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Higher Education for DevelopmentKnowledge, Partnerships, Results
____________________________________
Collaborative Partnership Program
Semi-Annual Progress ReportReport Period
October 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011
Due April 30, 2011
INTRODUCTIONThe information partnerships provide form the basis of HED’s dissemination of partnership results to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), other donor organizations, and the higher education community. USAID uses the material partners provide to report development results to the United States Congress. Your contribution of information is critical to Congress’ understanding of development and the future funding of such programs.
PARTNERSHIP INFORMATION
Partnership Title: AHEED: Albania-Hawaii Higher Education and Economic Development Partnership: Increasing Institutional Capacity in Agricultural Economics
Development Area: Agriculture/Agribusiness/Animal Science; Economic Growth & Trade
U.S. Institution(s): University of Hawaii at Manoa
U.S. Partnership Director(s): Name: Prof.Catherine Chan-HalbrendtTelephone: 808-956-7530E-mail: [email protected]
Host-Country Institution(s): Agricultural University of Tirana (AUT) Tirana, Albania
Host-Country Partnership Director(s): Name: Dr. Engjell SkreliTelephone: 00355 6840 38941E-mail: [email protected]
USAID/Host-Country Contact: XXX
Partnership Web Site (if any): http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/aheed
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Mail or e-mail the completed report to your primary contact at:
Higher Education for DevelopmentOne Dupont Circle NW, Suite 420Washington, DC 20036
INSTRUCTIONS
Both the U.S. and host country partners should be involved in writing progress reports. It is the U.S. institution’s responsibility to submit these reports to HED by the due date. It is also the U.S. institution’s responsibility to translate responses to English, as necessary.
Carefully review the attached Glossary of Terms for key definitions to assist you in completing the report accurately.
Please include as much information as necessary to answer the questions completely. Enter zeros when necessary. If any spaces are left blank, the report will be returned for completion.
The U.S. institutional partner is required to enter information about all training activities for host country nationals that take place in the United States, the host country, or a third country into USAID’s TraiNet system. The results of these progress reports will be compared with data the partnership has entered into TraiNet. For more information regarding TraiNet, please contact [email protected] or 703-879-8611.
OVERVIEW OF PARTNERSHIP REPORTING REQUIREMENTS Report Name Period Covered Due Date1st Semi-Annual Progress Report October 1-March 31 April 302nd Semi-Annual Progress Report April 1-September 30 October 31Final Report Entire Award Period 30 days after sub-agreement end date
I. QUALITATIVE PROGRAM INFORMATION FOR October 1, 2010 – March 31, 2011
1. Describe in bullet form the major activities for this partnership during the past six months (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
2. For each of the above activities, describe the results/outcomes for each activity. Answer in bullet form if appropriate.
If helpful, you may use the following chart for reporting the activities and outcomes associated with specific partnership objectives. Please feel free to insert additional lines as needed.
The following are the three main objectives of this project. The activities in the table are organized in accordance with their place within these overall objectives.Objective 1: Develop state-of-the-art graduate courses and instruction in agricultural economics, making the MS graduate curriculum in FEA more relevant and more responsive to changing market conditions and increasing agricultural competitiveness.
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Objective 2— Strengthen applied research and policy analysis capacity of the Faculty in providing higher quality and effective training and consultation to the Ministry of Agriculture and private businesses. Objective 3 – Co-develop and teach training modules and materials to extension agents and businesses on topics such as information collection and dissemination approaches, farm management, and market and trade policy analysis.
ACTIVITY RESULTS/OUTCOME1e. Revise courses and co-teach 3-5 key courses (trade, farm management, policy etc.)
The proposal for the New MSc.II course was approved by the Albanian Council of Ministers in December 2010. Three M.Sc. II courses were selected for co-teaching January-April of 2011. Each course is one of the Core I classes which all Master’s students in the program are required to complete. The aim of this phase of the project is to co-teach the modules of the Master course. To this end, Faculty of Economy and Agribusiness (FEA) instructors have based their teaching on the corresponding previous lectures of University of Hawaii (UH) professors. These three classes have been translated into Albanian in order to facilitate student learning and are being taught by Albanian instructors. All lectures are published in their English version on the AHEED project website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/aheed/Fall%202009%20Courses.html. All classes are being evaluated in order to assess student learning outcomes as well as to compare the content of the translated class with the original one.
