Our work is funded through a combination of private sector fees for our factory engagement and voluntary contributions for development cooperation from donors, our development partners. We work closely with donor governments to understand specific interests and goals, advancing them through Better Work’s efforts. Development partners are actively engaged in our programme and are key partners in the development of strategies to improve garment sector supply chains.
We leverage donor funds to build the capacity of governments, regulators and social partners to scale our impacts and sustain compliance in the labour market. In turn, Better Work supports development partners’ objectives on exports and job growth.
Better Work also helps Member States demonstrate their progress in implementing national laws and ratified ILO conventions, which are included in supplier requirements in some development partner home markets and in important trade regimes such as the European Union’s trade mechanism GSP+. Recent analysis of trade flows has demonstrated that garment exports from producing countries increase with the presence of a Better Work programme.
We engage with development partners on a variety of levels. Specifically, our donor coordination meetings give us the chance to account for the use of public funds and discuss strategic direction as well as our current progress against international development indicators, such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Development partners also play an active role in defining our overall vision and direction. Our key development partners sit on the Advisory Committee and provide our Management Group with guidance on priority issues, including public policy related to trade and labour.
The Better Work Programme is supported by the following key development partners. Additional funding is provided by the factories, participating brands and local donors (see country pages).
