InWEnt - Capacity Building International, Germany Background information to cooperation partners on the project Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria, 2009-2011 Division 2.01 Economic Policy/ Good Governance Project Description Page 1 Background Page 1 Duration Page 3 Partner Page 3 Contact Page 3 InWEnt Page 3 Project Design Page 5 Topics Page 5 Instruments Page 7 Information on Cooperation Page 13 Time Frame Page 13 Task Sharing Page 14 Brief Project Description Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria, 2009-2011 Background and Objectives Peace and security, more prosperity and less poverty, protection of the environment, human rights and democracy all over the world: These are the challenges on the political agenda for the 21st century adopted by the heads of state of the United Nations (UN) in its Millennium Declaration in the year 2000, and set out in more detail one year later in the eight Millennium Development Goals. The German federal government has introduced its own effective strategies for international cooperation aimed at reaching these goals. The majority of the countries of North Africa and the Middle East are important partners in German development policy. As an organisation of international cooperation InWEnt Capacity Building International, Germany, supports the dynamic development of these countries and is working with them to realise the Millennium Development Goals. We provide political actors, experts, and representatives from the business community and civil society with the necessary skills and knowledge, bringing them together in international networks. Our capacity building programmes assist people in key positions in taking personal responsibility for shaping corporate, organisational, and political change processes in their countries. Through dialogue, advanced training, human resource development and networking, we contribute to expanding our partners skills in planning and implementing sustainable development strategies. These partners then pass on what they have learned. As knowledge multipliers they increase the efficiency of their organisations and administrations and in so doing that of their respective countries. Via capacity building through human resource development, InWEnt makes knowledge available that enables people to initiate development and change structures in their home countries. Page - 1 -
In 2007, InWEnt launched the two-year training project Capacity Building on Trade and Finance Policy in the Context of the Economic Reforms of Syria to support economic reforms in the MENA region. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), InWEnt has been cooperating with the State Planning Commission (SPC), the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Trade (MOET), the Bank Training Centre (BTC) and the University of Damascus to support the trade and finance-related capacity building efforts of the Syrian government. The project's overall objective was to foster employmentintensive growth and contribute to the transition to a social market economy by reducing alignment cost, particularly among the poorer parts of society. The project offered a series of seminars to provide qualified assistance for the key stakeholders, governmental officials, and representatives from business associations and academia who are driving the Syrian reform process and Syria's integration into the world trade system. The follow-up project Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria project employs a regional approach in the partner countries to support economic reform. Economic reforms directed at creating a social-market economy and a liberalised trade system in the partner countries will generate lasting employment and increased business competitiveness, thus contributing to poverty reduction. The region's growing economic and social problems have shown that the external capital inflow (especially refunds and development cooperation funds) cannot replace the necessary reform processes. Numerous surveys have reported a current pressure for reform in Middle East countries accompanied by a demand for capacity building for trained professional specialists and executives in the fields of policy, administration, economy, advanced training and science. This project supports the successful implementation of reform agendas in economic policy, the banking sector and trade policy in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The project focuses on regionally networking of the political reform actors and providing the requisite professional and methodological expertise for reform-oriented specialists and executives in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. So far, our activities to support economic reforms in North Africa and Middle East have covered a wide range of topics: International Trade: Regional and International Trade Agreements - Basic and Special Agreements Trade in Services Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade in International Trade Rules of Origin in the Context of International Trade Agreements (EU, EuroMed and GAFTA) Foreign Trade Liberalisation and its Associated Procedures in the WTO Context Method Training - Accession Negotiations to Regional and International Trade Initiatives (GAFTA, EuroMed, WTO) Trade Data Analysis and Statistics Banking Sector: Risk Management Training for Central Banks Banking Supervision and Basel II in Economic Reforms Banking Supervision under Basel II: The Effects of the Basel II Capital Accord on the Banking Supervision Process Comprehensive Topics: Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the MENA Region Page 2
