required to identify positions and resources
that could be redeployed to regions, to bring the ILO’s work closer to its final beneficiaries in
countries. The savings generated should be clearly quantifiable. Department directors at
headquarters are also required to identify opportunities to decentralize development
cooperation programmes that are currently managed from Geneva.
Regional directors are required to identify positions and resources that could be
redeployed to country offices. The savings generated should be clearly quantifiable.
The budget should consider and integrate resources from all sources of funds, notably
voluntary contributions and the regular budget.

Responsibilities
As it is customary, the Strategic Programming and Management Department (PROGRAM)
will coordinate the preparation of the programme and budget working closely together with
Finance Management (FINANCE) and the Human Resources Department (HRD). PROGRAM will
issue a memorandum with specific guidance for managers based on this letter, including
detailed templates and a timeline.
There will be drafting teams in charge of the preparation of the programme proposals
focusing on the policy outcomes and the policy and organizational enablers. The members of
the draft teams are identified and nominated by me to be transmitted by the Director-General.
The drafting teams will interact regularly with PROGRAM to ensure that their work is
coordinated, and that the programme reflects fully and consistently the priorities indicated
above.
Department and regional directors are responsible for preparing the budget proposals,
following instructions by FINANCE, HRD and PROGRAM.