The MSc.II course has enrolled 65 students to date, divided across three specializations: Enterprise Management (20 students-- 3male, 17 female), Economy and Agrarian Policy (14 students -- 5 male, 9 female) and Financial Management (31 students --4 male, 27 female). The first co-taught course, “Applied Economics” was taught by Dr. Irma Tabaku from February 7 – February 11, 2011 and the final exam was given on March 7. Student evaluations were strong, with average ratings falling somewhere between agreeing to strongly agreeing to all 19 positive evaluation criteria statements. A selection of important specific results is listed below.
The second course, “Research Methodology” was taught by Prof.As. Engjell Skreli from March 7 – March 11, 2011 and the final exam were given on April 11. Again, student evaluations were strong, with average ratings falling somewhere between agreeing to strongly agreeing to all 19 positive evaluation criteria statements and on average self-assessing student learning outcomes somewhere between the best possible
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outcome and one scale point below . A selection of important specific results is listed below.
Based on comparisons of both competed classes, it appears that the translated materials highly reflect (100%) the original courses taught by J. Yanagida October 10 to October 18, 2009 and Carl Evensen from November 2 to November 11, 2009. The third course, “Application of Quantitative Analysis” will start on April 11-May 15, 2011 and will be taught by Dr. Majlinda Belegu and MSc. Edmira Ozuni.
The overall outcome of these classes is that new, higher quality MSc.II courses have been introduced to the AUT/FEA curriculum, as has alternative teaching strategies. This has resulted in improved faculty teaching, increased learning capacity of faculty and students, and the introduction of new agribusiness techniques and knowledge.
1g. Prepare workshops on faculty professional development in teaching methods, grant writing workshops and research ethics.
Several professional improvement workshops/courses were held. In January 2011 a multipart workshop covering the use of conjoint choice analysis in consumer preference studies was held by project director, Catherine Chan-Halbrendt in Tirana, Albania. The aim of these workshops was to introduce new methodologies to the
The conjoint choice analysis workshop was attended by 13 AUT faculty members (6 male, 7 female). Nine of these are currently participating in AHEED project sponsored consumer preference studies. The other participants were interested in learning the new methodology to apply to future studies.The data from an AHEED-financed
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AUT/FEA researchers. To this end, the workshop covered the theory, advantages and disadvantages of conjoint analysis, practical directions and information on how to do the analysis and to use its associated software and a hands-on demonstration on the analysis in action. This technique is of particular importance to several of the projects financed by the AHEED and USAID/AAC mini-grants program.
For those wishing to learn more advanced techniques of conjoint choice analysis and gain an understand of how to analyze preference classes, an “Introduction to Latent Class Modeling” course was taught by Will Barker from January 7 - February 4, 2011 and funded by AHEED PI Dr. Catherine Chan-Halbrendt. The 4 week course covered the background of latent class modeling and its applications through a tutorial of the software, assigned practice exercises. Students were able to communicate online with the instructor in order to enrich their leaning through discussions, ask questions of the instructor, and exchange experiences.
In addition to this formalized form of professional development, the project has assisted two lecturers from AUT who are concurrently enrolled as PhD students at University of Bologna, Italy. Drini Imami and Edvin Zhllima have had their dissertation research supported by the project as well as benefited from dissertation advice and editing by project staff.
research project, “Milk market segmentation: Study on the consumers’ preferences in urban Albania (Ana Kapaj, PI) was used to demonstrate the use of SSI. In addition, three of the attendees were able to immediately use the techniques they had learned to analyze and obtain results for their AHEED mini-grant funded research projects. These included: Consumers’ preferences for apple fruits in Tirana market using a conjoint analysis (Engjell Skreli, PI), Consumer Preference for Table Olives in Albania (Arben Vercuni, PI), and Milk market segmentation: Study on the consumers preferences in urban Albania (Ana Kapaj, PI).
