Defining WIPO's Development Agenda

How can WIPO's Development Agenda be better defined, and who has the power to define it? Is there a unifying principle or set of principles animating the clusters of recommendations that formally constitute the agenda? If so, how might a principled definition inform and guide implementation? These are the questions that this chapter probes. The objective is to establish a more concrete contextual framework for further discussion and debate about the Development Agenda. To begin such discussion and debate, this chapter introduces a collection of essays on specific, practical strategies to implement the agenda. It commences with a brief narrative of the agenda’s evolution and formal content, including its six clusters of forty-five recommendations. Next, this chapter identifies four defining characteristics of WIPO’s Development Agenda in an analytical, rather than a descriptive, manner. Two characteristics — the agenda’s malleability and complexity — pose formidable challenges to its implementation. However, two other features — the opportunity and gravity of the agenda — show why these challenges can and must be overcome. This chapter concludes by linking the essays included in this collection to the agenda’s defining characteristics and offering insights on possible strategies to move forward