The International Labour Organisation (ILO) published the Roads for Development (R4D) – Cluster Independent Evaluation in March 2023.
This management response, published in 2026, notes relevant matters following the successful integration of roads sector support into Australia's bilateral development program for Timor-Leste.
Recognising the importance of rural roads to human and economic development in Timor-Leste, on completion of the Roads for Development Support Program (R4D) in 2022, Australia integrated this support into Australia's Partnership to Strengthen Village Development and Municipal Administration (PARTISIPA) in December 2022.
Integration of roads support into PARTISIPA has allowed for broader sectoral consolidation and more targeted support to the Ministry of Public Works to manage national and sub-national roads more effectively and efficiently, resulting in improved connectivity.
Australia's support to the Government of Timor-Leste (GoTL), through PARTISIPA, has focussed more on systems strengthening, including design, procurement, contract management, quality assessment, and some demonstrations of climate-resilient road technology, rather than the previous R4D focus of community involvement in road construction and rehabilitation (which was co-managed between ILO and GoTL).
Response to recommendations
| Recommendation | DFAT management response |
|---|---|
| 1: Invest more in the development or adoption of an institutional capacity development framework as a structured process that can support the design and implementation of projects and interventions that build capacity at a national or sub-national level. | Agreed. Following the integration of road sector support into PARTISIPA, Australia's assistance has a stronger focus on institutional capacity building across the planning and project cycle, working in partnership with GoTL at national and sub-national levels. |
| 2: Pursue opportunities to continue to add value to the GoTL's work in rural roads and other infrastructure development by promoting Decent Work and social justice. | Agreed. Australia's road sector support has transitioned to focus on government systems strengthening rather than community involvement in road construction. We have continued to advocate for stronger protection of workers through Decent Work and social justice, and strengthened safeguards systems in road demonstration projects undertaken through PARTISIPA. |
| 3: As policy contexts and donor priorities evolve, future Employment Intensive Infrastructure Program (EIIP) projects should use the scoping of new project phases to consider a more comprehensive review of project strategy and staffing. They should also consider the value that might be added by involving other ILO departments and programs. | Not Agreed. The integration of roads support into PARTISIPA has changed the focus away from Employment Intensive Infrastructure programs. This recommendation's focus on EIIP and ILO deems it no longer relevant to our current road sector support. |
| 4: Ensure ILO social partners are meaningfully involved in all stages of future EIIP's design, implementation, and review. | Partially Agreed. The integration of roads support into PARTISIPA has taken forward some aspects of this recommendation including community engagement across the roads lifecycle and stronger engagement with roads contractors and industry bodies. |
| 5: Ensure that all project resources generated by the project, including technical manuals, guidelines and training materials, are kept safe and accessible within GoTL institutions and are also uploaded to the ILO's global EIIP literature database. | Partially Agreed. Through PARTISIPA we have updated and translated into Tetum relevant technical manuals, guidelines and training materials produced by R4D to be kept accessible within GoTL institutions. |