The “Introduction to Latent Class Modeling” course had 4 participants (2 male, 2 female; 3 AUT faculty members, 1UH graduate student). All had a special interest in cluster analysis, market segmentation and consumer preferences and will use the information and skills gained in future research focused on these topics. Course evaluations indicate that participants were interested in the course due to their interest in market segmentation studies and that they felt this was a great opportunity for them to learn a new technique to conduct research, though one student felt the course needed to be longer to better understand the topics covered.
The AHEED project supported lecturers/graduate students both submitted their dissertations to their university in March 2011, and are expected to defend them this year.
Through the culmination of all these activities, AUT/FEA faculty and staff have become more familiar with current, cutting edge consumer preference research techniques and methodologies (conjoint choice analysis, latent class modeling) and many have already used them in research studies they will be presenting at the 2011 IFAMA conference and pursing publication. In addition, the project has supported young lecturers in their professional development, thereby building capacity of the AUT FEA faculty.
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1h. Prepare baseline surveys; collect data on partnership’s impact on program delivery.
Evaluations have been developed by AHEED project assistants and administered after each workshop/course supported by the project during this reporting period. This includes evaluations of: the workshop “Research at AUT/FEA supported by AHEED project and USAID” in order to assess the impact of AUT’s research on Ministry of Agriculture officials and extension agents; each of the MScII courses taught this period: the on-line Latent Class Analysis Course; and the workshops on SSI and the design and analysis of consumer preference studies Each of the last programs was assessed in order to assess the learning outcomes and achievements of objectives.
Evaluations of the workshop for MOA and extension officials indicate the workshop was successful. Evaluations indicate that 70% of attendees found the workshop very interesting and all (100%) were very much interested in attending workshops like this in the future. Preferred future topics included: consumer production, price analysis, and policy analysis and value chain.
The majority of the students who attended the first MScII course evaluated it as a positive experience in which they leaned new and interesting material. The majority “strongly agreed” they had a good instructor.
Evaluations of the Latent Class Analysis indicate that participants found it very valuable in terms of future possible research and appreciated the opportunity to attend this course, but some were concerned about their limited ability to buy the software.
Evaluations of workshops have helped shape the future of the project and have been used to inform future workshop topics and the techniques for teaching them.Student evaluations of the co-taught MScII courses will similarly be used to help Albanian instructors improve their teaching methods and styles and help determine future courses beneficial to the students. As baseline data regarding outcomes of the project’s endeavors are collected the data will also serve as a base for the evaluation of the project impact.
1j. Submit 5 research and international travel grant proposals to enhance resource base.
The 2011 IFAMA Conference will be held in Frankfurt, 19-23 June. Ten AUT/FEA faculty members submitted proposals to present at the conference. These were prepared in collaboration with UH staff with the goal of improving the quality of the Albanian proposals, thereby increasing the chances of acceptance to the symposium. Furthermore one AHEED project collaborating researcher, Ilir Kapaj has been invited to present a poster to the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) conference in Kiel, Germany in June 2011. The poster will be on the milk production of farms in Albania.
All proposals submitted to the 2011 IFAMA conference were accepted for presentation. Seven papers will be presented:
1. Milk market segmentation: Study on the consumers preferences in urban Albania
2. Evaluation of factors that influence implementation of Quality Management Systems (QMS) in the meat processing industry in Albania
3. Alternatives of improving management of value chain for the greenhouse tomatoes production
4. Consumers’ preferences for apple fruits in Tirana market using
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a conjoint analysis 5. Analyzing consumer choices under
food safety uncertainty in Tirana 6. Conjoint analysis of consumer
preferences for lamb meat in central and southwest urban Albania
7. Consumer preferences for table olives in Tirana
2 posters:8. Preferences for lamb versus goat
kid meat in Albania 9. Possibilities for partnerships
business functioning in rural areas of Albania
1 case study:10. Alternative solutions for efficient
use of refused land in Shëngjergj Commune in Albania
Ten new faculty members are part of the 2011 proposals. Eight are participants and co-authors and two (Denisa Pipero and Xhevahire Dulja) are the first author of the case study. The milk poster to be presented in Kiel, Germany will be displayed at an international conference and may lead to a publication through the IFCN’s journal.
