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NATIONAL LANGUAGES PROJECT
END OF PROJECT REPORT
Submitted: October 2015
Revised: December 2015
Submitted by: AGRITEAM CANADA CONSULTING LTD. SUITE 200, 14707 BANNISTER ROAD SE CALGARY, ALBERTA T2X 1Z2 PHONE: (403) 253-5298
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... i ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ...... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... iv 1 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT ...... 1 1.1 End of Project Report ...... 1 1.2 Background and Context: Official Languages Policy in Sri Lanka ...... 1 1.3 Programming Context ...... 3 2 PROJECT EVALUATION ...... 5 3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK: END OF PROJECT ...... 10 4 PROJECT APPROACHES AND STRATEGIES ...... 49 5 PROJECT APPROACH TO GENDER EQUALITY ...... 75 6 OVERVIEW OF SURVEY RESULTS ...... 79 6.1 Key Findings of the Survey ...... 79 6.2 Observations and Recommendations ...... 81 7 MANAGEMENT REPORT ...... 83 8 RISKS ...... 89 9 FINANCIAL REPORT ...... 95 10 LESSONS LEARNED AND BEST PRACTICES ...... 96
APPENDICES APPENDIX A: MAP OF GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE OF NLP’S DIRECT INVOLVEMENT APPENDIX B: ROADMAP ACTION PLAN OF DEPARTMENT OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGES (2015 – 2019) APPENDIX C: LOGIC MODEL APPENDIX D: LIST OF CANADIAN AND SRI LANKAN KEY EXPERTS AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS APPENDIX E: STRATEGY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES POLICY OF SRI LANKA (REFERENCE DOCUMENT) APPENDIX F: PROCUREMENT LOG APPENDIX G LIST OF KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS APPENDIX H: PROJECT CLOSE-OUT EVENT
End of Project Report Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. National Languages Project i December 2015 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ACT Advisory Committee on Translation AWP Annual Work Plan BFC Bilingual Facilitation Cells CBO Community-Based Organization CD Compact Disk CSO Civil Society Organization DFATD Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development DOL Department of Official Languages DSD Divisional Secretariat Divisions EOPR End of Project Report GoC Government of Canada GoSL Government of Sri Lanka HEQCO Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario HTB Heal The Bay IALC International Association of Language Commissioners LA Local Authority LCCBOC Low-Country CBO Consortium LD Language Division LLRC Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission MESH Monitoring and Evaluation for Social Harmony MNLSI Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration MOJ Ministry of Justice MOPA Ministry of Public Administration, (Local Government and Democratic Governance) MOU Memorandum of Understanding MPDF Moneragala People’s Development Foundation MSF Media Study Forum NGO Non-governmental Organization NILET National Institute of Language Education and Training NIPA National Integration Promotion Assistant (MNLSI) NLP National Languages Project NLSID National Languages and Social Integration Division OCOL Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (Canada) OISE Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OLBI Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute OLC Official Languages Commission OLP Official Languages Policy PCIA Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment PEF Public Engagement Fund PWG Project Working Group PI Partner Institutions
End of Project Report Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. National Languages Project ii December 2015 Acronyms and Abbreviations
PIP Project Implementation Plan PMF Performance Measurement Framework PRMD Policy, Research and Monitoring Division PSC Project Steering Committee RBM Results-Based Management RDF Rural Development Foundation RECDO Rural Development and Community Development Organization SLCDF Sri Lanka Centre for Development Facilitation SOND Social Organizations Networking for Development TA Technical Assistance TAF The Asia Foundation TEM Technical Exchange Missions ToR Terms of Reference UGC University Grants Commission UO University of Ottawa
End of Project Report Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. National Languages Project iii December 2015 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Project background The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD)-funded National Languages Project (NLP) in Sri Lanka was implemented by Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd (Agriteam). Its implementation period lasted from August 2011 to June 2015. The project was based on a bilateral agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Sri Lanka1. Project partners were the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration (MNLSI) and DFATD. Agriteam was the overall manager with technical assistance (TA) provided by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI) at the University of Ottawa (UO) and The Asia Foundation (TAF) in Sri Lanka. Although the Project was originally conceived as a five-year project, the project’s timeline had to be reduced to four years to reflect the financial resources available. Project activities ceased in April 2015 and the project field office in Colombo closed in June 2015.
