Association of African Universities
Strategic Planning Workshop: Strengthening Higher Education Stakeholder Relations in Africa
Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS) Nairobi, Kenya November 29 – 30, 2011
WORKSHOP REPORT
1
BACKROUND AND OBJECTIVES 1. The Association of African Universities (AAU) has entered into a partnership with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) to strengthen higher education stakeholder relations in Africa. Through this partnership, undertaken with financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), African universities will be linked more closely with the private sector, positioning them to better develop the skills and knowledge to meet their countries’ needs.
2. The three-year project, Strengthening Higher Education Stakeholder Relations in Africa (SHESRA), is the outcome of the presentation of the AAU Core Programme (2009 – 2013) to development partners at the 12th General Conference in Abuja, Nigeria in May 2009, and falls under Sub-theme 1 (Renewal and Strengthening of African Higher Education Institutions) of the Core Programme. The project has three key components: i. Strengthening African University Outreach – African universities in partnership with Canadian universities will strengthen their strategic plans for improved outreach to external stakeholders ii. University-Industry Linkages – African universities in partnership with Canadian universities will produce case studies of successful African university-industry linkages; and, iii. Strengthening AAU Stakeholder Relations – AAU will work in partnership with AUCC to strengthen its ability to support its member universities’ external stakeholder relations and to strengthen its own external stakeholder relations.
3. Following a call for Letter of Intent fifteen Strategic Planning Partnerships were selected by an African-Canadian peer review committee.
4. While directly targeting a total of 15 African universities, the project will lead to the development of strategic plans and advocacy tools for the benefit of all two hundred and seventy (270) AAU member institutions in forty-four African countries. Canadian universities, in turn, will gain an increased understanding of the role African universities’ can play in social and economic development. Armed with this insight, Canadian institutions can continue to reinforce the pivotal role of higher education in economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa.
2
5. The Nairobi workshop focused on sharing latest ideas, knowledge and international best practices on institutional strategic planning in universities and providing an opportunity for participating institutions to engage in peer discussions
PARTICIPATION, WORKSHOP CONTENT AND WORKING METHODS
Participation 6. A total of sixty-four participants (forty representatives of African institutions - including AAU - and twenty-four Canadians) participated in the workshop. A full list of participants is presented at the end of this report as Annex One).
Workshop Content 7. In keeping with its objectives, the workshop sessions focused on the following areas of strategic planning: i. A set of four interactive lectures on strategic planning by Judith Woodsworth a. Overview of Strategic Planning b. Implementation: From Strategy to Action c. Identifying Risks d. Measuring Success ii. Three sessions on University-Productive Sector Linkages
a. A scoping study on Strengthening Linkages between Industry and Productive Sector and Higher Education Institutions in Africa (by Joseph Ssebuwufu and Teralynn Ludwick) b. University-Industry Relations: The Case of Uganda GATSY Trust at Makerere University (by Joseph Byaruhanaga) c. Industry Linkages in University Strategic Plans (by Joseph Byaruhanga) – a presentation that shows that ‘it can be done in Africa’ like the earlier case study of Makerere by the same presenter.
iii. Reports on the progress of eleven of the on-going strategic planning partnership arrangement
a. University of Botswana, Botswana b. University of Mines and Technology, Ghana
3
c. Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal d. Université Gaston Berger St Louis, Senegal e. Université de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso f. Hawasa University, Ethiopia g. Université de Bamako, Mali h. National University of Rwanda, Rwanda i. Njala University, Sierra Leone j. Nzumbe University, Tanzania k. University of Nairobi, Kenya l. Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
iv. The strategic plans from the following universities were also distributed in electronic versions to participants a. Hawasa University, Ethiopia b. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya c. Makerere University, Uganda d. University of Botswana, Botswana e. University of Nairobi, Kenya
v. The Canadian Experience on External Stakeholder Partnerships (by Lucien Bradet) - a presentation highlighting the experiences of Canadian universities in developing outreach programmes with private sector and civil society organisations, with possible implications for African universities. vi. A Round Table on the tasks ahead and the ways forward
Working Methods
8. The practical activities of the workshop were preceded by a formal opening session that featured a keynote address by the Vice Chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Prof Mabel Imbunga. She welcomed participants to the workshop and stressed that the SHESRA project has focussed on a key challenge area to higher education institutions in Africa. She expressed satisfaction with the progress of the partnership arrangement between her university and the University of Western Ontario under the project.
4
9. In formally declaring the workshop open, Dr. Kilemi Mwirira, Assistant Minister for Higher Education, emphasized the point that ‘no longer can the universities go it alone’ and that strong and functional partnerships with external stakeholders is a necessary step towards getting universities to become genuine partners in national development. He also emphasized the need to build university relationships at the national level as a step towards ‘venturing beyond our borders’.
