Resource mobilization

Mobilizing Domestic Resources: Direct Trust Funds

Increasingly ILO member States commit resources from their own public budgets to partner with the ILO. While external development assistance (Official Development Assistance) can provide an important boost and allow the ILO to deliver significant technical cooperation to a country, ultimately the commitment of ILO’s constituents and the allocation of domestic financial resources are key to achieving national Decent Work goals. This is especially the case for countries that have moved to Middle Income Country status.

‘Domestic Trust Funds’ (DTF) refers to the cooperation between the ILO and member States who entrust the ILO with financial resources to deliver technical assistance under mutually agreed conditions, over and above the regular support that the ILO can provide from its regular budget. Typically this targets national policy priorities as reflected in Decent Work Country Programmes, with the ILO and the government counterpart agency agreeing on a specific project, with clear deliverables and a budget.