Phil Rourke

Background

About Phil Rourke

A Strategic Trade Policy and Trade Negotiations Practice For 35+ years, the Ottawa-based Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL) has been helping governments from all regions of the world achieve their international trade policy and law objectives. From this experience, we’ve developed an internationally-recognised expertise in skills development-based training on trade policy issues with a specific focus on trade negotiations. We design and deliver courses based on the practical experience of trade professionals and our direct engagement with them to improve the effectiveness of their trade policy and trade negotiation teams. Our strategic mapping tools help course participants improve their capacity to contribute directly to decision-making at each stage of the trade policy and trade negotiation process. The experiential approach of our professional training and academic teaching provides multiple opportunities to practice and develop further the skills necessary to be an effective trade policy analyst and trade negotiator in a professional setting. “Learning-by-doing” is the most effective way for current and future trade officials to develop their skills as negotiators and policy analysts. This process can take 10 to 15 years as officials move up the experiential curve from note-taker at negotiation meetings, to technical expert, to subject matter lead, to Deputy and then Chief Negotiator of a major trade negotiation. The challenge that trade ministries frequently face is they lack the time and resources to develop their negotiation teams’ capabilities at all these levels when their respective governments launch ambitious trade negotiations strategies. CTPL courses provide practical tips, checklists, planning tools and simulation exercises based on real-life examples to reduce this timeline. Our in-house staff and network of trade professionals from around the world provide team coaching and individual mentoring to reduce further the timeline from junior trade professional to senior decision-maker. CTPL can also provide institutional support to senior managers to integrate the content developed and lessons learned from these courses into their internal human resource development strategies. CTPL is a training unit of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) at Carleton University. NPSIA is Canada’s leading graduate program in international affairs with alumni and 60+ years of experience teaching future leaders in government, international organisations, and the non-profit and private sectors.