10. Interactivity was the dominant methodology of the workshop. Most of the plenary sessions were introduced by lively power point presentations and were followed and/or accompanied by interactive audience contributions. Lunch hour for each of the two days were genuine bonding sessions (WORLD CAFES) during which small groups of participants attempted to focus in-depth of specific issues from a variety of perspectives. About a half of the second day of the workshop was devoted to face-to-face discussions among partner universities, reviewing progress of strategic planning processes and charting the course for future actions.
11. The final plenary session was devoted to further clarifications on issues raised during the preceding interactive sessions and in renewing commitments from AAU, AUCC, and the participating African institutions to more intensive pursuit of the partnership. Workshop organisers and participants also expressed their immense thanks to the Kenyan authorities, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, and the Kenya School of Monetary Studies for their hospitality and for the excellent arrangements made for the successful holding of the workshop. (For workshop program, see Annex Two).
RESULTS AND LESSONS LEARNT 12. The rich and valuable exchanges among participants are not easily quantifiable, but the gains would become more manifest in participants’ broadened horizons on approaches to strengthening stakeholder relationships and, most importantly on the process, orientation, focus and content of strategic planning for the development of the participating African universities
13. African institutions have found the partnership with Canadian universities very helpful. They have all benefited with on-the-spot learning in partner Canadian universities. Most of the institutions have institutionalized strategic planning, with a good number of these focusing on very specific growth-need areas. Virtually all the institutions are in the process of strengthening structures for managing external linkages
5
14. Most importantly, the workshop yielded valuable lessons, to be fed into on-going institutional strategic planning process and external linkage initiatives, namely:
i. The need to give strategic directions to African universities in order to facilitate constructive engagement with governments, economic actors, students/parents and civil society ii. Treating strategic plans as living entities and hence the need for periodic reviews iii. The imperative of including appropriate performance indicators in strategic plans iv. Taking Environmental Risk Management (ERM) seriously - the need to manage RISKS (internal/external) as an integral element in giving a university a strategic focus v. Need to include progress in attaining gender equity as a performance indicator vi. Need for institutions to broaden the possibilities of using University- Industry partnerships to raise a considerable proportion of funds for university programs vii. The very important lesson from the Makerere experience- extending the scope of partnerships to SMEs and grassroots communities viii. A realization that ‘If you are not going to help them to make money (or improve their living conditions) they won’t talk to you’. In other words, universities have to show businesses and social enterprises the added value of a partnership arrangement. ix. The absolute need to progress STEP-BY-STEP x. The big challenge to be addressed in African countries: INDUSTRY RE- TRAINING OUR YOUNG GRADUATES --- industry not finding university graduates immediately useable, a situation that can be remedied by enhanced partnerships between universities and the productive sector.
MOVING THE PROCESS FORWARD 15. A sure way of moving the process forward is a strong determination by the participating universities not to relapse into the ‘après conference syndrome’ – the habit of simply treating Nairobi as yet another conference and delaying action until the holding of the
6
next workshop. There is therefore the need for all the universities concerned to develop and apply a strategic methodology for strategic planning, and this means that they must:
a. Create a momentum at the very beginning and maintain this until the very end
b. Maintain a strict work flow rhythm
16. Partnerships and linkages depend on a University putting its academic house in order. As emphasized in the course of the workshop, this means the institutionalization of:
a. Visionary leadership
b. Transparent resource management
c. Strategic focus in the overall context of a strategic plan
d. Responsive curricula
e. Value-addition in research and community engagement
17. Everything considered, moving the process forward (capitalizing on the promising beginnings and the good intentions espoused in Nairobi) would be helped by an institutional spirit that says ‘let’s go straight into action and learn to do by actively and forcefully doing’.
