MDF - NewsLetter October 2009

Content of this NewsLetter

Editorial
MDF in Indonesia
Train 4 Dev
MDF in Kenya
Upcoming courses
New director at MDF branch office
Staff changes

Upcoming courses

In the period from November to March, we organise a series of training courses in de Bosrand in Ede on the following topics:

Editorial

Often people ask me whether the crisis is already affecting MDF. My response is always No, not yet. Then I wonder why I am saying "not yet". Is it because we all expect a crisis because everybody is talking about it and the Dutch government and many other donors are seriously cutting back on their budgets for development cooperation? These must be some of the reasons why saying "not yet". However if you look at the present day activities of MDF in 2009, you will see a beehive with very busy bees flying in but more out. This year we have opened three branches, one in Ghana, the other in Bosnia-Herzegovina and since October MDF is settling in Bali to cater for our services in Indonesia. This expansion is our response to a major change in development cooperation with more focus on and ownership of organisations in the South. We want to be closer to clients and serve them with combined expertise from international and local trainers and consultants. High quality for a reasonable price. We hope you appreciate this MDF development and our strategy to avoid that the crisis also hits us.

Herman Snelder
Director MDF Training & Consultancy

Announcement

MDF Training & Consultancy strongly supports initiatives to increase development effectiveness. We are therefore happy to announce that MDF was selected by the Joint Donor's Competence Development Network, better known as Train4Dev Network, to conduct 3-day joint learning events on Managing for Development Results. These courses are targeted at partner governments, donor representatives as well as civil society/private sector. Successful events were already jointly organized and conducted in Zambia and Uganda. For more information click here.

Members of the network pooled funds to conduct more tailor-made country level MfDR learning events. If you think that this event would be of interest for your country of work, you are encouraged to get in touch with:
Ms Melanie Wiskow (Melanie.Wiskow@gtz.de) or Ms. Kristin Johnsen (ann.johnsen@norad.no)

For more information on the Network: www.train4dev.net

MDF in Kenya

Since March 2007 MDF Training & Consultancy is member of a consortium implementing the EU funded Technical Cooperation Facility (TCF) for the Ministry of Finance in Kenya. The consortium are consultancy firms from Kenya, United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands. Under the TCF, Line Ministries, public agencies and non-state actors from Kenya can apply for funding of activities they propose to strengthen their functioning.

As member of this consortium MDF has done a number of short term assignments on EDF procedures and programme implementation for Water Boards, Kenya Tourism Board and the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute. From July last MDF has taken over the role of leading party in this consortium. In this function MDF is responsible for the management of some 20 to 30 upcoming short term assignments to be executed by the 8 consortium members. Contracting authority for this assignment is the External Resources Department of the Ministry of Finances of Kenya.

MDF has a representation office of the Arusha based MDF ESA branch office in Nairobi which will render support to the TCF programme.

Staff changes

Bart van Halteren has started as the new branch director for MDF in Indonesia.
Lard Udsholt is his successor as director MDF Indochina.

Staff leaving:

Marjo Vervoorn and Bennie Bloemberg have decided to leave MDF. We thank them for their efforts and wish them succes in their future careers.

PT MDF Pacific Indonesia

MDF is active in Eastern Indonesia since January 2007 and our activities have steeply increased since then. On the moment we are together with a number of Dutch and Indonesian partners responsible for the implementation of four long-term capacity building projects for nine institutes of higher education in Eastern Indonesia. The main aims of these projects are to improve and strengthen the institutional management; improve curricula in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, engineering; further develop competency based education and learning; improve teaching skills and methods but above all to guide these universities and polytechnics on their road to (more) autonomy. To this end we have established contacts with institutes on Java who have already gone through the process of getting/grabbing more autonomy. In our perception ITB Bandung, POLMAN Bandung and ITS Surabaya are better equipped to assist our clients in Eastern Indonesia as Dutch Institutions are. The same is true for the Centre of Innovation in Higher Education of the Gadja Mada University from Yogyakarta concerning competency based education. Hence our consortia are working very closely together with trustworthy Indonesian partners.

The common denominator of the three subject matter projects for agriculture, fisheries and engineering is to provide the labour market with sufficient human resources holding the competencies that the industries and other employers really need. Hence this starts with labour market surveys in order to adjust the various curricula in a demand driven way. Subsequently the training methods and teaching skills need to be developed in the direction of competency based learning whereas also the attitude and behaviour of students need re-direction towards more self driven competency based learning.

The common denominator of the two institutional strengthening projects is to guide the institutes for higher education towards more autonomy and self reliance in the context of the Higher Education Long Term Strategy Plan.
This calls for different Leadership, better human resource development programmes, stricter financial management, more effective facility management and a more students and clients oriented attitude and approach.

A clear indication that MDF wants to root in the Indonesian society and become a network partner of kind- and mind like organisations there. Although the recently approved name PT MDF Pacific Indonesia also indicates MDF intents to become active in other countries but Bali, Indonesia, will serve as our home base.

To be continued!

Bart van Halteren and Hans Rijneveld

New Director at MDF Indochina Branch Office

In August the 'founding father' of MDF IC departed. Bart van Halteren is moving on to Bali in Indonesia where he will set up a new MDF office. Bart's energetic efforts has resulted in numerous relations being built with partners and clients across the Indochina region and beyond. I am proud to follow in his path and to continue responding to local capacity development needs while drawing on MDF's substantial experience providing training and consultancy services for more than two decades.

I have worked in the field of international development for more than two decades with a background in political science and public administration. Past positions include academic research on poverty reduction by multilateral institutions, development education and advocacy work with international NGOs. I spent five years as director of Training Centre for Development Cooperation in Arusha, Tanzania, after which I served as the Secretary General for MS, one of the largest development NGOs in Denmark.

In 2006 I set up the company capacitate a/s, and in 2007 I moved to Hanoi to set up a capacitate office here. Over the past three years we have been undertaking a range of consultancy assignments for official bilateral and multilateral agencies as well as international NGOs in Asia, Europe, Africa and Central America.

During the coming months MDF and capacitate will explore the opportunities for setting up a joint venture in Indochina covering the three fields of open entry courses, tailor-made training and consultancies. This new venture is expected to be operational by early 2010.

Lars I look forward to working with MDF clients and partners in the region. You are most welcome to contact me to explore new opportunities of drawing on our expertise.

Kind regards,

Lars Udsholt

MDF Home Contact Search Sitemap Printable version Login

NewsLetter October 2009

MDF SERVICES

MDF GENERAL

Branches