Researchers at AUT/FEA are able to gain a wealth of new experience by traveling to these conferences this includes: Experience in presenting at an
International Conference. Getting expert feedback on paper from the
audience Being exposed to current and cutting edge
research in agribusiness and policy. The opportunity for networking with
experts and fellow researchers in the field of agribusiness and agricultural policy research.
As a result, the quality of research at AUT has been increasing. This is reflected in the higher number of applications and higher number of participants in 2011(10 accepted presentation) than in 2010 (6 accepted presentations).
2f. Explore the desirability of an agribusiness certificate.
During the project PI Dr. Chan-Halbrendt’s next visit, she will explore whether there is an interest among extension personnel and faculty for an agribusiness certificate program, as well as identify
The Agribusiness Certificate Program strives to provide the students with the skills needed in agribusiness management and entrepreneurship. The courses include:
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faculty eligible to provide the required courses, research costs and students’ willingness to pay the required fees, and assess AUT’s interest in issuing such a certificate.
1. Marketing of Agricultural Products2. Agribusiness Accounting3. Agribusiness Decision-Making Tools4. Enterprise Management
The agribusiness management certificate will enable:1. To improve economic decision-making ability.2. To provide with entrepreneurial skills essential for starting and managing a successful, sustainable agricultural business.3. To give opportunities to gain hands-on experience with modern management science techniques that help agribusiness managers and industry analysts make sound business decisions.4. To increase proficiency in formulating problems and implementing solutions using a computer model, with emphasis on spreadsheets5. To offer real-world opportunities to evaluate information from a variety of sources in making crucial business decisions.6. To contribute to understanding of marketing, management, finance, and how the traditional business-school approach is modified for plant and animal products raised on land or in the water.
2k. Continue engaging faculty in collaborative scholarly research activities relevant to solving agricultural issues.
AHEED project sponsored mini-grants have fostered collaborations between AUT FEA faculty and the Albanian Agriculture Competitiveness (AAC) program. Proposed AUT FEA researched was announced to several potential collaborators. As a result, three of the mini-grants proposed by FEA researchers have been identified by the AAC program as closely aligning with the interests of the program.
Due to the utility of the proposed research to the AAC program’s goal, the program has expressed interest in collaborating on the projects as they progress and financially supporting these projects in the future.
2l. Write and submit grants in collaboration with other disciplines and MOA. (1-2/yr).
In January 2011, AHEED PI Catherine Chan-Halbrendt and project assistant in Albania Ana Kapaj met with World Learning project director Matty Thimm to discuss the mini-grants World Learning has already financed and to investigate the possibility for future collaboration and sponsoring. Reports on the completed research and financial expenditures of the project were sent to World Learning on the three funded projects.
All faculty members planning on going to the 2011 IFAMA
All three reports have been delivered to World Learning, and according to internal project evaluations, projects were acceptable. WL economic expert, Ermira Shehi has communicated to the AHEED project personnel that WL has accepted all the reports presented by the FEA researchers. Though the World Learning project is currently slated to end in Spring 2011, staff is hoping to procure a new contract. In this event, project director Matty Thimm has indicated that more such
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conference in Frankfurt, Germany applied of travel grants from the organization in order to do so.
collaborations are likely.
Two young faculty members, Drini Imami and Edvin Zhllima have each won a $500 grant for the IFAMA conference.
2n. Coach faculty to independently develop 5 scholarly research/extension research proposals that are relevant to solving agricultural issues.
