Practical Case of Resident Technical Assistance.

n°43

June 2012

Evaluation and Capitalisation Series

exPost ExPost

Practical Case of Resident Technical Assistance Lessons Learned from Support to the Education Sector in Mauritania

Denis Lecallo, 2AC Associés Audit & Conseil Romain André, AFD

Contact: Pascal Brouillet, Evaluation and Capitalisation Division, AFD

Research Department Evaluation and Capitalisation Unit Agence Française de Développement 5, rue Roland Barthes 75012 Paris - France Evaluation prospective • Projet Urban IV • www.afd.fr

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Disclaimer

This evaluation has been financed by AFD. The observations, assessments and recommendations expressed in this report are the sole responsibility of their authors.

Publications Director: Dov ZERAH Editorial Director: Laurent FONTAINE ISSN: 1958-590X Copyright: 2nd quarter 2012 Layout: Eric THAUVIN

Practical Case of Resident Technical Assistance

Table of Contents

Foreword

5

1. Background

7

1.1.

The emergence of the concept of capacity development (CD)

7

1.2.

AFD’s project to support CD

7

1.3.

Resident technical assistance

8

1.4.

Practical case of support to the National Education Sector Development Programme (PNDSE)

8

2. Analytical Framework

11

2.1.

The characteristics of the resident technical assistant (RTA)

11

2.2.

The questions that the study seeks to answer

12

2.3.

The three levels of CD

12

3. Perceptions

15

3.1.

How the concept of CD is perceived

15

3.2.

How the RTA is perceived

16

4. Observations

19

4.1.

The match between the request for support and the expertise offer

19

4.2.

Environment and institutional positioning of RTAs

21

4.3

Professional practices of RTAs

23

4.4.

Management and supervision system for RTAs

26

5. Lessons Learned 5.1.

27

Summary of analyses

27

5.2.

Nine key messages

28

5.3.

Implementation processes for RTA

29

Conclusion

33

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

35

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Foreword

Since the Paris Declaration, the topic of “capacity development” has gained considerable momentum in the reflection on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The international community had previously relied on heterogeneous practices and had pursued sometimes contradictory objectives. It therefore felt the need to overhaul this notion and come up with a common vision of what issues it involves. And these are major issues because, according to the DAC/OECD definition (2006), capacity development refers to “the process by which people, organisations and society as a whole create, strengthen and maintain their capacity over time”.

Against this background, AFD, like other donors, decided to conduct strategic reflection on capacity development. The aim is to enhance the quality of its operations and thus ensure that there is a sustainable impact on the performance of its partner organisations. This project necessarily entails a phase to capitalise on AFD’s current practices, and notably on its assistance methods. The history of one of them, resident technical assistance (RTA), makes it a focus of attention.

The aim of the capitalisation is to use a practical case in order to learn lessons from the strengths and weaknesses of RTA as a tool to support capacity development and to map out ways to improve it and make it more effective.

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1. Background

1.1. The emergence of the concept of capacity development (CD)

Since the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005),

principle can notably be seen as questioning the tendency of

capacity development (CD) has become a core concern for

aid to create its own aid delivery mechanisms, thus circumven-

development stakeholders. Indeed, it is now accepted that

ting the systems of recipient countries and de facto limiting its

“the capacity (of aid recipients) to plan, manage and

impact on local capacities.

implement policies and programmes is critical for achieving development objectives”. The rather late affirmation of this Box 1. Definitions of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (DAC/OECD) and its lessons The DAC-OECD defines capacities as “the ability of people, organisations and society as a whole to manage their affairs successfully” and capacity development as a “process whereby people, organisations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt and maintain capacity over time”. Capacity development is therefore similar to a change process based on three interdependent levels: individual (knowledge and skills of individuals), organisational (quality and performance of organisations) and general (institutions, structure of authority and power). Finally, support to capacity development refers to what external partners (donors for example) “can do to support, facilitate or catalyse” these endogenous dynamics of change.

1.2. AFD’s project to support CD

AFD, like other donors, has launched a strategic reflection on

The donor’s role is to support these partners by, of course,

support to CD. The aim is to identify AFD’s leeway to reinforce

giving them access to financing, but also to expertise that (i)

its support to partners and thus increase the impact on their

extends their knowledge repository in order to improve

performance (capacity to better define and achieve their

decision-making, (ii) supports the definition of change

objectives and to analyse and meet the requirements of their

processes and (iii) supports their implementation over time. To

environment). If the issue of capacity development is, as

achieve this, the donor can use different operating methods,

inferred by the OECD/DAC definition, “global” for a partner,

which are all potential channels for CD: (i) AFD’s own know-

this is also the case for the donor that supports it. Indeed,

how (sectoral and project management expertise), which can

organisations are constantly evolving and, like it or not, are

be shared, (ii) funding for external consultancy services, which

involved in change processes that are more or less far-

may take several forms,1 including resident technical

reaching, structured and coherent over time and have an

assistance (RTA), which is the subject of the present study.

impact on performance that is partly unpredictable.

1

A distinction is made between resident (or long-term) technical assistance, short-term or iterative consultancy, training and the exchange of experience.

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1.3. Resident technical assistance

Strategic reflection on support to CD necessarily entails a

the 1990s and the need for it to change with regard to new aid

diagnostic phase on AFD’s current practices, particularly on

methods (and to the changeover to AFD procedures), it

the use that is made of the different tools to support CD,

appeared necessary to conduct a more detailed analysis in

including RTA. AFD set in motion a specific review of this tool

order to:

back in 20072 since it had taken over a significant amount of RTA that had previously been managed by the French Ministry

(i) learn more about methods for providing and implementing RTA;

of Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE), within the framework of an extension of its mandate in 2004. In view of the volume

(ii) learn lessons from its strengths and weaknesses in terms of support to CD;

of RTA now financed by AFD, the operational opportunities offered by this tool, but also the criticisms it had received since

(iii) identify ways of improving the way it is used in order to increase its impact on the performance of partners.

1.4. Practical case of support to the National Education Sector Development Programme (PNDSE)

The “Capacity Development Programme for the National

• A project that follows on from a long series of French

Education Administration” in Mauritania (CMR 3012) financed

operations, characterised notably by the implementation of

by AFD in support of the PNDSE provides a particularly

extensive RTA systems since 1987 comprising up to forty

valuable area of analysis for capitalising on RTA for several

consultants. The project in question follows more directly on from the Education System Reform Support Project (ARSEM),

reasons:

which was initially managed by MAEE and was subsequently • The volume and duration of RTAs make it possible to

transferred to AFD in the autumn of 2005. Although this trans-

examine a wide range of medium-term experiences.

fer did not lead to any reorientations in the project’s objectives,

Indeed, this programme relies exclusively on the RTA tool by

it was, however, adapted to AFD procedures. This primarily

financing ten RTA consultants who are assigned to different

means a changeover from MAEE as the contracting authority

entities. Moreover, although the period of analysis begins in

to a local project ownership (managed by the Mauritanian

2006 (when the project began), the ex post analysis may go

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development – MAED) with a

back further because five of the ten RTAs were on assignment

new contractual method for RTAs (from a direct contract with

under MAEE financing prior to the transfer to AFD.

MAEE to a contract between a service provider and the MAED).

2

AFD (2007), Review of Resident Technical Assistance Financed by AFD, Ex Post n° 9, AFD/EVA, November, Paris.

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Box 2. The PNDSE Mauritania has been implementing a National Education System Development Program (PNDSE) since 2001. It covers the entire education system, from pre-school to higher education, including technical and vocational training. Following the reform in 1999, Mauritania’s basic education system became bilingual (Arabic and French), with teaching in French in scientific disciplines from the 3rd primary grade onwards. This reform poses numerous challenges, first and foremost for the teachers who must de facto be or become bilingual. Although the 2010 National Education System Review (RESEN) recorded significant progress, notably in terms of access, it turns out that the reform process is still having teething problems. This can be seen with the difficulties in improving results in terms of quality. This first phase of the PNDSE, which covers the period 2001-2010, has reached completion and entered into a review period in 2010.

