Annual Report 2012–2013 Under this strategic objective the APF works to protect and promote the human rights of people in the Asia Pacific region through the work of its member institutions. The majority of the APF’s activities are directed towards supporting and strengthening its members, including: • training programs to build knowledge and skills that are central to the work of effective NHRIs • capacity assessments that enable its members to identify achievable and sustainable steps to strengthen their institutions • the work of the Advisory Council of Jurists providing authoritative and independent legal analysis on issues of shared concern across the region, and • specialist programs tailored to meet specific requests of individual member institutions. 1.1. Training Evaluation findings Outcome indicator Training Performance rating On track The APF’s training programs are designed to assist its member institutions in carrying out their core functions, which include investigating and resolving complaints, monitoring human rights, providing advice to government, reviewing laws and policies and undertaking human rights education programs. The APF’s training programs help build the professional and knowledge-based skills that strengthen the capacity of more than 145 Commission members and 3,000 staff employed in our 19 member institutions. The APF, with its partners, conducted a total of 14 training courses for NHRI staff during the reporting period. This included courses which used the blended learning approach of online training and face-toface training. Additionally, the APF ran 11 specialist capacity projects with member NHRIs. Evaluations indicate that both the participants and the member institutions themselves regarded the courses as highly relevant and of a high quality. The average response on relevance across courses and participants was 4.6 out of 5. Participants also consistently regarded courses as of a very high quality (an average response across courses of 4.5 out of 5). Of the 16 members that responded to a questionnaire on the relevance of courses to the member institutions themselves (as opposed to the individual course participants), all but one NHRI confirmed that knowledge gained from training had been disseminated to other staff. These members, on average, thought the courses very relevant (4.2 out of 5), indicating that the expectations of member NHRIs continue to be aligned with course participants’ experiences of training courses. In line with best practice adult education approaches, the APF is increasingly contextualising training to the operational requirements of the participating NHRIs through the use of work-based projects. Members identified quite a number of projects that had benefited from this training approach in 2012–13, including: • the conduct of a national inquiry on rape and honour killing by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission • the development of a work plan for the betterment of migrant workers by the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh and improvements to complaints handling from migrant workers by the Jordan National Centre for Human Rights 1. Enhance members’ institutional capacity to promote and protect human rights | 11