A request for proposal (RFP) was announced in August 2010 of which the deadline was in September 2010. This RFP was for mini-grants that would fund research projects on Albanian agricultural issues which were of interest to Albanian extension agencies. In September, proposals were submitted by AUT members following guidelines published in the RFP and posted on the AHEED website. The proposals were reviewed by a panel of UHM faculty comprised of AHEED project PI Dr. Catherine Chan-Halbrendt, Dr. John Yanagida, and Dr. PingSun Leung. Thorough feedback was given to the applicants in order to hone grant writing skills and resubmittal after reviews were addressed was encouraged. The subsequent proposals were extensively revised by the submitting collaborators, and the final submissions resulted in all 6 mini-grants being funded for research. These were:
Consumers’ preferences for apple fruits in Tirana market using a conjoint analysis
Consumer Preference for Table Olives in Albania Alternatives for Improving Management of the Value Chain
for Greenhouse Tomato Production in Albania Alternative solutions for efficient use of refused land in
Shëngjergj Commune in Albania Evaluation of factors that influence implementation of
Quality Management Systems (QMS) in the meat processing industry in Albania
Milk market segmentation: Study on the consumers preferences in urban Albania
The Albania USAID via World Learning Center in Albania agreed to sponsor three mini-grants that had relevance to their interests and that had support from the Albanian Agriculture Competitiveness project.
This process gave AUT faculty members experience in the process of grant writing with several opportunities to receive feedback from experienced, expert grant writers and to hone the skills necessary to develop competitive grant proposals. As a result of the mini-grants RFP, 6 proposals were accepted for funding (3 through AHEED and 3 through the Albania USAID). The research funded by each of these grants will be presented at the 2011 IFAMA conference in Frankfurt, Germany.
2p. Organize and publicize annual agricultural economics conference highlighting research results with plenary sessions on economic situation, outlook and challenges. Mini workshops on communication and other skills will be offered.
Planning for the third (2011) annual agricultural economics symposium is underway. The title of the symposium is “Fostering Development of Agriculture in Albania through Improved Employment of Agricultural Resources ". It will be organized/co-sponsored by Agricultural University of Tirana (Faculty of Economy and Agribusiness), Albanian Ministry of Agriculture, and University of Hawaii, with the support of the AHEED and GTZ projects. In an effort to cover costs and increase the ongoing
This is an excellent opportunity for AUT to continue gaining experience in conducting a symposium of this scale. It will provide an excellent platform for researchers, students and faculty at AUT to present their research work and learn from research happening at other institutions. Other benefits to AUT researchers include: Increased learning capacity,
communication skills, methods of information dissemination
Exposure to current and cutting edge research in agribusiness and agricultural
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sustainability of the conference, per the AHEED projects encouragement, a registration fee of 60 $ was charged for the first time.
The abstract submission deadline was March 1, 2011 and the date of the symposium is June 16-17, 2011.Three invited speakers from Italy, England, and Austria will present at the symposium. Expected to attend the conference are: AUT faculty, staff and students; MOA officials; faculty and students from national and international universities; USAID, GTZ, AHEED personnel; extension agents; farmers; and policy makers.
economics and policy Opportunity to network with experts and
fellow researchers in the field of Agribusiness and agricultural research.
There were 250 attendees with 37 paper and poster presentations in the previous year’s conference, and a similar number or more is expected this year. So far, revenue generated by the registration fee has generated funds which allowed AUT to expand the conference to two days long and to rent a larger, more professional venue for it.
3g. Improve website with research papers, extension brief and links to databases.
Activities and all relevant information related to various activities, including courses offered, workshops held, and training programs are updated in the project website. It can be accessed at this address: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/aheed/index.htmlTEEAL (a database for agricultural journal references from 1993- 2011) that covers approximately 149 agricultural journals was purchased and is available to AUT students and faculty.
2011 co-taught courses are posted, as well as all previous courses. Information from workshops and training programs for skill development is also listed along with their respective power points. Maintenance of the website allows for easy access to and availability of key information on various activities. The journal database enhances research capabilities with up-to-date database of approximately 149 agricultural journals and articles
3k. FEA faculty teach workshops to extension on prioritized agricultural economics topics; communication and facilitation skills; and information dissemination methods.