The present project, for which the financing agreement was

worth EUR 5.5m, therefore aims to support the implementation

signed in June 2006, maintained the operating method of the

of three of the four PNDSE components (strengthen sector

ARSEM project, i.e. a near-exclusive use of RTAs,3 with a

management, improve the quality and effectiveness of basic

partial redeployment refocusing their support on the central

and secondary education and improve the effectiveness and

administrations and extending it to specific branches of

relevance of technical and vocational training) by relying on

technical and vocational training. The CMR 3012 financing,

the RTA system (see Table 1).

Table 1. List of RTAs financed by CMR 3012 RTA Positions

Assignment entities

Positions renewed (former ARSEM) Consultant in decentralised education planning

DFIP/MEFS

Consultant in participatory education management

DSSP/MEFS

Consultant in initial teacher training

DFP/MEFS

Consultant in teaching French as a foreign language and bilingualism

DEF/MEFS

Consultant in continuous training

DFIP/MEFS

New positions Consultant in human resource management

DRH/MEFS

Education economist consultant

DRP/MEFS

TVT* consultant (building sector)

INAP-FTP

TVT consultant (industrial sector)

INAP-FTP

TVT consultant (service sector)

INAP-FTP

*TVT: Technical and vocational training.

Source: AFD documents.

AFD also provided budget support to the PNDSE investment programme in conjunction with this project.

3 Nine of the ten consultants are RTAs under contract with France coopération internationale (FCI). Only one consultant (education economist), provided by a private consulting firm, has changed his support method into iterative missions during project implementation.

AFD (2007), Technical Assistance and Capacity Building: Issues and Main Trends, Ex-post n° 10, AFD/EVA, December 2007, Paris.

AFD (2007), Resident Technical Assistance Financed by AFD, Synthesis Report, Ex-post n° 3, AFD/EVA, November, Paris.

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2. Analytical Framework

The analytical framework for the study is partly based on

profession interpret it in a similar manner?).

organisational theory. Indeed, examining the impact that an RTA

It should also be noted that the term “capacity development”

has on capacity development in a sector and/or on an entity is

is not known outside the sphere of development cooperation.

tantamount to analysing the contribution a stakeholder

Management specialists speak of “change management”

makes to the development of a system. This is in fact a

when they refer to support to changes in companies or

common field of reflection (do we not question ourselves about

administrations that aim to improve their performance in a

our position, or that of others, within an organisation?). It is

constantly changing environment. Although the notion of

mainly intuitive (the analysis of the causality of organisational

“change management” is similar to that of “capacity

phenomena is based as much on our perception and on our

development”, the two notions have emerged in different

experience as it is on objective and/or theoretical foundations)

contexts and use very different methods and tools; for

and gives random results (do two individuals with the same

example, RTA is a specific development cooperation tool.

2.1. The characteristics of a resident technical assistant (RTA)

The RTA has characteristics that should first be identified:

in the case of the project in question). This is what makes RTA different not only from other forms of CD, but also from all other

• his activity is affected by a legacy related to French

types of service provision;

cooperation; • he must, when providing support to capacity development, • he is assigned to a sociocultural environment to which he generally does not belong;

be able to adopt a professional attitude that may be “unnatural” as he is asked to “transfer his skills” and, to a certain extent, to work until he himself gradually becomes

• he is at the centre of a contractual system binding at least

unnecessary within the organisation;

three stakeholders: the contracting authority (where the signatory to the service contract and the RTA’s assignment entity may be separate), his employer and the donor;

• he may receive extremely varied and even ambivalent requests (see Box 3).

• he is resident, i.e. he is permanently immersed in the assignment entity over a long period (between 3 and 9 years

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Box 3. The functions of RTA The studies published by AFD (see note 2) in 2007 highlight the diversity of the missions that are conducted in parallel or successively by the RTAs. They can be grouped into four main functions: • the “capacity development” function: support to individuals, organisations or systems, with the aim of improving their performance, supporting them in their processes of change and for the definition/implementation of public policies; • the “knowledge production” function: provision of a service (study…) corresponding to the partner’s decision to outsource an activity; • the “operational implementation” function: substitution of activities supposed to be handled by the partner (a position in the hierarchy of the local administration, project management and/or control of financing, notably external financing) in order to help it conduct its operations; • the “influence” function: support to the definition of policies in connection with the strategies of a donor/funder.

This exercise of categorising by function makes it possible to differentiate the missions given to RTAs. It becomes apparent that the objectives sought with this tool may deviate from that of sustainably improving the performance of the assignment entity and may meet different concerns that are sometimes not those of the beneficiary.

2.2. The questions that the study seeks to answer The study aims to provide some answers to questions concerning:

• the RTA: - How does he integrate a functional and administrative

• the environment of the RTA:

system?

- How is the topic of capacity development perceived?

- How is the activity of the RTA perceived and what expectations does it meet?

- How can he stimulate or support collective action or a change process?

- How does he ensure that the change is sustainable and that

- How is the RTA used and what are the management and supervision methods?

the performance of the activities that are supported continually improves?

- How does the environment influence RTA missions?

2.3. The three levels of CD

The analysis of the contributions that RTAs make to CD is

the partner. The production of deliverables only represents a

made by using a conceptual framework structured according

final product that is not sufficient to ensure that there is an

to three levels of result:

impact on capacities. Indeed, there is nothing upstream to

1. The production of deliverables, which calls on the

guarantee that local teams have been involved in their design

“crude” technical expertise of the RTA in response to a request

or that they actually provide a response to their concerns.

made by the beneficiary. This function is similar to “knowledge

There is also nothing downstream to guarantee that they will

production” in response to a decision to outsource made by

be used following the departure of the RTA.

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2. The guarantee of a use, i.e. of a technical appropriation

effectiveness of which depends on the way the whole system

of the tool by the beneficiaries and that it is effectively used.

operates, both upstream and downstream. The RTA has

This level refers to the efforts the RTA makes with the teams

conducted an organisational change management process

to ensure that they have a technical command of the tool. It is

and has ensured that the process to design the tool was

a prerequisite for capacity development, but it is not sufficient,

participatory by involving not only the direct users of the tool in

as the RTA’s efforts may focus too closely on the tool and its

this process, but also the technical stakeholders upstream

direct users without, at its design stage, considering the entire

(input providers) and downstream (users of the output from the

production system into which it is integrated or the

tool), as well as middle management and the decision-making

organisational adjustments that its introduction involves.

levels for the system.

The risk is that the tool will be inappropriate or used in a counterproductive manner.

In addition to the activities conducted and deliverables produced by the RTA, the study therefore seeks to understand

3. Making a change sustainable, which will come from

and analyse the processes by which the RTA implements his

efforts to adapt technical, organisational or institutional

expertise in the human and organisational environment in

processes to the new tools. This specifically involves adopting

which he is situated. It starts from the premise that the support

a systems approach to their design and development. The tool

process, the way of “delivering the service”, is decisive in

has been designed to be a link in a production system, the

ensuring that there is a sustainable acquisition of knowledge.

Box 4. The need to differentiate between which functions to internalise and which ones to outsource Although the study does not specifically address this issue, it is necessary to complete the analytical framework by differentiating between which functions to internalise and which ones to outsource.

• In the first case, the support to CD takes on its full meaning because it should allow skills and working methods to be internalised by the beneficiary.

• In the second case, the CD dimension is not at the level of the delivery of the service, but at the level of the functions of managing the outsourced service (defining demand, recruiting the service provider and supervising and taking receipt of the deliverable), which must be internalised by the beneficiary.

