The Turin School of Development

The Centre is the training arm of the International Labour Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations system with the mandate to promote decent work. The Centre has 50 years of experience in providing training and learning opportunities as well as advisory services in the fields of social and economic development for the benefit of representatives of:

• governments,
• workers’ and employers’ organizations,
• other partner organizations like development banks, the United Nations system and the ILO.

To date, more than 200,000 women and men from over 190 nations have benefited from the Centre’s training and learning services. In recent years, the Centre has implemented an annual programme of some 450 to 500 training activities for the benefit of more than 12,000 participants per year. The Centre offers short professional training courses, academies, tailor-made learning events, advisory services for human resource development including the design and implementation of training projects. In partnership of academia the ITCILO offers Masters programmes run by its Turin School of Development.

The objective of the TSD is to provide multi-disciplinary postgraduate learning opportunities with targeted content and effective delivery modalities, conducive to imparting the essential skills required to deal with today’s social, economic and environmental priorities at national and global levels.

The courses taught at the Turin School of Development are not intended to be in direct competition with similar programmes offered by universities. They are selected and designed to be different through a combination of features such as:

• full involvement of specialized UN agencies and distinguished professional bodies in programme design, delivery and supervision;
• intensive delivery that meets the learning requirements of a European Master’s degree. This is possible through the optimal combination of distance learning with face-to-face interaction, applied project development and research work in a manner that minimizes participants’ absence from work duties at home;
• multi-disciplinary coverage of the full range of technical competencies and professional skills for specific jobs in today’s knowledge economy;
• the combination of academic resource persons and development practitioners that enables smooth integration of theory with practice.

TSD postgraduate and masters’ programmes benefit from a skilled base of over 230 leading professors, professionals and UN experts from over 80 different institutions. They represent an international faculty of leading thinkers and actors with a pragmatic understanding of the world of today and its evolving issues.

In addition, participants’ learning is closely supported by dedicated tutors.

In the realm of Procurement Management two Masters programmes are currently being offered in Turin and cover all categories (goods, works and services) of procurement in accordance with:

• the World Bank’s procurement guidelines,
• the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) model law,
• the Government Procurement Agreement and/or the EU Procurement directives and other regional provisions.

Other topics covered include among others:

• e-procurement,
• procurement audit,
• fighting corruption,
• sustainable procurement,
• procurement of innovation,
• public-private partnership arrangements,
• economic and financial aspects of procurement,
• advance contract management and related issues like logistics,
• transport transactions and insurance as well as dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration

The “Master in Public Procurement Management for Sustainable Development” offered in partnership with the University of Turin and UNCITRAL in English and its equivalent in French (“Gouvernance et Management des Marchés Publics en appui au Développement Durable”) in partnership with the University of Turin, SciencesPo Paris, and ADETEF, France. Both programmes are part of the portfolio of the Turin School of Development within the Centre and are targeting professionals or fresh university graduates that would like to pursue a specialization in procurement management.

Also on offer in the area of Programme and Project Cycle Management is the Master Programme in Management of Development offered under the framework of the Turin School of Development. Mastering the principles and techniques of PPCM has become critical for any development worker who aims at designing relevant and impactful interventions. Assessing performance and “value for money” during implementation of programmes and projects is also a function that managers should undertake continuously. Monitoring of progress lays the groundwork for evaluation of programmes and projects for relevance, impact, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability. Such evaluation is needed to maximize learning, to improve project management processes and to demonstrate value for money to partners.

The ITCILO is also offering professional courses on Procurement Management:

• Public Sector Governance: Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Procurement Audit and Related Mitigation Measures against Fraud and Corruption
• Public Financial Management
• The New World Bank Procurement Framework: Submitting Responsive Bids (new)
• Procurement Management in the Public Sector (This course reflects also the WB Procurement Framework and Regulations for Projects after July 1, 2016)
• Advanced Contract Management
•  Selection and Recruitment of Consultants in World Bank-funded Projects  
• Works Procurement Management
• Balance Sheet Analysis and Assessment Tools for Procurement Practitioners
• Supply Chain Management: Logistics, Insurance Policies and Incoterms
• Procurement Management for Goods, Physical Services and Consultancy Services
• Procurement of Information Systems in World Bank-funded Projects
• Procurement Management for Goods and Consultancy
• Procurement of Physical Services (new)
• Public-Private Partnership Policies: Legal Framework and Competition Requirements
• Sustainable Procurement: Social, Economic and Environmental Considerations in Public Procurement

The ITCILO is also offering professional courses on Programme and Project Cycle Management: 

• Coping with Complexity: Towards a More Systemic Approach to Project Cycle Management (blended)
• Management of Project Implementation in World Bank-funded Projects
• Change Management for Public Sector Institutions
• Monitoring and Evaluation of Projects and Programmes
• Project Cycle Management
• Impact Evaluation of Public Policies, Programmes and Projects
• Leadership and Motivation Skills: Making Teams Effective
• Project Cycle Management
• Risk Management in Development Projects (new)
• Results-based Management in Public and International Organizations
• Financial Management for Development Projects