The faculty of AUT/FEA hosted a workshop entitled “Research at AUT/FEA supported by AHEED project and USAID” on February 14, 2011 at the Ministry of Agriculture. The aim of this workshop was to introduce MOA and Extension staff to new research being developed at the AUT. Participants included AUT faculty as the producers of the research, Ministry and extension officials as the beneficiaries of AUT research, and USAID, World Learning, and AAC as potential funding partners.
The workshop was attended by 21 people (male 10, female 11) from the Faculty of Economy and Agribusiness (8), Ministry of Agriculture/ Extension (8), USAID (1), ACC (2) and World Learning (2).During the workshop there were five presentations:Ana Kapaj: “AHEED project supporting research at AUT/FEA”Drini Imami: “Consumer Preference for Olive Oil: The Case of Central Tirana, Albania”Engjell Skreli: “Consumers’ preferences for apple fruits in Tirana market using a conjoint analysis”Edvin Zhllima.: “Consumer Preference for Table Olives in Albania”Bahri Musabelliu: “Alternatives for Improving Management of the Value Chain for Greenhouse Tomato Production in Albania”Evaluations indicate that all attendees found the workshop either interesting (30%) or very interesting (70%) and all were very interested in attending workshops like this in the future. Preferred future topics included: consumer
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production, price analysis, and policy analysis and value chain.
This workshop had many functions important to the research performed at AUT. These include: Increased Ministry officials’, extension
agents’ and funding agencies’ understanding and appreciation of the important research being performed at AUT.
AUT researchers were able to get feedback regarding what MOA officials and extension agents found to be useful research.
Fostered the potential for collaboration between FEA researchers and extension agents in order to guide needed and timely research topics.
Enhanced profile of AUT research to important potential funding agencies such as USAID and AAC.
Poster presentation representing the project at the International Education day at the Hawaii state capitol
A poster highlighting the objectives, accomplishments and benefits of the project was developed and displayed at the Hawaii state capitol outside of the legislative meeting rooms.
State legislators were able to see the accomplishments of the project and the ways in which it benefits both the University of Hawaii and the Agricultural University of Tirana and Albanian Ministry of Agriculture. The legislators were also able to ask questions of and discuss the project with project personnel.
The project received positive publicity and exposure to a greater audience, including influential member of the Hawaiian government.
3. Briefly describe how the activities mentioned in question 1 are helping to strengthen the human and institutional capacity of the Host-Country higher education institution(s) :Faculty
1. Increased professional development of faculty/staff2. Opportunity for future research collaboration between host country institution, AUT
and UH Manoa.3. Assistance to host country institution- strengthening relationships and collaboration
between stakeholders. 4. Consultation on research projects from people in similar fields5. Attendance in local and international conferences to gain knowledge and increase
networking6. Increasing FEA staff ability to give workshops in different areas of research.
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7. Giving to FEA staff the possibility to take part in a very important on-line course which might help their ability of research.
Students:1. Improved faculty development increases students’ opportunities for learning2. New Master course possibility of Albanian students3. New courses will increase students’ learning capacity and expand knowledge4. Mentoring/Advising on course and current and/or future research projects
a. Assistance in determining potential research project or thesisb. Assistance/mentoring in current projects
2. Gaining experience for disseminating information through conference presentation and increasing social network with colleagues in similar fields
Institution:1. Increase reputation in the area of research2. Networking opportunities for faculty and students
3. Produce quality employable graduates 4. Increase research grant and publications
4. Briefly describe how the activities from this partnership are helping to strengthen the capacity to address national (Host-Country) development goals:
1. Improved education of current and future generation2. Improve capacity for policy analysis 3. Improved educational system4. Information sharing from AUT/National and International conferences held for
research projects5. Step closer towards joining EU and its positive effects
5. Briefly describe how the activities in question 1 are helping to strengthen the capacity of other Host-Country stakeholders (e.g., NGOs, community-based organizations, government agencies, small businesses, education institutions) in partnership activities during the past six months, and please list them. The Albanian Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has helped with the organization of the workshop given from the FEA researchers. In addition, Dr. Dishnica from MOA is a member of the AHEED project advisory committee.