This “strategic choice” between internalisation and outsourcing stems from an analysis of the beneficiary’s missions and of the core activities that it must develop internally, which correspond to its “core business”. The other activities that are on the periphery of its core mission, or that support this mission, may be outsourced to a service provider. Budgetary constraints are a parameter that is also taken into account in this choice.

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3. Perceptions

3.1. How the concept of CD is perceived

• CD as a process for change and performance improvement

It is also interesting to note that no real explanation can be

is ultimately understood and accepted by stakeholders

found among the different stakeholders of how the term

(national officials, donors and RTAs), but the notion requires

capacity development came into being. Indeed, they did not

prior explanation. Indeed, although CD has been a term

perceive any profound change in the way they design and

commonly used by development professionals for several

implement this type of operation. It would therefore appear that

years now, it is a notion that spontaneously refers to often

CD remained at the conceptual stage, and did not lead to an

restrictive content and rarely to improving the performance of

overhauled operational approach. However, this emergence

a system or organisation.

may result in one value, that of bringing stakeholders to examine the stated objectives of CD, the different ways to support

• A term that is not sufficiently precise concerning the

CD and the definition of the very notion of capacities.

stated objectives. All stakeholders (national officials, donors and RTAs) have some difficulty in understanding the very term

• A notion better understood when it is seen in the light

capacity development and in situating it with regard to the more

of performance improvement. When the topic of CD is

comprehensive issues of a sector or organisation. Certain

addressed in terms of the performance of an organisation, it is

spontaneous reflexes undoubtedly contribute to limiting its scope:

perceived more clearly and enjoys some consensus. It is therefore the organisation, the production system, that finds

-

CD can thus refer to satisfying individual needs (the

itself at the heart of reflection, as well as its capacity to meet

acquisition of knowledge, notably through training and study

an objective: (i) by optimising the use of its resources, (ii) by

visits) and functional needs (equipment), without a direct link

establishing efficient processes that allow high quality services

being established between this satisfaction and the

to be provided, (iii) by having tools and a framework for

achievement of sectoral objectives. In one respect, benefiting

dialogue that allow the results to be monitored/evaluated and

from CD support can therefore be compared to a form of

the required adjustments to be made, (iv) by having a

personal recognition, a way of improving one’s working

responsive capacity to adapt to the requirements of one’s

conditions and of compensating for material dissatisfaction;

environment (satisfaction of the beneficiaries of the service, reform process…). In this case, CD is therefore no longer only

- CD is sometimes also directly expressed in terms of

understood as a means of satisfying an operating requirement,

resources (RTA, training…) without, however, managing to

but also as a long-term investment aiming to sustainably

identify the underlying needs and to link it to results and

increase the overall performance of an organisation and/or

objectives within the organisation. This can therefore lead to a

sector.

hasty transcription of needs into a request for support.

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• An operational scope that remains limited. This new

• Reflection that refers to donor practices. The donors we

dimension of capacity development raises new questions:

met also found it difficult to explain the term of capacity

How to enable systems thinking? How to work on the system?

development and give it a practical definition. This may be due

These conceptual and operational difficulties would appear to

to the fact that development programmes focus on achieving

be widely shared both by PNDSE stakeholders, donors and

“end of pipe” results (primary education completion rate for

RTAs. They reveal not only the complexity of understanding a

example), which can limit the attention given to the

system in its entirety, but also, and especially, the difficulty of

effectiveness and quality of the processes by which these

developing it in order to continuously improve its performance.

results are delivered. The capacities required to conduct

The systems approach that is inherent to capacity develop-

activities are therefore often classified under “critical

ment would therefore appear to have structural value. This is,

hypotheses” in the project’s logical framework and will only be

however, limited from an operational perspective since

subject to an ex post verification. In some cases, the very

stakeholders cannot fully control the organisational and

procedures of donors (project approach with outsourced

institutional dimensions, which are the main performance

management, commitment schedule, etc.) pose constraints on

levers and inhibitors to change.

the implementation of an endogenous change process.

3.2. How the RTA is perceived

The way in which the RTA is perceived and what is expected

• Support, an implicit competence. In addition to this

of him varies depending on the stakeholders. While everyone

“crude” technical expertise, the RTA’s support is rarely

agrees on the benefits of technical expertise, the use that is

mentioned, i.e. his capacity to understand the needs of the

made of it concerns a whole host of objectives. Indeed, it

assignment entity, plan and implement work programmes with

would appear that the RTA’s technical expertise is sometimes

it and deploy methods that allow an effective and sustainable

used less for sustainably developing the capacities of an

acquisition of skills. This aspect of “change management”,

entity than for its temporary valuation.

which is generally only mentioned in the terms of reference (ToR) as the “ability to work in a team”, therefore tends to

• The benefits of technical expertise. The input provided by

remain implicit during the provision of the service. The latter

technical expertise is the main expectation vis-à-vis the RTA.

depends on the contracting authority’s capacity to manage the

There are different benefits expected from this expertise, such

RTA and integrate him into structured processes and on the

as a “theoretical upgrading” of teams, an enhancement of their

way in which the RTA understands his job and organises his

“body of knowledge” via exchanges of experience and the

activities. It is ultimately a “by-product” of the technical service

RTA’s outside and critical view of activities, writing skills and IT

that is brought about by a combination of largely random

literacy. Partners also refer to the methodological input of the

factors, such as the RTA’s ability to act as a “coach”, the

RTA whereby an activity can be designed differently, equipped

fertility of the ground in the assignment entity and the

with tools, have new parameters introduced and be organised

contracting authority’s awareness of this aspect of the service.

as a process.

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• Drawn towards a substitute role. The RTA’s skills are reassuring and can naturally lead the entity to ask him to carry

the status of the RTA by giving him influence with his national colleagues and with the hierarchy of his assignment entity.

out day-to-day operating activities that are normally internalised. Different forces draw the RTA towards substitution:

- The low level of skills: the RTAs have highlighted the fact that they may, in consultation with the contracting authority, be

- Having to manage the legacy related to the French (FTA),4

required to act as a substitute in order to periodically

which reveals a certain amount of

compensate for certain shortcomings in the operation of the

confusion between the “cooperant”, a French civil servant

entity. This form of intentional substitution may be justified if it

under contract with the French Foreign Ministry (MAEE) and

is, right from the very beginning, part of a gradual process to

seconded to a foreign administration, and the “consultant”, a

develop capacities for which it strengthens the basis.

technical assistant

service provider who has a “customer relationship” with the administration where he is working. This legacy hangs over

• The strategic interest of RTA. In addition to the expertise

certain national officials, donors, but also over certain RTAs,

provided by the RTA, his status may have a strategic interest

who may experience some difficulty in “switching from a role

for the beneficiaries. Due to his “neutrality”, he may be

as a civil servant to that of a consultant”.

perceived as being a stakeholder that is external to political and administrative interaction and who can therefore

- The broad scope of the ToR of the RTA, whose missions

effectively convey messages between national stakeholders.

can cover all those of his assignment entity. This broad scope

The RTA is also a “vector of external resources” through his

of support contributes to some confusion between substitution

ability to mobilise financing or expertise from his networks and

and capacity development activities.5 For example, while the

to have access to a whole host of knowledge bases.

case of a short-term consultancy mission may be termed as management consultancy to the entity, the residential nature of

• The mutual benefits of capacity development. Capacity

the RTA may carry the risk of him becoming an outsourced

development is not a process that is only to the advantage of

backstop for the entity.

beneficiaries. Contrary to the traditional idea of “skills transfers”, which implies an imbalance between an active

- The integration strategy of the RTA who, arriving in a new

expert “who gives” and passive beneficiaries “who receive”,

professional environment, must gain the acceptance of his

the relationship between the RTA and the entity he supports is

colleagues and build his credibility in the eyes of the hierarchy.

based on sharing and pooling expertise and experience in

This stage generally involves being readily available to answer

order to “build change together”. Everyone makes their own

the different requests. It may subsequently be difficult for him

contribution to this relationship and the RTA certainly gains

to get out of them and they may deviate him towards a substi-

knowledge and experience from it. The Mauritanian

tute role.

administration has rightly pointed out that most of the RTAs that have worked in the country have gone on to become

- Comfort and mutual enhancement: the RTA’s involvement

international technical consultants in demand. Capacity

in day-to-day operations provides a “free service” with a

development will therefore come about by pooling knowledge

guarantee of quality and contributes to increasing the standing

between experts and beneficiaries.

of the entity and its managers. This situation also enhances 4 As

was mentioned on several occasions during the mission.