This report includes an analysis of project results, program strategies, approach to gender equality, lessons learned and best practices, a summary of risks and mitigation undertaken, and a financial report. In short it tells the story of the NLP – a successful technical assistance project in post conflict Sri Lanka. The project’s ultimate outcome was: “increased respect for language diversity and language rights within the public service and among the citizenry”. The project was a catalyst for the evolution of language planning and increased opportunities for citizens to obtain public information and services in the official language of their choice, and to increase institutional recognition that Sinhala and Tamil must be treated equally and appreciated as national and official languages of the country.
NLP provided practical technical assistance to support the MNLSI to implement the Official Languages Policy of Sri Lanka as set out in Chapter IV of the Constitution2 which provides that the Official Language of Sri Lanka shall be Sinhala and Tamil with English designated as the link language. Sinhala is the language of administration in all provinces with the exception of the Northern and Eastern Provinces where Tamil is the language of administration.
Project Context The NLP was implemented during a dynamic period in the history of Sri Lanka. Agriteam submitted its bid for this project in 2008 when Sri Lanka was still in the throes of the 30-year conflict. The project design and implementation phases were conducted during a post-conflict stage. From the beginning, the NLP team worked to build the political/administrative support of the MNLSI and in particular with the Honourable Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Madame Secretary Mrs. Wickramasinghe. Their leadership as language champions was invaluable throughout the project and contributed to its ultimate success. Throughout this fluid period, NLP flourished as a result of the excellent relationships developed and trust built between and among project partners. This dynamic, coupled with the quality and
1 A MOU with respect to the project was signed in Colombo on June 28, 2011. 2 1978 as amended by the 13th (1987) and 16th (1988) Amendments
End of Project Report Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. National Languages Project iv December 2015 Executive Summary sensitivity of the Canadian advisors, produced an excellent environment for learning and knowledge transfer throughout implementation.
The project ends as Sri Lanka enters a new more democratic period that many feel opens the door to genuine reconciliation. January 2015 saw President Maithripala Sirisena elected on a mandate to tackle corruption, restore the rule of law and strengthen democratic governance. A new government absorbed the MNLSI under the Ministry of Public Administration, Local Government and Democratic Governance (MOPA). In September 2015, following parliamentary elections, a National Government was formed with 48 ministries. The languages portfolio again was given its own ministry, the Ministry of National Dialogue under the leadership of Honorable Minister Mano Ganeshan, a progressive politician of Indian Tamil origin from Colombo who speaks both official languages. These are clear signals that the Government of Sri Lanka remains committed to support the implementation of the official languages policy to enhance the reconciliation process.
The External Evaluation of the Project In May 2014 an external evaluation concluded that NLP is a well-designed, well documented project. ..that offered a systematic and sustained approach to institutional strengthening for the Ministry and each of its institutions’… Management has invested strategically to maximize results and has made appropriate use of human resources…there is no shortage of evidence that NLP was relevant to the needs of Sri Lanka and that it continues to have high level administrative-political endorsement. It is used by the Government of Sri Lanka to demonstrate progress in the implementation of Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations regarding official languages policy. As a responsive project it was highly relevant to the needs of the Ministry and its three institutes”.
The Evaluation found that at Intermediate Outcome Level, NLP had succeeded in providing intensive technical support for the development of a government-wide Roadmap. The TA included a process to gather data on the bilingual capacity of 5,000 public institutions. The resulting database informs the language action plans of these institutions and the overarching Roadmap. The Evaluation Team expressed confidence that the end result would be “a high-quality comprehensive national plan, based on the mechanisms in place, and the resources and energy committed by MNLSI leadership and staff” but also notes that the Roadmap will require a long-term financial commitment from the Government of Sri Lanka.
The Evaluation Team further found that the NLP offered a systematic and sustained approach to institutional strengthening for the Ministry and each of its institutions through Technical Exchange Missions (TEMs); visits, reports and follow-up mentoring by Canadian TA providers; capacity building workshops; development of resources and tools; and financial and/or material contributions. For the most part, recommendations were readily taken up, confirming the relevance of these inputs to needs and tailored to absorptive capacity.
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Approaches and Strategies to Achieve Results: Capacity Development Approach The NLP’s TA was delivered within a capacity development framework grounded in a participatory approach. It was conceived as a process of individual, organizational and institutional change facilitated by both internal and external interventions.
The project partners endorsed this approach and formulated specific capacity development interventions. The capacity development framework was used to develop the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) whose work focused on promoting and advocating for language rights, bilingualism, respect for linguistic diversity and social integration at national and local levels. The NLP provided ongoing training and TA to ensure that new skills and concepts were understood and applied. Project staff worked with partners to ensure that behavioral changes were institutionalized, thus enhancing sustainability.
