International Programs Report 2006-2007
Our Vision:
IPAC’s vision, at the international level, is to be the best Canadian source of senior-level public sector knowledge and expertise in support of sustainable development, good governance and effective
public policy development of civil society.
Our Objectives:
The year at a glance:
International Programs has had a very successful year. We were awarded a number of new contracts including the Deployment for Democratic Development Mechanism (DDD), a four-year CIDA funded project which will focus on freedom and democracy, human rights, rule of law, accountable public institutions, as well as security and peace building. With our partner, Rights & Democracy, we will recruit and deploy Canadian democratic governance expertise to up to 125 developing countries and countries in transition in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Magreb. We have established a dedicated website at www.democraticdevelopment.ca with information on this initiative.
We have partnered with the Commonwealth Secretariat to develop and implement the Building Pyramids in the Valleys 1st Commonwealth Public Expenditure Management Mentoring Programme. This programme has been designed to share theoretical and practical knowledge, expertise, innovation and best practices among Commonwealth countries. The first programme was held in the Spring with the kind assistance of the Government of Ontario and the second programme is scheduled for the Fall in Nova Scotia.
We recently signed an agreement with the Government of the Republic of Kenya in support of Public Service Reform and Development Secretariat, in the Office of the President. Under this agreement, we will provide institutional support on an as-needed basis. The initial consultancy, in which I will be involved, focused on the development and implementation of an integrated human resource management reform strategy for the public service of Kenya.
Since 2003, we have continued to work with the Government of Ghana (GoG) to implement many of the critical elements of a modern and potentially robust government policy-making process. Over the past year, the GoG has made significant strides which chart Ghana’s central governance reforms on a successful course including the approval of a new set of policy-making standards to support the Cabinet decision-making process; the development and implementation of a series of policy training courses by the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS); and the development of software to support a Cabinet Decision Tracking System to enable the Cabinet Secretariat to ensure that Cabinet’s decisions are being implemented.
During this reporting period IPAC’s three year Good Governance Program (GGP) was awarded additional funding from CIDA to implement the following seven short-term initiatives between January and June 2007:
- The Development of the Gold Medal of the African Association For Public Administration and Management (AAPAM)
- A Leadership Development Seminar for Senior Public Servants in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region, Namibia (IPAC/CAPAM/CESPAM)
- Chile-Vancouver Agreement- Kenya and Rwanda, Beyond Borders 2007: Good Governance forWomen and Youth workshop in Nairobi, Kenya
- Malawi-New Brunswick, re-printing and distribution of the Handbook on Guidelines for Gender Mainstreaming
- Mali-New Brunswick, a service delivery workshop on Democracy and Respect
- Philippines-Manitoba, Strengthening the Philippine Network of Local Governance Training and Research Institutes (Logotri-Philnet) Workshop
- Uganda-Ontario, the development of a Communications Strategy for the Government of Uganda and a Leadership and Change Management Training for Senior Managers in the Ugandan Public Service
The Public Policy Options Program managed jointly by IPAC and the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) ended in March 2007. Over 10 years this project has been successful in providing support and increased policy capacity to individuals and institutions in China. The transfer of Canadian know-how to Chinese institutions and individuals through more than 50 sub-projects has enabled the Chinese leaders and policy makers to develop and deliver informed policy recommendations to higher authorities in China.
During the year, the International Program Committee has developed a business development policy, which defines the process for the approval and evaluation of international projects. This provides our staff with guidelines to respond to requests received frequently from a variety of funders and partners.
IPAC International Programs has continued to be profiled through a number of presentations at various venues. Last winter, for example, Gabriel Sékaly, IPAC Executive Director, made presentations to a group of senior officials in the Ontario Public Service as well as to the World Bank. We have also published with the World Bank Institute Leadership Development Program, Leadership Matters - Topical Briefs for Leaders, written by former IPAC President, Dr. Kenneth Kernaghan and Leadership Development: Going beyond the individual, written by Ann Masson, IPAC Director of International Programs, on display at theWorld Bank Institute, Leadership Matters forum in March, as was the article by Gabriel Sékaly on Leadership that appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of Public Sector Management magazine.
IPAC’s international work has many benefits to those jurisdictions with whom we work, to IPAC, where it broadens and deepens our understanding of the broader public sector, and to the individual Canadian participants. Without the support and the participation of volunteer and retired public servants from across Canada, IPAC International Programs would not have been able to forge the successful linkages between Canadian government institutions and their counterparts in many countries of the world.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Committee Members for their continued support and contribution to IPAC’s International Programs.
Wynne Young
Chair, International Programs Committee