5

Conversely, if the ToR are too specific there is a risk that the service offer will be too rigid and difficult to adapt to changing needs.

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4. Observations

Four aspects of the experience of the RTA system in Mauritania’s education sector and its contribution to the PNDSE have been analysed:

• the environment and institutional positioning of RTAs and their impact on the services; • the professional practices implemented by the RTAs; • the management and supervision system for the RTAs.

• the processes to define the request for available RTAs;

4.1. The match between the request for support and the expertise offer

• A participatory appraisal based on the priorities of the PNDSE...

The AFD appraisal mission conducted in March 2006 took

appear to have been explored) and the uniform duration of the consultant services (3 years), despite widely varying needs and missions.

place in a participatory manner and involved all the relevant Mauritanian entities. The latter confirmed that for the first time,

- An alignment “in principle” with the PNDSE. Although the

this appraisal gave them the opportunity to really “state their

project’s logical framework is closely aligned with the

views” on the content of the support. This has notably led to a

orientations of the PNDSE, this relationship is much weaker

logical framework for the project that is aligned with three of

when it comes to the ToR of the RTAs, which are, however, the

the four topic areas of the PNDSE. There has also been a

operational component of the logical framework. The ex post

focus upstream on the positioning of the RTAs (the

comparison of the consistency of the RTAs’ activities with the

Mauritanian side had expressed the need to redeploy the

sub-components of the PNDSE, and even more so with the

system in central entities in order to (i) leverage the education

activities scheduled in the PNDSE’s annual action plans,

system, (ii) avoid the RTAs being under-utilised by fragile and

therefore proved to be a complex task.

poorly managed entities).

- The absence of an operating method. Apart from the • ...but which with hindsight shows some weaknesses

transmission channels for RTA activity reports, there is no

Despite being decided by consensus, the continuity with the

operating method to define the exchanges between the

ARSEM project led to a hybrid project based on an MAEE ope-

different stakeholders and the possible synergies with the

rating method but applied to AFD procedures. This results in

dialogue engaged in under the PNDSE’s sectoral framework.

certain weaknesses:

An outside observer could also be surprised by the lack of attention given to the project’s management/supervision

- The uniformity of demand characterised by exclusive

system. Indeed, the latter focuses on a simple transmission of

recourse to RTAs (the other support methods would not

“deliverables”, whereas the scope and specificity of the

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Evaluation and Capitalisation Series . N°43

support would have given reason to believe that the dialogue

use the RTAs. This is also the case for the RTA management

would be more structured.

methods (positioning in order to leverage the system and taking into account the cross-cutting nature of activities,

- A project designed as a “by-product” for risk hedging? The

seminar scheduled to launch the activities of the three RTAs

CD programme, which should have been complementary to

and the aim of building synergies between them) and the

the budget support for the PNDSE (CMR 3014) shows, on the

profiles required, with notably reference to skills in needs

contrary, little articulation with the latter. Capacity development

analysis.

is only taken into account in CMR 3014 as a factor that limits the risk of execution of the PNDSE and, therefore, of the bud-

• ...and that do not mention support to CD

get support.

The ToR do not expressly mention missions to support CD. The activities they contain are often described in terms of the

• ToR of heterogeneous quality…

tasks to be conducted by the RTA. They focus on tools rather

The ToR are defined on the basis of the guidelines set by the

than on developing organisations’ capacities to achieve

Mauritanian side and AFD in the appraisal aide-mémoire and

results. For example, “to develop tools to analyse and plan

provide the opportunity to specify the project content, in this

human resource requirements” (RTA in human resource

case the missions assigned to the RTAs. The quality of the

management), whereas in the realm of capacity development,

ToR varies greatly between the positions of technical

the activity should be worded: “to help develop the capacity of

assistants (TAs) transferred from the ARSEM project and the

the Human Resources Department (HRD) to analyse and plan

new positions.

needs”. This difference in wording introduces a bias in the objectives of RTA activities right from the ToR. Indeed, by

- The ToR for “mission statements”. The continuity (of the

defining the expected outcome of the RTA in terms of “goods

missions and consultants) is reflected in the ToR, which were

to be produced” (tools, studies etc.), there is an inherent risk of

simply updated with no real consultation with the beneficiary

detracting from the programme objectives, which are not so

entities. The format of the ToR is therefore similar to the

much about producing new tools as helping an organisation to

mission statements from the Priority Solidarity Fund (FSP),

improve its performance by using these new tools.

with a list of relatively broad-based activities covering, in certain cases, those of the assignment entity.

• Little or no offer This request for expertise has not been subject to a full

- “Contextualised” TOR. The new services requested in the

service offer presenting a methodology (with the exception of

sub-sector of TVT have been subject to in-depth reflection

the position of education economist, which was awarded

among the relevant entities, the National Institute for the

through a tendering process). The negotiated contract was

Promotion of Vocational and Technical Training (INAP-FTP)

indeed confined to the proposal of a curriculum vitae for each

and the Department of Vocational Training (DFP), which has

position, with no structured offer of support as required by

led to “contextualised” ToR. They establish a diagnostic of the

most contract tenders (tenderer’s references for similar

sub-sector, which provides the basis for the definition of the

services,

positions, missions and main tasks of the RTAs. The precision

methodology and operating method…). The offer was there-

of the activities to be conducted and the objective of dividing

fore confined to simply making RTAs available, which is, after

them up into phases (each thematic project begins with an

all, in line with the demand expressed by the contracting

appraisal of needs/diagnostic of the current situation)

authority, which was based on a package of ToR.

demonstrate the reflection that has been conducted on how to

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of

the

mission,

proposed

Practical Case of Resident Technical Assistance

4.2. Environment and institutional positioning of RTAs

As pointed out in the previous section, the issue of the

numerous changes to the institutional framework of the

institutional positioning of the RTAs was addressed during the

education sector during the period of the CD programme,

project appraisal. However, the initial consideration of this did

which may have caused some confusion over the positioning

not prevent certain difficulties in the implementation of the

of the RTAs and limited the scope of their initial mission.

RTAs’ services. These difficulties were caused by the Box 5. A changing institutional mechanism The period of the project (2006-2010) was marked by a disruption caused by the coup in 2008, which led to diplomatic relations being suspended and a whole host of restructuring measures in the education sector between the basic, secondary and higher education systems.

The situation that prevailed at the time of the project appraisal in 2006, with the existence of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MEFS) and of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS), was modified by Decree n° 214-2008 of 13 November 2008, which grouped them into a Ministry of National Education (MEN), with the MESRS under its authority as a department. This system lasted for under a year. Indeed, on 17 September 2009, the MEN was once again split up into two ministries by Decrees n° 112-2009 establishing the Ministry of Basic Education (MEF) and by Decree n° 111-2009 establishing the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education (MESS). The sub-sector of technical and vocational training was also pulled into these institutional changes prior to being restructured under the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MFPE).6 At the same time, the Department of Education and Training Projects (DPEF), in charge of coordinating the PNDSE and managing external financing, was withdrawn from the education system and positioned under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development (MAED). This decision was enacted by Decree n° 109-2009/PM of 13 September 2009, which stipulates that the MAED “may include temporary administrative entities, such as the Department of Education and Training Projects”.

