MDF NewsLetter February 2008

Vice Versa

We are proud to announce that MDF has become the publisher of Vice Versa. Vice Versa is a Dutch magazine for development practitioners, policy makers and researchers working in the field of international cooperation. MDF has taken over the role from SNV, the Netherlands Development Organisation, who has published the magazine for over 40 years.

Each issue of Vice Versa focuses on a specific theme relevant to development aid, with feature articles, reports on policy and practice, interviews and columns, and annotated links to related web resources, publications and events. Vice Versa has an independent Editorial Board. The opinions expressed in Vice Versa are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of MDF.

More information: www.viceversaonline.nl (in Dutch)

Institutional Strengthening in Guatemala

In Guatemala MDF is involved in several long term projects for institutional strengthening in higher Education, funded through Nuffic's NPT program.

One project is with the Mariano Galvez University (UMG), a private institution with approximately 40,000 students. It aims at creating capacity in governmental and non governmental institutions on environmental law, evaluation and control. The UMG is the first private university of Guatemala and was founded more than 40 years ago to give the working-class people the opportunity to follow higher education in the evenings. Through regional centres, UMG is present in the whole country. As a MDF led consortium, we work together with a local and a regional partner and with Utrecht University's Law Faculty.

 The project has set up two master programs and organises short training courses for professionals from organisations dealing with legal environmental issues. In an attempt to also reach clientele in the provinces, we are integrating 'distance learning' and ICT into all the programs.

USAC is our partner for two projects on environmental management and environmental education. It is the country's only public university, 350 years old and with a very solid position in the society. However, institutional changes are necessary to create new education programs. We are working with USAC to facilitate these changes starting from the traditional structure and culture. Both projects have much in common and one learns, together with the counterparts, how sustainable changes can gradually be achieved through a combination of training, coaching, supply of equipment and and institutional studies.

It is the complete package that makes it possible to advance step-by-step towards the achievement of results that are truly sustainable, because they are integrated into the institution and well accepted by the staff.

Klaas Steur and Anton Bloten Trainer/Consultants, MDF

My practice after the course

My participation in the International Advisory Course in 22 May - 30 June, 2006 and the real case studies became very useful both for me as a trainer and for organisations in transition.

1. Straight after the course I had an ideal opportunity to experiment with my knowledge of the MDF methodology. Various NGOs in the earthquake zones of Armenia organised training courses on capacity development, organisational development and partnership establishment. As a result of the four-days session the group developed a two-year strategy plan on risk prevention for seven vulnerable groups. The NGO group sent the developed strategy to Senior Council of Municipality, where it was discussed and approved as a working plan for partnership parties.
   
2. The cooperation with PHCR was also effective. The four poorest villages in Lake Sevan basin, which have no medical service and where in the winter months communications are totally paralysed, were chosen by PHCR. The health needs assessment was done with the help of each community activists group and strategy plans for each village, directed to meet the needs, were developed. Also, a proposal on community members awareness-raising was developed. It will be financed by PHCR in March 2008.
   
3. CARITAS Armenia project on service provision to the elderly, organise staff capacity building training courses. During the sessions the management gaps of the organisation were identified. Service improvement steps for 2008 were identified. Staff members of two offices became aware of the importance of clearly defined objectives concerning customer selection and service provision mechanisms. So they can quickly react to changing needs, overcome the process problems and have a better understanding of the role of each actor in the main result - client self-help capacity building, legally protection.