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PROGRAM & LINKS |
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Contact Person: David R. Evans dre@educ.umass.edu
DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATIONS & SOCIAL CAPITAL
David R. Evans
Monday 17 July, 10:00 - 12:00
This session offered a framework for understanding material
presented during the training through an examination of two
key ideas: Rationalities and Social Capital.
During the first part of this session, participants
considered ways of thinking about education and development
by exploring three rationalities -- Technical, Political and
Ethical -- and examining their impact on and relationship to
effective decision-making about development practice.
In the second part of this session, participants explored
the concept of Social Capital. Distinguishable from Physical
and Human Capital by its focus on characteristics of
communities, social capital encompasses relationships,
trust, and a willingness to put the good of the group above
individual needs. Participants had the opportunity to
discuss recent studies which have shown strong relationships
between the amount of social capital in a community and a
variety of development indicators.
The following web sites are useful resources on Social
Capital:
World Bank: Social Capital for Development
http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/scapital/index.htm
Institutional Reform and the
Informal Sector (IRIS)
http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/BSOS/Depts/IRIS/IRIS/index.html
Civic Practices
Network
http://www.cpn.org/sections/tools/models/social_capital.html
Contact Persons: Ash Hartwell ashtrish@igc.org and Mitch Kirby mikirby@usaid.org
SECTOR PROGRAMS AND FINANCING
Ash Hartwell with David Evans, Richard Sack, May Rihani and
team facilitators
Tuesday 18 July 8:15 - 12:00
This session engaged participants in an exercise to design a
national basic education reform program within a Medium Term
Expenditure Framework. Following an orientation to sector
investment programs, and the national context for the
exercise, we created parallel task forces that selected
sector program strategies that must 'fit' within the public
financing ceilings of the MTEF. The teams projected primary
school enrollments, and examined the mix of costed reform
actions to achieve the objectives of the reform. Each team's
recommendations were submitted and critically reviewed by
the Minister of Education (Richard Sack) and his technical
advisors. After the exercise, participants reflected on key
issues in a sector investment approach: does the reform
address key system problems (including HIV/AIDs) with
technically sound strategies? Are those strategies likely to
improve participation and learning within the schools? Is
the SIP financially sustainable? What is assumed about the
institutional capacity in the public sector, NGOs, and local
authorities? Does it embody a country strategy to address
the impact of HIV/AIDs on enrollments, staffing, and
financing? What is the role of international partner
agencies?
The following links are useful resources:
Association for the Development of Education in
Africa
http://www.adeanet.org
World Education Summit Home
Page:
http://www2.unesco.org/wef/
World Bank Research
Papers:
http://www.worldbank.org/research
SECTOR STRATEGIES & PROGRAM
DESIGN
Facilitator: Ash Hartwell
Panel with: David Evans, Paul Blay, Michel Welmond, May
Rihani & Richard Sack
Wednesday 19 July, 10:00
-12:00
This session provided a venue for resource persons and
participants to critically explore key issues of basic
education program design, drawing on prior presentations and
their own experience. The panelists initiated the discussion
by making short presentations which took account of the
information on design strategies for education reform in the
face of the HIV/AIDs pandemic. Panelists also spoke to
issues of: political and bureaucratic leadership and
capacity to manage reform; designing and managing the
relationships between national, district and community based
roles; managing education reform when the focus is on
quality; the role and coordination of external agencies
within a SIP environment; as well as tensions between
development theory and Agency expectations. Participants
were encouraged to ground the discussion on country field
experience, linking concepts to practice.
For additional resources please see:
Center for Development Information and Evaluation
(CDIE)
http://cdie.usaid.gov
Africa Bureau Information
Center
http://www.usaid.gov/regions/afr/abic
STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROGRAM
DESIGN
Latest and Greatest ADS Guidance on Managing for Results
Matt Nash, Price-Waterhouse-Coopers, Integrated Managing for
Results
Thursday 20 July, 8:15-10:30
In August, USAID announced a
revised Automated Directives System (ADS) 200 series on the
Managing for Results programming system. These chapters
include underlying principles, mandatory guidance, and
recommended practices for planning, achieving results, and
assessing and learning. In the first part of this session we
previewed the updated guidance, reviewed the rationale for
the revision, and discussed its implications for USAID
education programs. Special emphasis was placed on guidance
for developing strategic frameworks and activity plans.
The following web site has additional information on ADS
Series 200: Program Assistance
http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/200/
http://cdie.usaid.gov
Agency Training Info from the Learning Support Division
http://inside.usaid.gov/M/HR/lsd
Strategic Planning and Program
Design - Panel Discussion
Panel Facilitators: Ron Bonner, John Hatch, May Rihani &
Mitch Kirby
Thursday 20 July, 10:30 - 12:00
In the second part of the session we focused on the program
planning process and how education strategies are developed.
