Ghana In-Country TC Learning Event

Earlier this year, the Delegation of the European Union to Ghana hosted an in-country learning event on technical cooperation reform to gain an insight into how the ongoing TC reform is implemented at ground level.

The event showed that while there are good examples of the principles of the Backbone Strategy being incorporated into operations, efforts are needed to support the mainstreaming of those principles into the project cycle. And that requires energy at every stage of the process, from the early identification stages to supporting the formulation of needs and demands that can ultimately be translated in effective interventions.

Nonetheless, both delegation staff and local partners expressed willingness to work together towards this goal.

The Backbone Strategy on "Reforming Technical Co-operation and Project Implementation Units" is an ambitious and comprehensive reform, launched in July 2008, to overhaul the Technical Cooperation (TC) funded by the EC. It includes "hardware" changes to systems and tools, and "software" changes to the practices and behaviour of all EC cooperation stakeholders.

In Ghana, the beneficiaries of this technical cooperation are ready to take ownership and initiative in demanding support, while the delegation has identified interventions where the expected results are clearly articulated and the context appropriate and productive.

The coaching sessions proved to be a highlight of the learning event, sparking lively debate and providing an opportunity for informal and open discussion about real life problems and experiences in implementing the Backbone principles.

Lessons to Learn

For staff at headquarters, three key messages came from the delegation:

• TC design is time consuming: Being Backbone compliant is labour intensive for delegation staff, often requiring greater shepherding of partners, and sometime experts, through processes.

• Project Cycle Management and Backbone Strategy timing: matching the PCM calendar with that of the Backbone Strategy is difficult to achieve, not least because the two policies have conflicting objectives, for example the need for programming interventions versus the reality of absorption capacity.

• Support from Headquarters is always welcome: Support from headquarters in implementing Backbone Strategy principles is always welcome, useful and can significantly help staff to change practices and approach. Delegation staff in Ghana, at least, would like to see more resources invested in the provision of this kind of support, which could be tailored to country needs.

Have you had a similar experience implementing the Backbone Strategy principles in your delegation? Or are you a partner, on the receiving end of this reform? If so, we welcome your comments.