Duration The project started in 2009 and will run until the end of 2011. Partners involved Planning Ministries Public Administration Financial Institutions Training Institutions Research Institutes and Political Advisory Institutes Civil Society Project management InWEnt Department 2, Division 2.01 Economic Policy/Good Governance Katja Grunow Phone: + 49 (30) 43996 310 Fax: + 49 (30) 43996 336 E-mail: katja.grunow@inwent.org InWEnt InWEnt Capacity Building International, Germany, is a non-profit organisation with worldwide operations dedicated to human resource development, advanced training, and dialogue. Our capacity building programmes are directed at experts and executives from politics, administration, the business community, and civil society. Our Programmes Sixty percent of all our programmes are implemented at the request of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In addition, we conduct programmes for other German federal ministries and international organisations. We are also working in cooperation with the German business sector in public private partnership projects that can be designed to incorporate economic, social, and environmental goals. The programmes for people from developing, transition and industrialised countries are tailored to meet the specific needs of our partners. We offer practice-oriented advanced education and training, dialogue sessions, and e-learning courses. After the training programmes, our participants continue their dialogue with each other and with InWEnt via active alumni networks. By offering exchange programmes and arranging scholarship programmes, InWEnt also provides young people from Germany with the opportunity to gain professional experience abroad. Our Clients As an organisation of international cooperation, we are commissioned by the German federal government, the German business sector, and the German Länder or federal states and make an important contribution to an equitable and sustainable development. Sixty 60 percent of all our programmes are implemented at the request of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In addition, we conduct programmes for other German federal ministries. We are also working in cooperation with German companies in public Page 3
private partnership projects. On an international level, InWEnt works together with the European Union, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations. Our Offices InWEnt ggmbh is headquartered in Bonn. In addition, InWEnt maintains fourteen Regional Centres throughout the German Länder, providing convenient points of contact for all regions. Our foreign operations in Beijing, Cairo, Hanoi, Kiev, Lima, Managua, Manila, Moscow, New Delhi, Pretoria, São Paulo, and Dar es Salaam are usually affiliated with other organisations of German Development Cooperation. Page 4
Project Design Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria, 2009-2011 Integrated Regional Approach Overview: Activities on a regional and national level Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria International Trade Banking Sector Reform Technical skills Methodological skills Regional and National Networks Regional and National Workshops Regional Dialogues Study Tours Regional and National Train the Trainers Alumni Measures Web-based learning Topics The project concretely supports the following economic policy challenges which remain - within differing parameters key elements in the region's economic systems: Economic policy analysis and implementing economic policy reforms in general. Financial system liberalisation and stabilisation aimed at fostering the investment activity of employment-creating entrepreneurial initiatives, increasing employment and international competitiveness. Implementing existing regional an international integration treaties, supporting intra-arab integration efforts, and trading reforms. Page 5
Capacity building result chain The results of the capacity building intervention are depicted below: Project Goal / Impact Economic reformers network on a regional level; they exchange experience and receive capacity building measures supporting the implementation of their governments' economic reform. Objectives Participants improve their technical knowledge, methodical and management skills and apply that knowledge in their daily work. Objective 1: Creating regional networks of economic reformers. Objective 2: Supported by our activities, participants promote economic reforms in the banking sector based on market economic principles. Objective 3: Supported by our activities, participants promote economic reforms in regional and international trade integration. Objective 4: Training local trainers on banking sector and international trade topics. Activities / Instruments National workshops Regional workshops Train the Trainers Regional Dialogue Study Tours Alumni Networks Page 6
Instruments Advanced Education Page 7 Train the Trainers Page 8 Regional Dialogue Page 9 Study Tours Page 10 Alumni Networks Page 11 Web-based learning Page 12 InWEnt offers needs-oriented capacity building based on its long-standing international experience. Its programmes are characterised by two main features: firstly, its methodologicaldidactic competence which has been verified by decades of practical experience, and, secondly, its high degree of flexibility in methods and the duration of learning, according to the types of capacity building activity. By using diverse InWEnt capacity building instruments, the Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria project contributes to successfully implementing reform agendas in economic policy, banking sector and trade policy in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The project focuses on regionally networking the political reform actors and providing the requisite professional and methodical expertise for reformoriented specialists and executives in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Regional dialogues and advanced education are aligned with capacity building demands in three ways: Holding regional policy dialogues where partner-country reform actors can systematically exchange experiences to create networks capable of strengthening the regional reform dynamic. Regional and national advanced training for experts and executives to provide the expertise and methodological and management skills needed to promote economic policy reforms. In the process, regional knowledge networks are also strengthened. An institutional and professional strengthening of local and regional advanced training organisations as well as the training of local trainers supports the project's sustaining and multiplying impact. Advanced Education InWEnt puts advanced education as part of human resources development into practice, particularly through job-specific, practice-oriented advanced training programmes employing international standards. The programmes address people working for organisations and companies. Pre-requisites for participation are a degree and extensive professional experience. The programmes last between 3-days and several weeks. The programmes increase the participants problem-solving capacity and thus improve the respective organisation s performance. Advanced training programmes are tailor-made, have a modular structure, and improve the participants self-learning competence. Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria offers advanced education via the two main instruments of National Workshops and Regional Workshops specifically for specialists and executives from public administration, the financial sector, training institutes, private sector and civil society in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Page 7