7
ANNEX 1 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AFRICAN PARTICIPANTS
Name Institution Contact 1. Prof. Alphonse NEBA University of Botswana [email protected] 2. Prof. Isaac Ncube University of Botswana [email protected] MAZONDE 3. Prof. Youssouf Université de Ouagadougou [email protected] OUEDRAOGO 4. Dr. Youssoufou Université de Ouagadougou [email protected] OUEDRAOGO 5. Dr. Tesfaye ABEBE Hawassa University [email protected] 6. Dr. Yosef MAMO Hawassa University [email protected] 7. Dr. Jeilu OMER Addis Ababa University [email protected] 8. Dr. Workneh NEGATU Addis Ababa University [email protected] 9. Prof Newton AMEGBE University of Mines and Technology [email protected] 10. Dr. Peter Arroja ESHN University of Mines and Technology [email protected] 11. Prof. John SSEBUWUFU Association of African Universities [email protected] 12. Mr. Ransford O. BEKOE Association of African Universities [email protected] 13. Ms. Teralynn LUDWICK Association of African Universities [email protected] 14. Mr. Zakari Y. KAKA Université de Bamako [email protected] 15. Dr.Macki SAMAKE Université de Bamako [email protected] [email protected] 16. Prof. PAI OBANYA Ibadan-Nigeria [email protected] 17. Prof. Herman National University of Rwanda [email protected] MUSAHARA [email protected] 18. Pr Mamadou Youri SALL Université Gaston Berger [email protected] [email protected] 19. Pr Omar SOUGOU Université Gaston Berger [email protected] [email protected] 20. Mr. Gorgui CISS Université Cheikh Anta DIOP de [email protected] Dakar 21. Pr Aminata NDIAYE Université Cheikh Anta DIOP de [email protected] Dakar [email protected] 22. Rev. Dr. Edwin Julius Njala University [email protected] Jeblar MOMOH 23. Dr. Bob K. CONTEH Njala University [email protected] 24. Prof. Magishi Nkwabi Mzumbe University [email protected]
8
Name Institution Contact MGASA 25. Prof Faustin KAMUZORA Mzumbe University [email protected] 26. Richard D. TOBA University of Dar es Salaam [email protected] 27. Prof. Sylvia TEMU University of Dar es Salaam [email protected] 28. Dr. Joseph Makerere University [email protected] BYARUHANGA 29. Prof. William TOILI Masinde Muliro University of [email protected] Science and Technology 30. Prof. John SHIUNDU Masinde Muliro University of [email protected] Science and Technology 31. Prof. Florence LENGA Quality Assurance and [email protected] Accreditation-Commission for Higher Education 32. Mr. Oliver WALUVENGO Masinde Muliro University of [email protected] Science and Technology 33. Prof. Timothy WAEMA University of Nairobi [email protected] 34. Prof. Evans AOSA University of Nairobi [email protected] 35. Dr. Suleman OKECH Jomo Kenyatta University of [email protected] Agriculture and Technology 36. Dr. Joseph OBWOGI Jomo Kenyatta University of [email protected] Agriculture and Technology 37. Ms. Esther MUORIA Jomo Kenyatta University of [email protected] Agriculture and Technology 38. Dr. Robert GICHIRA Jomo Kenyatta University of [email protected] Agriculture and Technology
CANADIAN PARTICIPANTS 1. Dr Greg MORAN University of Western Ontario [email protected] 2. Mr Paul PAOLATTO University of Western Ontario [email protected] 3. Dr Oana BRANZEI University of Western Ontario [email protected] 4. Dr Yvon DANDURAND University of Fraser Valley [email protected] 5. Dr Randy WIMMER University of Alberta [email protected] 6. Dr Tim GODDARD University of Prince Eduard Island [email protected] 7. Prof. Katherine A. H. Carleton University [email protected] GRAHAM 8. Mr. Dinesh KAKADIA Carleton University [email protected] 9. Prof. Bill DEEN University of Guelph [email protected]
9
10. Dr. Beverly HALE University of Guelph [email protected] 11. Dr. Michael STEVENSON Simon Fraser University 12. Mr. Mike VOLKER Simon Fraser University 13. Ms. Shaheen NANJI Simon Fraser University [email protected] 14. Judith WOODSWORTH Consultant [email protected] 15. Mr Glen SCHULER University of Saskatchewan [email protected] 16. Mrs Lorna SHAW- University of Saskatchewan [email protected] LENMOX 17. Mrs Laurel O’CONNOR University of Saskatchewan [email protected] 18. Dr. John E. QUAICOE Memorial University of New Found [email protected] land 19. Mr Benoit BOURQUE Université de Moncton [email protected] 20. Mr Pape Jean FALL Université du Québec à Trois [email protected] Rivières (UQTR) 21. Mr Lucien BRADET Canadian Council on Africa [email protected] 22. Mr Robert WHITE Association of Universities and [email protected] Colleges of Canada (AUCC) 23. Mrs Kethline GAROUTE Association of Universities and [email protected] Colleges of Canada (AUCC) 24. Mr. Claude LAVOIE Université de Moncton N/A 25. Mr. Tim COLBY Canadian High Commission, Kenya N/A 26. Mr. Bruce GRUNDISON Canadian High Commission, Kenya N/A