The impact on the management of the education system.

measures were also accompanied by a high level of team

This restructuring period naturally led to some uncertainty in

rotation, to the extent that the phenomenon of “nomadism”

the management of the PNDSE, as the education system

among education sector officers was referred to on several

entities had to regularly adapt to a changing system. As the

occasions. This instability should, however, be tempered by

PNDSE procedures manual, prepared in 2001, was no longer

the fact that there was no real disruption to the implementation

up-to-date, its implementation was confined to an administrative

of the PNDSE during this period. It even achieved some

functioning based on exchanges of deliverables (transmission

headway as shown in the 2010 RESEN. It would appear that

of action plans and financing request system). There was no

the stability of the DPEF team played a major role in this

real structured organisational system, apart from the preparation of the annual donor review. These restructuring

6

It has since become the Ministry of Employment, Vocational Training and New Technologies (MEFPNT).

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Evaluation and Capitalisation Series . N°43

continuity and allowed some of the institutional shocks

and MEFPNT). This dual positioning can lead to difficulties

suffered by the system to be held in check. Its repositioning

when the distribution of roles and responsibilities with regard

with the MAED distanced it from the organisational

to these RTAs is not clearly defined between these entities.

uncertainty of the PNDSE and allowed it to maintain a minimum level of consultation with the technical departments

• This situation also occurred between the assignment

of the different ministries. However, this removal of the DPEF

entities. For example, while the ToR of the TVT consultants

from the education system led to some tension at the

initially provided for an assignment to the INAP, the creation of

ministries in charge of implementing the PNDSE as its entire

a Department of Vocational Training at the MFPE, to which the

management, and especially its investment expenditure

assignment of the RTAs was “natural”, introduced a period of

management were partly outsourced to the MAED.

confusion when their mission started. The RTAs’ first three months were mainly spent trying to clarify a positioning within

The impact on RTA services. The institutional instability of

an organisational environment that was being restructured.

the sector had repercussions on the services of the RTAs.

This may have led to their activities being conducted in a

Indeed, as the PNDSE no longer had a structured coordination

somewhat piecemeal fashion.

system during the project life, it proved to be more difficult to conduct cross-cutting support activities for the topic areas of

• The time frame of the reforms may also give rise to a

the PNDSE. As is often the case with institutional changes, the

problem of positioning and even call into question the

path towards adaptation to the new system was marked by a

relevance of the mission. In this respect, the consultant in

period of tension, uncertainty and withdrawal on behalf of the

initial training assigned to the Department of Professional

different entities.7 Due to their hybrid positioning in the

Development and Staff Training (DPFP) to support the

“PNDSE topic areas/operational entities”, the RTAs were

restructuring/empowerment of National Teachers Schools

exposed to the uncertainty caused by this change. This

(ENI) also found himself in a difficult situation when this reform

sometimes forced them to limit their support to the day-to-day

process reached completion. As the attempt to reposition him

operations of their assignment entity. The analysis of the

at the ENI was unsuccessful, the consultant faced difficulties in

impact of this instability on the positioning of the RTAs reveals

pursuing his mission to support initial training as he sometimes

the difficulties encountered at several levels:

had to work side by side with these different establishments. It is surprising that there was no updating of the ToR and/or

• On the one hand, the repositioning of the DPEF at the

repositioning when this consultant’s mission was extended by

MAED resulted in the RTAs reporting to two ministries: the

one year, from 2009 to 2010, as it was objectively no longer

signatories of the service contracts (in this case the

possible for him to conduct his initial mission.

MAED/DPEF) and the assignment entities (in the MEF, MESS

7

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In the literature on management, this period is called the “valley of despair”.

Practical Case of Resident Technical Assistance

Box 6. Reflection on the positioning of RTAs The discussions with the different stakeholders highlighted the issue of positioning the RTAs, between support for an assignment entity and support for a topic area of the PNDSE, the cross-cutting nature of which necessarily implies a working relationship with several entities. Certain principles can therefore be identified and opened to discussion: - The RTA is “an expensive resource that cannot be made to work on details”,8 i.e. notably on the everyday operating activities of the entities. He must be positioned so that he can conduct activities that have a “leverage effect” on the education system.

- This “leverage effect” may operate through the positioning of the RTA, notably: (i) with an entity that has a cross-cutting mandate for all management support (programming/planning/reform process…). In such a case, the RTA should be entrusted with an official mandate and specific missions within the implementation entities concerned by his support; (ii) with an implementation entity when it involves, for example, testing a new education service and subsequently rolling it out. As this type of support may also concern several entities, this cross-cutting aspect should be formalised in the ToR. - The RTA must integrate the organisational system of the sector and conduct his activities according to existing coordination procedures and systems. In all cases, it is essential beforehand to provide for the support and supervision system for the RTA (by the contracting authority in agreement with the relevant external partners) that will need to be set up in order to ensure that his cross-cutting mission will be effective in the long term, even when institutional changes occur.

4.3. Professional practices of RTAs Professional practices refer to the implementation process

the interviews, are characterised by the predominance of

for the RTAs’ activities, i.e. the approach taken to delivering

technical expertise, the importance of the stance9 taken by the

their technical expertise for the purpose of capacity

RTAs and the multiplicity of working methods.

development. The terms of reference of the RTAs focus on the activities to be conducted and on the expected deliverables.

• An approach focused on “crude” technical expertise.

The capacity development objective “disappears” behind the

The activity reports produced by the consultants rarely refer to

technical objective of implementing activities. The “how” is

working methods with officials and national entities, and

overshadowed, whereas it is essential for achieving the

generally do little more than make an extremely technical

capacity development objective set by the programme. In this

description

context, it is natural that in their activity reports, the RTAs

achievements (notably the content of the deliverables) are

communicated more on achievements than on working methods and reported little on the conditions to make the results achieved sustainable. The professional practices of the RTAs, revealed by the analysis of the activity reports and by

8 Interview

of

their

support.

Indeed,

although

the

with the DPEF.

9

The term “stance” is widely used in the management consulting sector to characterise the consultant’s attitude in his professional relationship with the client. It depends both on the type of service planned and, especially, on the nature of the relationship that the consultant has with others for the delivery of the service.

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Evaluation and Capitalisation Series . N°43

often extremely detailed, the approach used by the RTA to

- Collaborative work: all the RTAs have, to varying extents,

deliver his expertise is rarely described. Consequently, it

undertaken a collaborative approach to implementing their

is often difficult to identify the guiding principle for the

services, either by involving counterparts or through the

implementation of activities and the different sequences of the

exchanges prompted by the deliverables that are produced.

support that gradually empower the beneficiary (What results

Although the entity that manages the RTA (assignment entity

were initially expected and how were they defined? Which

and/or DPEF) is generally behind this collaborative work, the

teams were involved and supported? What work programme

specific attention that the latter pays to this aspect may

was established and implemented to ultimately ensure that

strengthen the impact of his support. In conjunction with his

these teams were empowered? What strategies were

assignment entity, the FLE consultant has thus contributed to

implemented to overcome the difficulties?...). Indeed,

leading a training engineering unit that regularly gathers the

the reports focus on the difficulties encountered in the

entities and national officials concerned by this activity. The

implementation of activities, notably at the institutional level

technical expertise provided by the RTA in this unit has been

(absence

frequent

strengthened via support to an organisational system and has

organisational changes, rotation of officials…), but they rarely

therefore contributed to structuring a link in the chain of

or

slowness

of

decision-making,

specify how the RTAs reacted to these constraints.

educational service delivery. Conversely, it turned out that the work in pairs, or with a small team, may have some limitations

• An approach that largely depends on the stance taken

due to (i) the regular rotation of national officials and thus

by the RTA. The impact of the support that the RTA provides

counterparts who “come and go” (ii) their lack of motivation, or

to his assignment entity depends very much on the stance

(iii) an inadequate level of skills, which therefore puts the RTA

taken by the RTA himself as either a participant, technical

in a situation of technical dominance with no counter-weight.

consultant or change advisor. This reflects the vision that the

The relationship is “one-way” and may result in tools being

RTA has of his role and his command of the methods and

developed that are out of step with needs or conditions of use.

techniques for group leadership and change management.