The Albania Agriculture Competitiveness (AAC) program is a five year USAID program that supports sustained growth for Albania’s agriculture sector and seeks to improve rural income. It also offers complementary support to ongoing USAID projects to improve farmer competitiveness in domestic and global markets. AAC also contributed financially three mini-grant proposals that were assisted from AHEED project.
The World Learning (WL) Project, financed by USAID, has facilitated the transfer of funding for the three mini-grants financed by USAID/AAC.
6. Briefly describe how these activities are benefiting the U.S. higher education institution(s):Faculty
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1. Increase opportunities for research collaborations2. Opportunity to disseminate information and promote U.S. institutions
Students: 1. Access to more information as a result of research projects2. Opportunity to learn more about AUT through dissemination of research work3. Cultural sensitivity4. International exposure and future collaboration5. Knowledge of transitional economy and the role of agriculture
Organization:1. Increased reputation internationally for research and education, extension work2. Increased reputation internationally for assistance in increasing Higher Education
7. Briefly describe the involvement of other collaborating U.S. stakeholders (e.g., NGOs, community-based organizations, government agencies, small businesses, education institutions) in partnership activities during the past six months, and please list them.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) is home to AHEED project coordinator Dr. Catherine Chan-Halbrendt.
8. What has been the partnership’s greatest success(es) during the past six months? The workshop entitled “Research at AUT/FEA supported by AHEED project and
USAID” held on February 14, 2011 at the Ministry of Agriculture highlighted the research and impacts of FEA faculty members’ cooperative research. This workshop had many functions important to the research performed at AUT. These include:
o Increased Ministry officials’, extension agents’ and funding agencies’ understanding and appreciation of the important research being performed at AUT.
o AUT researchers were able to get feedback regarding what MOA officials and extension agents found to be useful research.
o Fostered the potential for collaboration between FEA researchers and extension agents in order to guide needed and timely research topics.
o Enhanced profile of AUT research to important potential funding agencies such as USAID and AAC.
Six presentations funded by AHEED project mini-grants were selected to present at the 2011 IFAMA Conference in Frankfurt, Germany.
The workshop in SSI software and consumer preference study techniques given by AHEED project PI Dr. Catherine Chan Halbrendt introduced to the faculty of AUT/FEA cutting edge techniques in the field of agricultural economics. Researchers were able to immediately apply this skill to current research projects.
Two faculties, Drini Imami and Edvin Zhllima, which have been applying for travel grant for IFAMA 2011, have won a grant of 500% each
Collaboration between AUT/FEA and Albanian Agriculture Competitiveness on the research topics proposed by the FEA faculties in the mini-grants introduced by AHEED. Through the mini-grants offered by AHEED, FEA faculty members have had the opportunity to work and collaborate with Hawaii faculty. In particular, participants in the
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three AHEED funded mini-grant projects have work closely with Hawaii faculty in order to facilitate their research.
9. Briefly describe any programmatic changes, obstacles, and/or delays to the implementation of activities during the last six months (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011). Please comment on how they were/will be addressed: Travel to the 2011 IFAMA conference in Frankfurt, Germany was to be financed by
USAID through the World Learning Program through a $13000 grant. Unfortunately internal contract issues with World Learning have led to an unavailability of funds. . Given the importance of the Frankfurt meeting and the work that has already be done for the conference FEA staff have decided to use some of their own funding to attend, with assistance from the AHEED project.
Changes in university curriculum at the level of the Ministry of Education and Science led to the delay of the co-taught MScII courses from an anticipated start date of September-October 2010 to an actual start date of January 2011.