These specialised workshops are held several times a year and aimed at generating expertise on general economic policy as well as trade and financial policy. The regionally-based training programmes deal with topics of regional significance and consolidate regional knowledge networks. The workshop programmes are supported by cooperation partners and designed with regional and international experts to best meet the partners' requirements and take into account the specific training needs in the individual partner countries. The topics are to be jointly identified and prioritised with the cooperation partners. The workshops are conducted in Arabic. Advanced Education Cooperation Partner Target Group Participants Number of Participants Experts National Workshop InWEnt office in Berlin; InWEnt Regional office in Cairo; Partners from Egypt or Jordan or Syria Regional Workshop InWEnt office in Berlin; InWEnt Regional office in Cairo; Partners from Egypt and/or Jordan and/or Syria Specialists and executives in public administration, the financial sector, training institutes, private sector and civil society Representatives from Egypt or Representatives from at least two of Jordan or Syria the following countries: Egypt, Jordan and Syria 20-40 30-45 International experts provided by InWEnt; support by national/regional experts nominated by partner International experts and national/regional experts nominated by InWEnt and by partner Topics Technical training Methods Management skills, Human Resource Management, Curriculum Development Expected Support from Partners Draft programme developed by expert (if expert is provided by InWEnt) or by partner (if expert is nominated by partner) Partner nominates participants in their home country See Technical Information on Cooperation for further details Run-up Time 3 months 4 months Train the Trainers Since institutions in developing countries have not been able to cover their training capacity needs in their continued efforts to implement reforms, they have been sending their managers and skilled workers to training programmes in developed countries, or employing international organisations for regional and national training. This can be an expensive business, given the growing trend for industrialised countries to charge countries in emerging markets for external advance training programmes. Moreover, these advanced training programmes may not fully address the participants' training needs since such courses tend to be theoretical rather than practical, limited to the specific needs of the deploying countries and institutions, and not taught in the local language. Hence, it is necessary to support or build existing national or regional training institutions with the requisite expertise to train the future leaders of reformminded organisations. The project aims at strengthening the internal and external performance of selected training institutions in Egypt, Jordan and Syria to ensure an effective improvement in reform project implementation at both national and regional levels. The target groups are regional and Page 8
national training institutions and political advisory institutions in the banking sector and regional economic integration / trade sectors. Apart from substantive technical training, the training programme also focuses on curriculum development and internal training methods. Setting up a regionally-based network of trainers supports the independent development of training modules and promotes a pool of experts. The workshops are conducted in Arabic. Train the Trainers Cooperation Partner Target Group Participants Number of Participants Experts National Workshop InWEnt office in Berlin; InWEnt Regional office in Cairo; Partners from Egypt or Jordan or Syria Training institutions, political advisory institutions Representatives from Egypt or Jordan or Syria 20-40 30-45 International experts provided by InWEnt; support by national/regional experts nominated by partner Topics Technical training Curriculum development Human Resource Development Training methods Expected Support from Partners Regional Workshop InWEnt office in Berlin; InWEnt Regional office in Cairo; Partners from Egypt and/or Jordan and/or Syria Representatives from at least two of the following countries: Egypt, Jordan and Syria International experts and national/regional experts nominated by InWEnt and by partner Draft programme developed by expert (if expert is provided by InWEnt) or by partner (if expert is nominated by partner) Partner nominates participants in their home country See Technical Information on Cooperation for further details Run-up Time 3 months 4 months Regional Dialogue Dialogues are an essential element of today's political opinion-forming processes. They provide the opportunity to become familiar with the ideas and opinions of different stakeholders. They lead to mutual understanding and enable the participants to reflect on different courses of action. Dialogues build trust and create space for consensual solutions. InWEnt sets its own quality standards with its dialogue formats. The trademarks of InWEntfacilitated dialogues are informal multi-stakeholder encounters, which are different from the formalised political dialogue within the framework of government negotiations. Their strength lies in individual encounters and a debate platform free of hierarchies. The regional dialogue formats are based on a participatory approach in which all participants are on an equal footing and which promotes the mutual understanding of the other players interests and views. They are characterised by the readiness to have open-minded discussions, by a comprehensive knowledge of the topic and by results-orientated process control with the aim of finding a consensual solution to the problem. Within the Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria project, annual regional policy dialogues with the Economic / Trade / Finance ministries of the partner countries are offered, addressing senior reformers in the government and administration. The regional policy dialogues are aimed at creating space to discuss in detail the challenges of the reform programmes, share experiences on best practices and problem-solving mechanisms and develop opportunities for regional cooperation. Page 9
