Workshop introduction
Most economics curricula deal with macroeconomic tools for studying the economy as a whole or microeconomic tools for studying the behaviour of individual agents or markets. However, practical public and private sector economic analysts often need to focus on the industry/sector or meso level of economic activity. Key sector analysis, sectoral impact studies, partial and general equilibrium trade and industry analysis are frequently conducted both in the public and the private sector.

TIPS held an introductory training workshop on the use of the ITC's online Market Analysis Tools TradeMap and ProductMap for officials from the SADC Secretariat, the dti and the Department of Agriculture. The seminar focused on the use of the ITC's tools for market analysis in the development of international trade strategies.

TIPS presented a brief workshop on using the ITC's online Market Analysis Tools to SADC regional business organisations, aimed at enabling private sector stakeholders to incorporate the ITC's trade data, market and product studies and business intelligence more effectively into their marketing and export strategies.

Researchers and database experts from TIPS gave several trade data training sessions to SADC trade officials involved in Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations under the auspices of the SADC Secretariat.

11 in-country researchers – from Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Malawi, Nambia and South Africa – attended a three-day course at TIPS on trade analysis and how to use the SADC Trade Database to develop SADC country profiles, which were included in the TIPS/AusAid Trade Performance Review 2005 reference book.

As part of the capacity-building component of TIPS and AusAID’s SADC Trade Development Programme, TIPS between May and December 2005 undertook basic trade data training workshops in eight SADC countries – Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Nambia and South Africa. Officials from various ministries and export associations attended the workshops, which guided participants on how to use the SADC Trade Database effectively.