We discussed key components in the planning process
including needs analysis and assessment, identifying SOs and
IRs, and developing and revising results frameworks. Using
examples from the field, we examined how key program
objectives such as support for SIPs, policy dialogue and
reform, school improvement, teacher development, community
participation, gender and equity, and HIV/AIDS are
articulated in strategic plans.
Contact Person: Beryl Levinger berylL@edc.org
MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT:
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT, NGO
PARTNERSHIPS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
Beryl Levinger
Monday 24 July, Morning Session
This session sought to identify, through structured group
discussion, the attributes that capable organizations must
possess in order to effectively support education reform in
Africa. Once these attributes had been identified, various
techniques for measuring organizational capacity were
explored. Working collaboratively, participants developed a
simple assessment tool that can be used to promote
organizational learning and to enhance capacity. Special
consideration was given to measuring and enhancing
organizational capacity to partner with other entities.
Capacity, said facilitator Beryl Levinger (EDC), is
“envisioning, articulating, and enacting an
ideal,” while capacity assessment is measuring the
difference between this ideal and what is actually achieved.
Examples of particular capacities that AFR/SD has measured
include the capacity of:
… SD to support mission staff;
… teachers to teach well;
… ministries to analyze and devise solutions to
problems;
… ministries to coordinate their efforts;
… missions and countries to manage large-scale reforms;
and
… project managers to concomitantly design, implement,
and assess activities.
Participants then conducted an exercise to develop a simple
capacity assessment “tool,” i.e., checklist. The
general approach was explained in a handout, the key steps
of which were to:
… identify in general terms a set of performance
goals
… identify a set of capacity associated with these
goals
… describe “what it means to be excellent” in
that area with specific criteria
… create scorable items to measure each criterion
… group and validate the items
… identify participants and conduct the assessment
… provide feedback
Useful Resources include:
The DOSA webpage
http://www.edc.org/dosa
POET User's Manual:
Participatory Organization Evaluation Tool
http://www.undp.org/csopp/poet.htm
Contact Persons: Mitch Kirby mikirby@usaid.org and Ron Bonner ronmargbonner@msn.com
PROGRAM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT:
FUNDING, PEOPLE AND PROCUREMENT
Tuesday 25 July, Morning Session
Introduction and Overview, 8:15 - 8:30
Mitch Kirby
Module 1 - Show Me the Money, 8:30 - 10:15
Carrie Johnson, Senior Program Analyst, Office of
Development Planning, Africa Bureau
In the opening module we reviewed and discussed the USAID
budget process, unpacked Agency budget terminology, and
explained budget information and reporting requirements. We
also reviewed education funding sources, current budget
levels and prospects for future education funding.
AID Budget Process Resources:
http://inside.usaid.gov/afr/bps2000
Module 2 - People Power, 10:30-
12:00
Ron Bonner, USAID Education and HR Development Officer
(retired)
This module focused on USAID education staffing issues.
We looked at Agency trends, the current status of education
staffing, and prospects for the future. Participants and
facilitators mapped the types of skills needed to lead and
manage USAID education programs. Finally, we discussed
strategies and resources available for meeting staffing
needs.
PROGRAM PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT: FUNDING, PEOPLE AND
PROCUREMENT
Wednesday 26 July, 8:15-12:00
Module 3 - The ABC's of A&A
Marcus Stevenson, Senior Procurement Executive, USAID
Barbara Brocker, Ombudsman for Acquisitions and Assistance,
USAID
This program management module focused
on USAID Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) processes. We
reviewed and discussed A&A planning, implementing
instruments, performance based contracting, contracts
administration, and closeout procedures. Facilitators and
participants had an opportunity to discuss best practices
and effective strategies for utilizing A&A tools.
The following web site has additional information on ADS
Series 300: Acquisition & Assistance
http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/300/
Resources for the ABC's of A&A
include:
http://inside.usaid.gov/M/OP
http://inside.usaid.gov/pubs/ads
Results-Oriented Assistance: A USAID
Sourcebook
http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/sourcebook/usgov
Resources for Legal
Issues:
http://inside.usaid.gov/A/GC
Contact Person: Tracy Brunette tbrunette@afr-sd.org
MANAGING THE R4 & THE USAID REVIEW PROCESS
Tracy Brunette
Thursday 27 July, 8:15-10:00
For most of us in the Agency, the R4 process takes up a
considerable amount of time. In this session, we reflected
on the latest rounds of R4s and discussed what constitutes a
"good" R4. We also discussed what happens to the R4s once
they reach Washington and considered some of the "lessons
learned" in the education sector from our R4 reviews.
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