The reform process can be accelerated through such a peer learning exchange. At the same time the regional dimension of national policies are emphasized and an awareness of the importance of regional approaches on the national level is raised. This can help to overcome blockages on the national governance area. Each policy dialogue will be followed by a publication of relevant conference documents on the InWEnt Internet Page. This documentation has three objectives: access to the results for a broad professional and public media, to anchor the results in the institutional memory of the intermediary institutions and increase the visibility of the action. When preparing the dialogue events, expected effects and goals are defined beforehand in accordance with the InWEnt planning, monitoring and evaluation system PriME. As the next step, the partner organisations and the participants and/or target groups are defined. A careful selection of partners and the German strategic partners ensures that all the competences and interests relevant for the topic are taken comprehensively into account and exchanged. The selection criteria are professional competence, strategic significance and institutional efficiency. The InWEnt dialogue events are developed in close cooperation with our partners. They participate in the decisions with regard to contents and organisation during the planning process as well as in the monitoring and evaluation phases. The participants in Regional Dialogues are selected specifically for their professional competence, function and the ability to actively participate in the dialogue. If the contents are controversial, we make sure that opposing positions are equally represented to allow a discussion that takes the different points of view into account. The number of participants in Regional Dialogues is usually limited to 20-50 persons for methodical-didactical reasons. The timeframe is limited to one or two days. If the public aspect is of secondary importance, so-called round table discussions can be used for a more intensive exchange. Cooperation Partner Target Group Participants Number of Participants Experts Regional Dialogue InWEnt office in Berlin; InWEnt Regional office in Cairo; Partners from Egypt and/or Jordan and/or Syria Political decision-makers, academics and scientists from regional, national and international research institutes, private sector and civil society representatives (associations, non-governmental organisations or universities), bilateral and multilateral organisations Representatives from at least two of the following countries: Egypt, Jordan and Syria 20-50 International and national/regional politicians and experts nominated by InWEnt and partner Topics Discussing reform programme challenges Sharing experiences on best practices and problem-solving mechanisms Developing opportunities for regional cooperation Expected Support from Partners Run-up Time Draft programme developed by partner supported by InWEnt Partner nominating participants in their home country See Technical Information on Cooperation for further details 5 months Study Tours Study tours, generally to Germany, provide a chance to enter into dialogue with renowned German and international actors and institutions, encouraging participants to reflect on issues and review their own approaches. The learning sites are selected to ensure the maximum of learning effects and allow the newly acquired knowledge to be promptly and effectively imple- Page 10
mented. Study tours are designed around the specific experiences of the participants, with relevant contents and a pertinent orientation to action and application, to promote the participants' active participation and self-learning skills, as well as a peer exchange of experience. Study tours within the Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria project are designed to enhance advanced knowledge in the banking sector and trade integration, support the acquisition of new insights, establish new contacts, and build social and intercultural skills. Cooperation Partner Target Group Number of Participants Experts Study Tour InWEnt office in Berlin; InWEnt Regional office in Cairo; Partners from Egypt and/or Jordan and/or Syria Specialists and executives from public administration, financial sector, training institutes, private sector and civil society 15-20 German and international politicians and experts identified by InWEnt; proposals by Partners Topics Finance policy Trade integration Human Resource Development Curriculum Development Gender skills Social and intercultural skills Expected Support from Partners Run-Up Time InWEnt develops draft programme in consultation with partner Partner nominates participants in their home country See Technical Information on Cooperation for further details 5 months Alumni Networks InWEnt is part of a global network and active in almost every region of the globe. This has important advantages for our partner countries in the Mediterranean region. We can draw on our wide range of knowledge and experience from other regions and apply it elsewhere, such as North Africa and the Middle East. This adds flexibility to our programme planning and allows us to respond to a country s specific needs and local and regional conditions. Working together as partners and the creation of networks is both a requirement for and the goal of our work. The networks we build promote worldwide learning and ensure that people from all corners of the globe can exchange knowledge and profit from each other s solutions. Our worldwide programmes also contribute to providing people all over the globe with the qualifications and the know-how they need to contribute to solving shared problems. After completing training, programme alumni stay in contact through InWEnt s worldwide networks. Our alumni can expand their professional and personal contacts and exchange experience and knowledge across disciplines and regional boundaries. In the second half of 2008, InWEnt alumni met in Alexandria for the 1st regional InWEnt MENA Alumni Conference. Nine local alumni networks were created, laying the cornerstone for an interdisciplinary network of InWEnt alumni in the MENA region. Additional local and regional alumni conferences are to follow in North Africa and the Middle East at which participants will discuss issues relevant to development and advance the progress of their organisations and firms, and as such of their entire continents. Page 11