Although this stance is primarily determined by the nature of

- The theoretical/technical framework: the FLE consultant’s

the mission requested and by the contracting authority’s

first activity report is a framework document on pedagogical

management of it, the RTA must nevertheless avoid finding

engineering. The RTA lays down the theoretical principles and

himself in a situation of substitution as much as possible,

analyses the directions of language education in Mauritania,

otherwise there will be the risk of “discouraging” the teams and

while extending the benchmarks to other experiences of

of delegitimising them in their missions.

bilingualism, and suggests some avenues for action. In addition to the technical interest of this type of document, it is

• A whole host of working methods. However, RTAs have,

the collaborative manner in which it has been prepared that is

to varying extents, implemented support processes with the

of interest here. Indeed, it has given the teams involved the

national officials. The “dissection” of the activity reports of the

opportunity to take a different approach to their activities and

RTAs who are still on assignment and the interviews conduc-

to introduce new technical parameters into them. It has also

ted with them and with national officials made it possible to

allowed the RTA to ascertain the expectations and needs of

identify professional practices that are conducive to CD. The

the national officials. It is worth noting that this first activity

analysis of the working methods of the FLE (French as a forei-

report was endorsed by his assignment entity.

gn language) consultant is in this respect highly instructive as it focuses on a number of practices on which it is possible to capitalise:

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- Supervision: for the pedagogical engineering activities, the RTA’s support was a matter of “faire faire”, i.e. defining a

exPost exPost

•

Practical Case of Resident Technical Assistance

framework and programming for activities with the teams, then

1. Plan: Prepare, plan

supervising the implementation. A back and forth system

2. Do: Develop, implement (often beginning with a test)

was therefore established, with the RTA correcting and

3. Check: Control, verify

commenting on the work produced by the teams so that the

4. Act: (or Adjust) Act, adjust, react

latter could improve it themselves. This iterative working

This working method has been used in the technical support

method used by the RTA effectively leveraged the acquisition

for teams (supervision with iterative support from the RTA) and also in the implementation processes for activities (examples

of skills by national officials.

include the workbooks, the preparation of which had been - A PDCA approach: Although it is not expressed in this

planned, the first versions tested on a sample of schools and

manner, the FLE consultant’s support is consistent with the

the analysis of the satisfaction of the latter in order to make

PDCA method, which follows a virtuous circle in four stages:

improvements to the deliverable).

Box 7. Risks and key success factors for the 4 RTA positions Typology of missions

Institutional framework for support

Lessons learned Risk: “being a prisoner of the Steering Committee”

Support the implementation of the restructuring of initial teacher training establishments

Steering Committee for restructuring

Key success factors: • being in a position to support change within the Steering Committee; • supporting the implementation by establishments; • quality of the Steering Committee/establishments interface (to be managed by national stakeholders with support from the RTA).

Risk: “creating an oasis in the desert” Support the definition and implementation of a pedagogical reform in general education

Technical unit in charge of defining and supporting the implementation of the reform

Key success factors: • sharing one’s expertise and knowledge; • applying a method that leads members of the technical unit to change their vision: developing creativity by going beyond the usual way of thinking;10 • including in the change all processes that contribute to the result.

Risk: “being a scientist in a laboratory”

Support the definition and use of management tools based on education system performance

Counterpart groups at the MEN directorate in charge of strategy and planning

Key success factors: • loosening the RTA/counterparts relationship by opening up the support framework to user entities; • sharing one’s expertise and knowledge; • integrating the entire process from access to information to the utilisation of results.

Risk: “being a master foreman”

Support the development of a vocational training sector

Vocational training establishment for the sector

Key success factors: • extending the institutional framework for support to all sector stakeholders; • leading an empowerment process based on experience capitalisation in the establishments; • leading a process of exchanges and capitalisation among establishments in the sector and with the other sectors.

10 For example, reference is made to Edward de BONO who, in his book “New

Think: The Use of Lateral Thinking”, develops a creative problem solving methodology.

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Evaluation and Capitalisation Series . N°43

4.4. Management and supervision system for RTAs

• A difficult situation at the outset

transmission of the RTA activity reports, as the DPEF did not

The transfer of ARSEM to AFD led to a change in the project

systematically obtain these deliverables and was therefore

operating method, the key features of which are a national contracting authority (CA), the DPEF and recourse to service

unable to conduct supervision on a regular structured basis.

- The distribution of responsibilities for the management and

providers to backstop the RTAs. This modification caused

supervision of the RTAs between the DPEF and the

uncertainty that was detrimental to the management and

assignment entities was difficult for the study mission to

supervision of the RTAs and led to a “back-seat” positioning of

clarify. The role of the assignment entities seemed quite

both service providers and AFD. This made the RTAs “feel

heterogeneous in some cases. While their managers proved

they had been abandoned”.

to have a good awareness of the activities conducted, the RTAs had a certain amount of elbow-room to take initiatives

• The absence of a structured management and supervision system

and action as there was no real “nearby management” or action plans. The immersion of the RTAs may nevertheless

The supervision of the RTAs involved four types of stakeholder:

have led them to respond to periodic urgent requests that were

- the DPEF in its role as manager of the PNDSE and

not directly related to their ToR.

contracting authority for AFD financing; - the RTAs’ assignment entities;

- The role of the service providers was confined to an

- the service providers backstopping the RTAs;

administrative management of the RTAs. Their role of

- AFD as a donor of the PNDSE (with two financing packages,

backstopping was at best reduced to rereading activity reports

one of which concerns the CD programme) and that was

prior to their transmission to the DPEF. However, as the

naturally mistakenly regarded as having “taken over” the RTAs.

requests for support, and therefore the offers, referred

Generally speaking, the management and supervision

were not explicitly requested to provide additional technical

system for the CD programme was not clarified when the

services. In any case, the DPEF was disappointed over the

project was designed, apart from a basic minimum based only

low level of quality control for services.

exclusively to the expertise of the RTAs, the service providers

on the “crude” transmission of activity reports. No time for

- AFD’s role also proved to be limited for a variety of reasons

exchanges between the different parties was planned, or the

(temporary freeze on diplomatic relations following the 2008

preparation of annual “action plans”. This of course hindered

coup, non-interference in the relations between the CA and

project management and supervision, especially as a

RTAs, change of AFD project manager, activity reports not

programme of nine RTAs has a high management cost and

received systematically…). AFD initially purely played a role as

requires a clear distribution of tasks among stakeholders.

a donor by not interfering in the relations between the RTA, the

- The DPEF played a role in managing and supervising the

contracting authority and the employer. Priority was given to a

CD programme on a regular basis. Given the unfavourable

sectoral dialogue in the broadest framework of the PNDSE,

institutional context, which weakened coordination between

without any real synergy being found with the CD programme.

the PNDSE entities, the management and supervision would

It should be noted that the financing of nine RTAs requires

appear to have worked more through individual contacts with

substantial follow-up which, it would appear, proved to be too

the RTAs. This made it possible to make direct requests to

heavy compared to the human resources AFD allocated to

them and, as far as possible, to ensure that the services ran

project supervision.

smoothly. This informal system was reinforced by a defective

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5. Lessons Learned

5.1. Summary of analyses

In terms of perception and expectations: France has been providing support to Mauritania’s education sector in the form

In terms of factors that can explain the paths that have been followed, the analysis focused on four areas:

of RTA since 1987. This is both an advantage due to the capital of knowledge and recognition that the two partners

• The match between the request for support formulated

have built up, but also has drawbacks in that it perpetuates the

by Mauritania and the RTA offer: the request for support has

perception of CD based on a tool, RTA, and, moreover, under

been established in a participatory manner with the PNDES,

the traditional form as a “French cooperant”. This contributes

which explains why there is an overall and “theoretical”

to confusing the development objectives pursued and to

coherence. However, the translation of the CD programme

neglecting a range of support methods that is, however,

component into ToR for service provision may be perplexing.

extremely broad.