27. Ms. Charity KABAYA Canadian High Commission, Kenya [email protected]
10
ANNEX 2 WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
Mon, Nov. 28 Arrivals and Registration Tues, Nov. 29 08.30 – 09.00 Arrivals and Sign-in/Registration @ KSMS
09.00 – 10.30 OPENING CEREMONY 09.00 – 09.30 Welcome Remarks by JKUAT, AAU, AUCC
09.30 – 09.45 Interlude by JKUAT Choir
09.45 – 10.00 Keynote Address & Official Opening
10.00 – 10.30 Introduction of African and Canadian participants by AAU & AUCC
10.30 – 11.00 Group Photographs and Coffee Break
11.00 – 11.30 PROJECT UPDATE - Prof. John Ssebuwufu, Director of Research and Programmes, AAU - Robert White, Assistant Director Partnership Program, AUCC
11.30 – 12.00 Guidelines for Preparation of Workshop Proceedings - Prof. PAI Obanya, Workshop Rapporteur
12.00 – 16.30 PRESENTATIONS 12.00 – 12.30 (1) A Survey of Africa HEIs on External Stakeholder Relations - Prof. John Ssebuwufu, Director of Research and Programmes, AAU - Ms. Teralynn Ludwick, Project Research Officer, AAU
12.30 – 12.45 Q & A
12.45 – 14.00 Lunch / World Café
14.00 – 14.30 (2) Overview of the Strategic Planning Process in the Context of Stakeholder Relations - Prof. Judith Woodsworth, Strategic Planning Expert
14.30 – 15.00 (3) From Strategy to Action: Development of Implementation Plans - Prof. Judith Woodsworth, Strategic Planning Expert
15.00 – 15.30 Q & A
15.30 – 16.00 (4) A Practical Experience of University-Industry Linkages: The case of Uganda Gatsby Trust - Dr. Joseph K. Byaruhanga, Project Co-ordinator, Uganda Gatsby Trust
16.00 – 16.20 Q & A
16.20 – 16.30 Tea/Coffee Break
16.30 – 17.30 GROUP WORK (facilitated by Prof. J. Woodsworth and Prof. Robert Gichira)
16.30 – 17.00 Small groups discussions between Canadian and African university counterparts to discuss various draft Strategic Plans in the light of earlier discussions
11
17.00 – 17.30 Open Discussions to provide feedback on the day’s activities
18.00 – 20.00 Cocktail Reception (before dinner)
Wed, Nov 30 08.30 – 13.40 PRESENTATIONS & DISCUSSIONS 08.30 – 09.00 Summary of previous day’s activities by workshop facilitators
09.00 – 09.30 (1) Measuring Success: Reporting and Accountability - Prof. J. Woodsworth
09.30 – 09.45 Q & A
09.45 – 10.15 (2) Identifying Risk and Risk Management in the Context of Strategic Planning - Prof. J. Woodsworth
10.15 – 10.30 Q & A
10.30 – 10.45 Tea/Coffee Break
10.45 – 11.15 (3) Industry Linkages in University Strategic Plans - Dr. Joseph K. Byaruhanga, Project Co-ordinator, Uganda Gatsby Trust
11 .15 –11.30 Q & A
11.30 – 12.00 (4) The Canadian Experience on University-External Stakeholder Relations - Mr. Lucien Bradet
12.00 – 12.30 Open Discussions
12.30 – 13.45 Lunch / World Café
13.45 – 14.30 Small Group Discussions University teams (African & Canadian) will break out into working groups to discuss and revise their plans; facilitators will be available to act as resource persons
14.30 – 15.30 Presentation of 3 draft Strategic Plans 3 Groups to present their updated plans at plenary
15.30 – 15.45 Q & A
15.45 – 16.00 Tea/Coffee Break
16.00 – 18.00 NEXT STEPS (chaired by Prof. Robert Gichira)
16.00 – 17.00 Identification of issues and areas for future collaboration among AAU, AUCC and Universities 1) Topics for applied policy research projects (e.g. gender/equity issues; climate change/environmental stewardship) 2) Opportunities for creating regional networks to strengthen research and knowledge development 3) Taking Canadian-African relations to a higher level of cooperation 4) Advocacy strategies & funding prospects
17.00 – 17.30 Next Steps for individual partnerships Interaction between Canadian university representatives and their African counterparts to schedule future activities
12
17.30 – 18.00 Wrap Up - Workshop Facilitators, Profs. Robert Gichira and Judith Woodsworth,
18.15 Appreciation & Workshop Evaluation - Prof. John Ssebuwufu, Mr. Robert White and Dr. Suleman Okech
19.00—21.00 CLOSING DINNER Hosted by JKUAT at Safari Park Hotel
13
ANNEX 3 WORKSHOP EVALUATION
80 Very Good (%) Evaluation of Presentations (1) Good (%) 70 Fair (%) 71 69 Poor (%) 66 60
57 50 54 51 51 51
49 49 46 40 43 43 43 43 40 40 37 30 34 34
31 Responses% in 29 29 26 20 23
10 14 11 11 9 9 9 0 6 3 6 3 0
14
Evaluation of Presentations (2) Very Good (%) Good (%) 70 66 Fair (%) Poor (%) 60 60
54 50 49
51 46 46 51 43 49 43 43 49 49 46 40 43 37 37 40 34 31 Responses%s in 34 30 29
20 17 23 17
11 11 11 11 11 11 10 9 6 6 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
15