A/HRC/34/74 recommendations as an integral part of United Nations programme tools on the ground, such as the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks. The decision made by the Office to share thematically clustered recommendations with all Resident Coordinators was welcomed by the Board. As explained by many United Nations actors who met with the Board, this has certainly contributed to more coherent and effective work of the United Nations on the ground. The Board is of the view that, to ensure the coherent implementation of recommendations made by international human rights mechanisms, follow-up with relevant United Nations agencies is vital, in particular when making common country assessments and subsequent United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks, ensuring that any new training in-country includes the said recommendations as the basis for the analysis and definition of outcomes, as well as in the development of the “theory of change”. 6. At its two annual sessions, both in Geneva and in countries where OHCHR has a field presence, the Board, together with the Office and all partners, observes and assesses the relevance of technical cooperation programmes, partnerships and the effectiveness of outcomes. The Board always strives to attain a balance in field visits so that they are not limited to those fully funded by the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation, in view of the extension of the Board’s mandate to provide overall policy advice broadly on technical cooperation. The Board gathers information on the situation on the ground, the relevance of the programmes requested and proposed, the efficiency and effectiveness of programme delivery in meetings and discussions that it holds with Office management and staff, government officials and State institutions, civil society organizations and specific groups that benefit from the programmes offered by the Office and the United Nations. The information obtained is invaluable for understanding the impact and sustainability of results achieved by technical cooperation. 7. The financial support for OHCHR programmes is not at the required levels to meet needs on the ground; in fact, the funds received through the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation continue to shrink. Briefings on and an analysis of the financial and programmatic elements governing the two funds are becoming more critical than ever. The Board continues to provide advice to OHCHR and its senior management on possible ways to maximize the various complementarities of the two funds, while providing at the same time support for fundraising efforts. As OHCHR will soon be preparing its four-year plan, the Board will provide it with an overview of its main findings during the field sessions and information on the opportunities and ways to strengthen its thematic focus under the Office’s technical cooperation programmes. 8. In its resolution 33/28, the Human Rights Council invited the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation to present the next annual report on the Board’s work to the Council at its thirty-fourth session, and subsequently on an annual basis at the March session of the Council, rather than at its June session, as originally requested by the Council inits resolution 18/18. The change will facilitate coordination of the session of the Board in Geneva with that of the Council. It is for this reason that the present report covers only the forty-third session of the Board, in its capacity relating to the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation, held in Guatemala in October 2016. II. Activities of the Voluntary Fund and the Board of Trustees 9. The Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights held its forty-third session in Guatemala from 10 to 14 October 2016. The session was chaired by Christopher Sidoti, who had been elected Chair of the Board of Trustees at its forty-second session. All five members of the Board attended the session. 4