Most of the requests are limited to support to the operation of the entities, whereas the CD programme refers to cross-

In terms of the relevance of the programme and of the

cutting topic areas. This thematic/entities matrix link, albeit

expected outcomes: the thematic direction of the CD

complex, has not been subject to specific reflection before-

programme is relevant compared to the issues of the second

hand. Moreover, the objective of CD is not clarified, or even

phase of the PNDSE and is in line with its priorities. However,

declared, and the ToR mainly focus on activities and

the decision to provide support exclusively through RTA has

deliverables without consideration for support processes that

not been fully justified, apart from as a risk hedging instrument

will empower local teams in terms of the skills required by the

for the execution of budget support to the PNDSE financed

services. In the end, the RTA offer has replied to demand in a

under the “Debt-reduction-Development Contract” (C2D)

relevant manner in terms of the job profiles since a “crude”

financing (CMR 3014). It is, moreover, difficult to understand

proposal based on a CV was mainly sought;

the interaction within the CD programme itself between its logical framework, the terms of reference of the RTAs and the

• The environment and positioning of the RTAs: the

activities conducted, and even more so when all these

instability of the environment of the RTAs had an impact on

elements are compared to the PNDSE’s annual action plans.

their services. In addition to a dual reporting line (DPEF and

This difficulty stems from the weak capacity of: (i) the program

assignment entities), which may have led to confusion over

to establish this logical chain ex ante, (ii) the management and

their management/accountability, this situation meant that they

supervision system to ensure this coherence. Generally

had to work in a changing system that was not conducive to

speaking, there is very little clarification of the CD dimension

either sectoral coordination or “leverage effects” on the

under this programme. It remains “theoretical”, with the RTAs

education system. This confined the scope of the RTAs’

mainly having to report on the production of deliverables,

services, given the relative withdrawal of their assignment

without any explicit link with the sectoral objectives they are

entities.

contributing to.

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Evaluation and Capitalisation Series . N°43

• The professional practices of RTAs: the RTAs have a

based on the consultant’s personal experience, with no

mainly practical approach to their mission, based on the

methodology being built, and have been adapted to the

production of deliverables and in response to specific

circumstances and to the environment of the RTA’s work.

requests. The activity reports only marginally address working methods with national officials, notably the notion of support,

• The management and supervision of RTAs: at the time

which is not given specific attention. However, the RTAs have,

of the definition of the CD programme, the management and

to different extents, implemented interesting working methods.

supervision system for RTAs was only based on the “crude”

These methods have been very heterogeneous and some

transmission of deliverables (activity reports). The frequency of

have managed to give good results, although they are limited

exchanges

by the absence of a receptacle conducive to CD. It is,

assignment entities, service providers and AFD) has not been

between

the

different

stakeholders

(CA,

however, possible to capitalise on good practices, such as the

clarified, nor has the distribution of roles for management and

collaborative work, the theoretical framework, the supervision

supervision. The formulation of “action plans” was also not a

of technical teams and the quality process. Other practices,

contractual obligation. This has given rise to a mainly informal

such as the involvement of counterparts, the advice to

system based on periodic individual contacts. It should be

managers or the “crude” provision of technical expertise have

noted that even the transmission of the activity reports was

shown some limits. The analysis shows that these methods

defective.

have generally been implemented in an intuitive manner

5.2. Nine key messages

1. Support to capacity development is based as much on the process to implement the expertise as it is on the

to RTA, or in a complementary manner, depending on the needs assessment and on the stated objectives.

expertise itself. Technical expertise is a necessary basis, but it is not sufficient: the methods by which the RTA supports a

4. A CD needs analysis is a prerequisite for the formula-

change is an essential dimension of support to CD that must

tion of the request for support. This analysis must be

be addressed in the ToR.

conducted on the basis of objectives and on the sectoral/ organisational results to be achieved in order to establish

2. Support to capacity development is a complex and

coherence between the sectoral programme and the need for

fragile process. It is, of course, based on the beneficiary’s will

development. It must identify the services that are expected of

to engage in a change process that is sometimes long and

the RTA more precisely (i.e. the scope of the ToR must be

difficult, but also on the congruence of the triad: quality of the

well-defined) and how the latter must be implemented.

technical expertise – stance, methods and approach in terms of support – CA’s capacity to manage and supervise and stability of its teams.

5. The institutional positioning of RTA is a critical factor for its effectiveness: it must be positioned in the organisation in order to leverage the performance of the system. Two para-

3. RTA is not the only CD support method. Other forms of

meters must be integrated right from the design stage of the

support exist. They must be envisaged either as an alternative

CD programme. On the one hand, the “area” of the support,

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which refers to the scope of the change, i.e. to the number of

8. The RTA must not only be accountable for the ToR but

processes and stakeholders concerned and, on the other

also, and especially, for the action plans that are prepared

hand, the “depth” of the support, which refers to the intensity

with the CA and regularly supervised. The latter must set out

of the change (adjustment or overhaul of the system). These

the missions included in the ToR in sequenced activities and

two parameters determine the positioning of the RTA

mention the entities involved. The “first 100 days of the RTA”

(assignment at a certain level in the hierarchy, more or less

must be used to prepare an indicative action plan for the dura-

cross-cutting positioning in the organisation), but also the

tion of the service.

support process that will need to be undertaken.

9. AFD’s role may go beyond that of a simple “financier” 6. An RTA service contract must operate like

of service provision. As AFD is accountable for the use of its

a conventional contract, which particularly means that the

resources, it must, of course, ensure that they achieve results

selection is based on technical proposals (specifying the

and therefore make sure that there is customer satisfaction at

methodology, the backstopping role of the service provider…)

the CAs with the services they finance and that concrete

and not only on the “presentation of a curriculum vitae”.

progress is achieved. Moreover, given the strong partnership that often links AFD and the contracting authority, its support

7. The RTA management and supervision system is a

goes beyond simply making a financial contribution and

vehicle for CD that must be exploited, particularly in the

covers, in an iterative manner, management and more techni-

framework of support for cross-cutting activities. It is

cal aspects depending on its added value. From a cross-

advisable to align it with existing national systems and to

cutting perspective, AFD should be able to develop the

define the

partner’s capacities to analyse its needs, formulate requests

distribution

of

roles

among

the

different

stakeholders in clear-cut terms. The supervision must specifically

for support and manage external services.

focus on the implementation process for the RTAs’ activities and fuel a dialogue between the entities that are involved.

5.3. Implementation processes for RTA

The lessons learned to be capitalised on are classified

reflection so that the support to CD is integrated into a systems

according to the stages of the implementation chain for an RTA

approach in the most effective way. It could be based on

service: (i) definition of the service, (ii) selection of service

sectoral/organisational objectives in order to establish

providers, (iii) performance of the service. This chain is

a logical chain between : objectives/results/activities/entities

intended to be “ideal” and only aims to draw the attention of the

involved/core capacities and thus lead to the definition of the

CAs and AFD teams to certain key success factors for CD

CD needs. It is important not to target one activity and one

support.

support activity in a compartmentalised manner, but to situate it within a service production and delivery chain.

