Publishing guidance is not capacity building. If it were, every country with internet access would have a secure identity system.
- 14 hours ago
- 2 min read
ICAO’s Traveller Identification Programme — TRIP — represents one of the most ambitious capacity building efforts in the identity and border management space. Its objective: to help 193 member states implement the standards, systems, and institutional capabilities required for secure and efficient traveller identification.
The challenge is not ambition. It is delivery.
Guidance documents are necessary but not sufficient. A country that receives a technical manual on ePassport issuance but lacks the institutional infrastructure to act on it has received information, not capability. The gap between the two is where capacity building either succeeds or fails.
Effective capacity building requires more than publication. It requires assessment of where each country actually stands — not where it reports it stands. It requires tailored support that accounts for institutional maturity, technical infrastructure, human resource constraints, and political context. It requires follow-up that measures implementation, not just awareness.
When SECOIA evaluations a countries state of ICAO’s TRIP strategy and implementation, these were the questions at the centre of the assessment. Not whether the guidance existed — but whether it was reaching the countries that needed it most, in a form they could act on, with support that lasted beyond the workshop.
The distinction between information and capability is the distinction between a programme that publishes and a programme that delivers.
What does capacity building mean in your context — and how would you measure it?
SECOIA Executive Consultants Ltd is a Swiss boutique consultancy specialising in identity management, border security, biometrics, secure documents, and ePassports. The firm holds active memberships in ICAO ICBWG, ISO/IEC, and CEN standardisation bodies.
We welcome dialogue with professionals navigating these questions. Reach out through our website , arrange for a meeting or connect with us on LinkedIn.
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