Web-based learning and communication platform InWEnt ensures the sustainability of dialogues, workshops and study tours through intensive networking of former participants among each other and with organisations and individuals in Germany, but also in the form of follow-up dialogues. It applies modern web-based learning technologies for this purpose. The central platform for networking is the web page of Global Campus 21, where the alumni portal (www.inwent.org/alumni) can also be found. This site provides access to approximately 80 alumni networks in 60 countries with 60,000 experts and executives. Former participants in dialogue events, workshops and study tours have the opportunity to carry on the dialogue across borders. This might be done in an informal chat or within a discussion forum on specific issues. Professional follow-up dialogues are based on the results of the dialogue event and offer former participants the opportunity to exchange the experiences gained, complemented by further experiences in the context of their home countries. For this purpose, clear questions and a discussion facilitator (administrator) are required. The facilitator summarizes contributions over a longer period and informs the participants about the current status of the discussion via a mailing list or a newsletter. By providing this service, InWEnt creates an incentive to actively use the Internet platform. E-learning components play an important role in creating networks. The combination of interactive learning methods and web-based media is an important pillar of long-term knowledge exchange at an international level. The web-based learning and communication platform Global Campus 21 (www.gc21.de) is based on a learning management system employing modern web technology. Within a short period of time, tele-tutors learn how to create and to maintain virtual work spaces. Moderated by the tele-tutors, the participants of a learning group can exchange documents, contribute to discussions, arrange chats, and solve tasks. They can use the system around the world and around the clock without the need for special software or technical support. Page 12
Technical Information on Cooperation Depending on the instrument, InWEnt and the partners will agree on a task sharing schedule. Example: Advanced Education (general task sharing schedule) Preparation InWEnt Partner Programme Development Programme Development International Experts Regional Experts Invitation of Participants Nomination of Participants Travel Logistics Organisation of Conference Venue Organisation of Catering, Photographer, Transport Organisation of Interpreters and Translation Equipment Public Relations (Banner, Press, Programme Print, etc.) Implementation InWEnt Partner Opening Opening Final Evaluation Documentation Wrap-up InWEnt Partner Accountings Publicity The activities are largely funded by InWEnt and require a non-cash support and / or funding support from the partner. Project Time Frame Regional dialogue and capacity building to support economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria Activity Date Country National Advanced Training 1 st quarter 2009 Syria National Advanced Training 2 nd quarter 2009 Syria Regional Advanced Training 2 nd quarter 2009 Egypt National Advanced Training 3 rd quarter 2009 Syria Regional Advanced Training 4 th quarter 2009 Egypt National Planning Workshop 1 st quarter 2010 Egypt National Planning Workshop 1 st quarter 2010 Jordan National Planning Workshop 1 st quarter 2010 Syria Regional Planning Workshop 1 st quarter 2010 t.b.d. Regional and National Activities 2010 t.b.d. Study Tour 2010 Germany Study Tour 2010 Egypt Mid-Term Evaluation 3 rd quarter 2010 Germany Regional Alumni Conference 4 th quarter 2010 t.b.d. Regional and National Activities 2011 t.b.d. Final Evaluation 4 th quarter 2011 Germany Page 13
Single Activities: Task Sharing and Time Frame Regional dialogue and capacity building in support of economic reforms in Egypt, Jordan and Syria : Preparation of joint activities Example: National Workshop Task Term Responsibility Annual Planning of Activities 1 st quarter each year All Partners Fix Date 3 months before activity All Partners Objectives and Topics of Activity 3 months before activity All Partners Nomination of International Experts 2 months before activity InWEnt Experts or Partners' Draft Programme 2 months before activity InWEnt or Partner Nomination of Participants 2 months before activity InWEnt and Partner Conference Venue 2 months before activity Partner Start Invitation Process 1.5 months before activity InWEnt Design and Send Speakers' Notes to 1.5 months before activity InWEnt and Partner Speakers and Participants Travel Arrangements 1 month before activity InWEnt Design and Send Technical Information 1 month before activity InWEnt and Partner to Speakers and Participants Transport, Interpreters, Photographer, 1 month before activity Partner Catering Public Relations (Banner, Name Tags, 2 weeks before activity Partner Print Programme, etc.) Presentation and CVs of Speakers 2 weeks before activity InWEnt and Partner Certificates 2 weeks before activity InWEnt (The Time Frame only provides a rough guide and may vary with the instrument employed (see Instruments for further details); the responsibility column offers a point of reference and depends on the specific arrangements between partners.) Page 14