Definition of the service → Translate into a request for support: the quality of the → Identify needs: prior to formulating the request for support, it is necessary to make an analysis of CD needs. Ideally, this

request will depend on the quality of the offer. The request for support (or ToR) must therefore:

initial analysis should be part of sectoral and organisational

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Evaluation and Capitalisation Series . N°43

- be defined in a participatory manner by involving all the entities concerned by the support, notably when it is a cross-cutting activity;

service provider in the supervision system. → Include the possibility of organising interviews with the proposed RTAs. As the service largely depends on the

- be contextualised, notably on the basis of the needs analysis;

personality of the RTA and on his stance as a change advisor,

- justify the relevance of the tools to support the required CD.

the possibility of organising interviews between the CAs, the

In this respect, reflection must be extended to methods other

service provider and the RTA, through video-conferencing for

than RTA (iterative technical assistance, short-term consultan-

example, must be envisaged.

cy…), notably in order to be able to envisage an offer that combines different tools;

Performance of the service

- justify the duration of the service required in order to internalise skills/methods;

→ Rely on an effective management and supervision system

- justify the institutional positioning for the service in order to

for services that allows the support to be regularly evaluated

ensure that there is a maximum leverage effect on the system

and any adjustments to be made when required. If there is

in terms of CD;

already a system in the activity area of the RTA, it should be

- mention the scale of the implementation processes required to achieve sustainable CD.

possible to align with it. If this is not the case, the parties concerned by the RTA’s services must be identified and regular occasions for exchange must be planned for the management and supervision of these services.

Selection of service providers → Ensure that there is a receptacle conducive to CD. As →

Select

on

the

basis

of

conventional

criteria

shown by the experience of the PNDSE, institutional instabili-

(skills/experience of the service provider, understanding of the

ty and the “nomadism” of officials can undermine the support

ToR, methodology, curriculum vitae of the RTA, planning for

to CD. The stability of the receptacle for CD (entities and

the support…) and not only on profiles. A technical and

stakeholders) is therefore an essential condition for its

financial proposal must systematically be submitted whatever

effectiveness. Although it is difficult to guarantee such stability,

the acquisition procedure used (call for tender or negotiated

it is important for there to be some continuity in implementa-

contract).

tion. Otherwise, it must be possible to mutually capitalise on achievements so that the support can be adapted. It is also

→ Introduce a specific criterion on management for CD (or

necessary to ensure that the sectoral programme to which the

for change managment) that can, nevertheless, be included in

RTA system is providing support is steered and managed in

the methodology of the service. In any case, this aspect must

a way that effectively involves all the operational entities

be given special attention in both the overall proposal and in

concerned.

the CVs that are submitted. This aspect should be rated at least at the same level as technical expertise.

→ Take advantage of the “first 100 days of RTA”. The first months of RTA are decisive for the future of the service. They

→ Take into account the backstopping service provided by

must allow an immersion in the assignment entity (and/or in

the service provider in the form of periodic supervision mis-

the sectoral system), initial technical exchanges with the

sions, remote technical support and replacement solutions

teams (theoretical framework, extension of benchmarking to

when the RTA is deficient. This service should also include

other experiences as well as possible activity areas) and the

quality control for the RTA’s services, as well as the role of the

activities and implementation processes to be honed on the

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basis of the ToR and technical proposal. This should lead to an

capitalise on the effectiveness of the implementation of each of

action plan that will serve as a basis for dialogue for the

the stages leading to the expected outcomes of the service.

management and supervision of the service.

This gives the opportunity to take note of any resistance related to the change and to have a system to monitor

→ Ensure that implementation processes run smoothly.

Beyond the production of deliverables, the service

performance in the implementation of activities, which may be useful beyond the service.

management and supervision system must be able to

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Conclusion

RTA is a unique tool as it has no equivalent outside the field

a central part of the contracts (which requires drawing

of development cooperation and pursues objectives that

attention to the importance of implementation processes for

are sometimes contradictory. A specific legacy related to the

activities and professional practices);

history of aid hangs over RTA and still influences the use that

(iii) avoiding relying on “hard” RTA, but combine the different

is made of it by all stakeholders (beneficiaries, donors, service

tools to support capacity development and rely on the service

providers and the RTAs themselves). RTA also presents a high

provider’s back-office;

level of operational risk as the RTA’s continuous and long-term

(iv) ensuring that there is structured management and

immersion in an administration makes the boundary between

supervision (which requires having the necessary means

support to capacity development and substitution particularly

through the formulation of action plans/activity reports and the

porous.

organisation of exchanges between stakeholders).

It is for this reason that it has become a matter of urgency to

Although AFD has no direct connection with RTA, it does

overhaul it, not only in order to adapt to the principles of aid

nevertheless play a role in these CD processes through the

effectiveness (notably with the beneficiary as the contracting

support it provides to the CA throughout the implementation

authority), but also in order to be able to meet needs that are

process for these services. Indeed, the support and advice

themselves changing. In a sense, RTA must be attuned to the

that it provides when needs are identified and contracts are

reality of the current market, which is not yet quite the case, or

prepared, along with the ongoing dialogue maintained under a

at least it is not systematic. The lessons learned in this report

sectoral project or programme, must ensure the quality of the

therefore focus on the importance of:

contracts it finances and that the CA is satisfied with the results achieved.

(i) ensuring that supply matches demand beforehand (is RTA the appropriate tool?); (ii) including the “support to capacity development” aspect as

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List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

AFD

Agence Française de Développement

ARSEM

Appui à la réforme du système éducatif (Education System Reform Support Project)

BD

Bidding Documents

C2D

Contrat de désendettement et de développement (French Debt Reduction-Development Contract)

CA

Contracting Authority

CD

Capacity Development

CFPP

Centre de formation et de perfectionnement professionnels (Training and Professional Development Centre)

DAC/OECD

Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

DEFS

Direction de l'Enseignement fondamental et secondaire (Department of Basic and Secondary Education)

DFP

Direction de la Formation professionnelle (Department of Vocational Training)

DPEF

Direction des projets éducation-formation (Department of Education and Training Projects)

DPFP

Direction du Perfectionnement et de la Formation professionnelle (Department of Professional Development and Staff Training)

DSPC

Direction des Statistiques, de la Programmation et de la Coopération (Department of Statistics, Programming and Cooperation)

ENI

Ecole nationale des instituteurs (National Teachers Schools)

FCI

France coopération internationale

FLE

Français langue étrangère (French as a Foreign Language)

FSP

Fonds de solidarité prioritaire (Priority Solidarity Fund)

FTA

French Technical Assistant

HR

Human Resources

HRD

Human Resources Department

IDEN

Inspection départementale de l'Education nationale (Regional National Education Inspectorate)

IFB

Invitation for Bids

INAP-FTP

Institut national de promotion de la formation technique et professionnelle (National Institute for the Promotion of Vocational and Technical Training)

IPN

Institut pédagogique national (National Education Institute)

IRM

Islamic Republic of Mauritania

LFTPC

Lycée technique professionnel commercial (Technical and Commercial Vocational High School)

LFTPI

Lycée technique professionnel industriel (Technical and Industrial Vocational High School)

MAED

Ministère des Affaires économiques et du Développement (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development)

MAEE

Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes (French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs)

MEF

Ministère de l’Enseignement fondamental (Ministry of Basic Education)

MEFPNT

Ministère de l’Emploi, de la formation professionnelle et des nouvelles technologies (Ministry of Employment, Vocational Training and New Technologies)

MEFS

Ministère de l'Enseignement fondamental et secondaire (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education)

MEN

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MESRS

Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique (Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research)

MESS

Ministère de l’Enseignement secondaire et supérieur (Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education)

MFPE

Ministère de l’Emploi et de la formation professionnelle (Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training)

NGO

Non-Governmental Organisation

ODA

Official Development Assistance

PNDSE

Programme national de développement du secteur de l'éducation (National Education Sector Development Programme)

RESEN

Rapport d'Etat du système éducatif national (National Education System Review)

RTA

Resident Technical Assistance/Assistant

TA

Technical Assistant

TFP

Technical and Financial Partners

ToR

Terms of Reference

TVT

Technical and Vocational Training

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