A key feature of the project was its responsiveness to real needs. The Secretary of MNLSI, Mrs. Wickramasinghe, led the TEM to Canada during the design phase, which exposed her delegation to Canada’s experience in implementing the official languages at the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal levels. The delegation was able to identify Canadian experiences and resources relevant to the Sri Lankan context and to collaborate with their Canadian counterparts to finalize the design of NLP. After this initial exchange, the Secretary and her team were supported by Agriteam to develop the project implementation plan. The project was designed to maximize the “value added” that Canada had to offer within very tight fiscal constraints.
Project approach to Gender Equality The NLP supported the Ministry to mainstream gender into its work. This was quite an accomplishment as it was the first time that any Sri Lankan ministry had done so. The NLP made gender mainstreaming a key focus of programming from its inception. Gender was treated as more than a ‘cross-cutting’ issue, and efforts were made at every stage, process and approach to actively work towards gender equality through targeted programming and project support. The NLP gender team included a Gender Advisor together with two Gender Focal Points who ensured that gender was mainstreamed into the work of NLP and project partners: MNLSI, Department of Official Languages (DOL), National Institute of Language Education and Training (NILET), Official Languages Commission (OLC), language clusters, community-based organizations (CBO) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The project also, implemented strategical initiatives to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The evaluation found3 that: “NLP has developed a very strong agenda for mainstreaming gender equality considerations through all its activities and it has promoted these effectively to its partners, including MNLSI, DOL OLC, NILET, public engagement fund (PEF) awardees, TAF and model site institutions”.
Management Approach The project’s management approach was to ensure strategic use of project resources through planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, using results-based management (RBM). Decision-making
3 At page 61 of the Evaluation report
End of Project Report Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. National Languages Project vi December 2015 Executive Summary flowed horizontally as well as vertically within the project team and with key implementing partners. The project modeled good management practices, ensuring a participatory approach that was transparent, effective and efficient.
Project management also mirrored language rights and practices envisioned by the Official Languages Policy. Project staff represented both linguistic communities in Sri Lanka. Trilingual office staff in Colombo communicated with partners and stakeholders in the language of their choosing: English, Sinhala or Tamil. All project workshops and project managers modeled linguistic inclusion by co-chairing these events using Sinhala, Tamil and English. Trilingual invitations, agendas and event materials were produced. Key knowledge products4 such as the Guidebook for the Preparation of Language Plans by Public Institutions and Training of Trainers manuals were produced in the three languages. One objective of this “modeling” was to inspire the ministry to practically demonstrate implementation of the Official Languages Policy. As result the ministry, now as a matter of policy produces trilingual and or bilingual materials for all major events and meetings and re-packaged Official Languages and Related Laws in a trilingual format. The Presidential Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office recently issued a directive that all correspondence must be answered in the language of submission. In November 2015, the President directed the officials of his secretariat to send trilingual minutes/reports of the All Party Conference meetings.
The project office in Colombo was under the leadership of Don Brownell, who, for the past 22 years has worked on development projects in Sri Lanka. His expertise and understanding of the political and cultural environment in Sri Lanka and his excellent rapport with government officials allowed NLP to quickly gain the trust of government partners. He was aided in this by locally-engaged project staff that was sensitive to the realities and constraints of public service employees. The project’s key Canadian expert was Hilaire Lemoine, from the OLBI at the UO. He marshalled Canadian experts, provided them with in-depth briefings on the project’s context and ensured that advice offered by the project was consistent and relevant to the needs of the Ministry. Through Mr. Lemoine, strong institutional linkages were developed inter alia, with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL); the Treasury Board Secretariat for Official Languages, Canadian Heritage, the Canada School of Public Service, and UO’s OLBI, the School of Translation and Interpretation, and the Faculty of Law.
Monitoring and measuring performance were critical components of project management. Performance measurement was critical to planning and results reporting. Lessons learned were incorporated into annual work plans (AWPs). Using RBM principles enabled the project to maximize efficiency and effectiveness and to assess its developmental impact. The PMF was developed collaboratively and modified on occasion to reflect the advancement of the project and project partners were involved in the measurement of qualitative and quantitative indicators.
4 See Appendix 4 for a complete listing of knowledge products
End of Project Report Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. National Languages Project vii December 2015 Executive Summary
Project Results DFATD referred to the NLP as its “flagship” project in Sri Lanka. Significant results were achieved through the project’s short tenure. MNLSI effectively utilized Canada’s TA to develop a government-wide Roadmap to implement its official languages policy and to draft its action plan. These results are significant given that this was the first time that such a comprehensive planning process had been employed by any ministry within the government of Sri Lanka. However, further assistance is needed to consolidate the results achieved as MNLSI coordinates and supports the work of the other ministries to develop their own action plans.
