ILO Launches Evidence Hub to Advance Decent Work in Global Supply Chains

In a major step toward strengthening transparency and impact in global labour standards, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched the Decent Work in Supply Chains Evidence Hub, a powerful online platform designed to make more than a decade of ILO research on supply chains accessible, actionable, and strategically relevant. This cutting-edge digital resource provides stakeholders—governments, employers, workers’ organizations, development agencies, and researchers—with a one-stop knowledge hub for evidence-based policy and program design.

The initiative is part of the ILO’s broader mission to promote decent work for all across increasingly complex and interconnected global supply chains. By translating rigorous research into practical insights, the hub empowers users to design fairer, more sustainable supply chains that are aligned with global labour rights and economic resilience goals.

Turning a Decade of Research into Actionable Insights

The Evidence Hub is built on a foundation of more than 500 ILO publications and studies from the past ten years, drawing from diverse industries, geographies, and thematic areas such as:

• Labour rights in global supply chains

• Trade and investment policy impacts

• Occupational health and safety

• Gender equality in supply chain employment

• Informality and precarious work

• Due diligence and corporate responsibility

Rather than offering dense academic content, the platform curates plain-language summaries, interactive visualizations, and thematic overviews, all tailored to make complex material accessible and actionable. The user-friendly interface offers dynamic navigation, allowing users to explore insights by sector, region, topic, or type of intervention.

“The ILO has built a strong evidence base on decent work, trade, and investment over the past ten years,” said Dan Rees, Director of the ILO Priority Action Programme on Decent Work in Supply Chains. “Now, with the Evidence Hub, we have a smarter, more strategic way to share that knowledge—and to help shape supply chains that work for everyone.”

Innovative Use of Generative AI for Human-Centered Knowledge Delivery

One of the most innovative aspects of the platform is its integration of generative AI, which is used to surface and synthesize key findings from complex documents. Carefully overseen by human experts, this approach ensures that content remains factually accurate, relevant, and comprehensible to diverse audiences—from policy professionals to grassroots advocates.

AI-generated tools include:

• Quick-read summaries of long-form research reports

• Evidence syntheses across themes and sectors

• Knowledge gap analysis to spotlight under-researched areas

• Interactive Evidence Map highlighting where robust data exists

• Smart search functionality for intuitive content discovery

This fusion of artificial intelligence and expert human review marks a new model for how global organizations can democratize access to research and increase its utility for real-world decision-making.

Supporting ILO’s Strategic Priorities in Supply Chains

The Evidence Hub was co-developed with the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) and reflects the organization’s strategic supply chain policy framework, which emphasizes better knowledge organization, practical toolkits, and inclusive stakeholder engagement.

The platform is designed to serve several critical functions:

• Guide policy development: Equip policymakers with data-backed tools to design interventions that align with decent work principles.

• Support programme implementation: Provide evidence to inform development project design, evaluation, and capacity-building.

• Strengthen advocacy: Enable workers’ organizations and civil society groups to make informed, evidence-based arguments for reform.

• Identify future research needs: Through tools like the Evidence Map, stakeholders can pinpoint gaps that require further exploration or data collection.

Whether the user is looking to understand labour conditions in the garment sector in Asia, trace the effects of trade policy on African agribusiness employment, or design a corporate due diligence plan for tech supply chains, the hub offers a responsive, informative, and future-ready knowledge environment.

A Milestone for Global Labour Governance

The launch of the Decent Work in Supply Chains Evidence Hub represents a key milestone in global efforts to align economic globalization with human dignity. By integrating modern technology, human expertise, and the ILO’s authoritative knowledge base, the platform supports fairer globalization, resilient labour markets, and inclusive economic development.

As supply chains become more complex and the demand for ethical and sustainable sourcing grows, the ILO’s evidence-based approach will be critical to supporting both compliance and innovation in decent work strategies.

To access the platform, users can visit the ILO’s dedicated Supply Chains Evidence Hub page, which will be continuously updated with new research, tools, and data sets.