The DOL through NLP has an operational translation centre with trained translators. There is a need for DOL – as recommended in the Survey on Translation – to establish a quality control mechanism for all translation services across the country and to articulate a functional guidance.
The NLP has facilitated an effective twinning between the Canadian OCOL and the OLC in Sri Lanka. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has provided staff to work closely with the Commissioner’s counterpart in Sri Lanka to develop a tool kit of resources to monitor and audit the implementation of the official languages policy. As a result of this collaboration, the Sri Lankan Official Languages Commission has joined the International Association of Language Commissioners (IALC). At their first conference in May of 2015, OLC participated on a panel with the Language Commissioner of Kosovo to discuss the challenges of implementing official languages policy in a post conflict environment. Membership in IALC has given OLC an opportunity to participate and draw on experiences of the larger international community of language commissioners.
The Treasury Board Official Languages Centre of Excellence provided Mr. Marc Tremblay, Executive Director of the Official Languages Centre of Excellence, to work with the MNLSI to develop a number of tools for the official languages policy implementation. The TEM in September 2013 for Ministry officials, NILET and University academics forged new relations and linkages with Canadian institutions and universities that will continue after the project is completed.
The ultimate outcome of the project was “increased respect for language diversity and language rights within the public service and among the citizenry”. NLP contributed to this by enhancing Sri Lanka’s capacity to undertake more effective medium and long-term planning and implementation of their official languages policy. The project increased opportunities for citizens to obtain public information and services in the official language of their choice. This led to increased respect and appreciation for Sinhala and Tamil as equal national and official languages. Evidence of the Government’s increasing respect for language diversity was the Unity Conference in April 2014 where a “Peoples’ Charter for National Unity” was signed by the President as well as members of the Cabinet and citizens at large. This charter recognized “the right of every citizen to use and demand services in Sinhala and Tamil.”
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Project results are summarized below: Ultimate Outcome 100: Expected Result: Increased respect for Language Diversity and Language Rights within the Public Service & among the Citizenry Intermediate Outcome Enhanced public sector leadership of official languages policies and programs 1000 Immediate Outcome Increased capacity of the MNLSI to plan, manage, monitor & mainstream gender in 1100 implementation of the official languages policy and other policies related to their mandate Development of a Language Roadmap as a government-wide planning exercise to ensure that official languages are integrated into the work of ministries and government institutions. A baseline survey conducted to assess the current status of official languages policy implementation from participating government institutions on bilingual capacity of employees and bilingual services being offered to the public. The results are used by government institutions to develop their 5 year action plans. The development of a “Planning, Research, and Monitoring Division” to support the road map process. Institutional linkages Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Official Languages Centre of Excellence, Canadian Heritage and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Technical Exchange Missions to Canada in 2012 and 2013; nurturing institutional relationships while working on specific project activities. Enhanced human resources Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs have approved new cadre positions to address chronic shortages in staff responsible for implementing official languages. Over the past three years MNLSI has hired 210 additional staff; OLC has 12 approved professional positions where before there were none; DOL has had 18 new translator positions approved; and the University Grants Commission (UGC) approved two new cadre positions at each of the three Universities for the new BA program in translation. 2,173 staff trained on information technology, team building, personal leadership and gender awareness. MNLSI has strengthened its regional outreach to provide bilingual services to the public with the establishment of Bilingual Facilitation Cells (BFCs). With NLP’s assistance, it has identified five BFC to pilot best practices and strengthen their capacity to serve citizens in the language of their choice. Key knowledge products produced by MNLSI to support change: A “Guidebook for the Preparation of Language Plans by the Public Institutions”, and “Official Languages Policy and Related Laws : 3,000 copies with CDs A series of technical papers to support the evolvement of the “Roadmap” process Roadmap template for collecting baseline information and establishment of a data base to produce information for the official languages policy implementation Template for developing 5 year action plans Proposal for the Strengthening of a Planning, Research and Policy Division at the MMLSI MNLSI Report of the Pre Training Gender Assessment and MNLSI Gender sensitization workshop report and NLP Gender Equality Strategy Case studies of language plans implemented in local institutions Official Languages Commission (OLC) Recommissioning of a the “Language Resources Needs Assessment Survey” Language audit of 400 stalls at Dayata Kirula, a government development exhibition Development and production of Public Awareness Campaign materials.
End of Project Report Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. National Languages Project ix December 2015 Executive Summary