10. Outline your partnership’s planned activities and an approximate timeline for the next six months as they relate to the overall objectives. Continue engaging faculty in collaborative scholarly research activities with extension
relevant to solving agricultural issues Monitor and evaluate the student learning outcomes of the revised courses taught by
AUT/FEA faculty during the second year of the Master Course Help FEA faculty members finish presentations for the IFAMA symposium Attend and present at the IFAMA Conference on June 19, 2011 Assist researchers in finding and publishing in appropriate venues for their IFAMA presented
research Continue planning and host the 3rd Annual Agricultural Conference at AUT on June 16-17,
2011 Begin searching for a publisher for an edited volume focusing on Albanian agricultural
products consumer preferences
11. Please list all partnership-related events (ceremonies, conferences, meetings, workshops) in the U.S. and Host-Country that will take place during the next six months and include dates and locations. HED and USAID will use this information to schedule site visits. 3rd Annual Agricultural Conference at AUT June 16-17, 2011
12. Overall, activities for this partnership are (please select one): __X__ on schedule_____ ahead of schedule_____ behind schedule
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Partnership/Participant Information Please provide appropriate numbers to support the following activities for the semi-annual reporting period. See Glossary at the end of this form for definitions. To avoid double counting, report only NEW participant completion numbers for this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011). A
participant/recipient can be counted and reported only once each year even though the person is still participating each reporting period. If the person is involved in mutually exclusive activities, then he/she can be counted once for each activity.
TABLE 1. HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT: NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO COMPLETED USG-FUNDED SHORT-TERM (LESS THAN 6 MONTHS) NON-DEGREE PROGRAMS INVOLVING HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS. Short-term training or exchange programs are less than six months. Programs may be formal training courses, research activities, or informal learning activities, such as study tours, job shadowing, coaching, or mentoring. Higher education institutions may be US, host country, regional, or third-country and include universities, teacher-training colleges and institutes, community colleges, post-secondary professional and technical schools, and research institutes.
ACTIVITY Faculty (Teaching Staff) Non-Teaching (Admin) Staff Students and Others Locationof Activity TOTALS
New activities forcurrent reporting
period10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011
MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE USHOST or
3rd
COUNTRY
New participants this reporting period
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
Number of Host-Country participants who COMPLETED 1 semester of study funded by the grant or cost-share Description of study: Number of U.S. participants who COMPLETED 1 semester of study funded by the grant or cost-shareDescription of study: Number of exchanges COMPLETED for Host-Country participants going to the U.S. or other countries
Description of exchanges:
1 U.S. Government reports often require participants to be described by gender (Male and Female) and by estimated age—youth (25 years and under) or adult (26 years and older)
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ACTIVITY Faculty (Teaching Staff) Non-Teaching (Admin) Staff Students and Others Locationof Activity TOTALS
New activities forcurrent reporting
period10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011
MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE USHOST or
3rd
COUNTRY
New participants this reporting period
25 yrs&
under
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
25 yrs&
under1
26 yrs &
older1
Number of exchanges COMPLETED for U.S. participants going to Host-CountryDescription of exchanges:Number of Host-Country participants who COMPLETED internshipsDescription of internships:Number of U.S. participants who COMPLETED internships Description of internships:Number of Host-Country participants who COMPLETED non-degree training --workshops, seminars, special classes, study tours, job shadowing, coaching, mentoring, etc. during this reporting periodDescription of non-degree training:
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TABLE 2. HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT: NUMBER OF HOST-COUNTRY INDIVIDUALS WHO COMPLETED USG-FUNDED LONG-TERM PROGRAMS RESULTING IN ACADEMIC DEGREES OR PROFESSIONAL OR TECHNICAL CERTIFICATES. Long-term programs are six months or longer (“scholarships”) which lead to academic degrees (AA, BA, MA, PhD) or professional certificates (not certificates of attendance or completion.) Partner higher education institutions may be US, host country, regional, or third-country and include universities, teacher-training colleges and institutes, community colleges, post-secondary professional and technical schools, and research institutes.
Please provide appropriate numbers to support the following activities for the semi-annual reporting period. See Glossary at the end of this form for definitions. Please note that a participant/recipient involved in mutually exclusive activities should be counted for
each activity.To avoid double counting, report only NEW participant completion numbers for this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
Completion of Long-Term Training
Location of Activity
Number of New MALE Participants
Number of New FEMALE Participants
Degrees and CertificatesAwarded this Reporting Period
Subject Area2
USHost or
3rd
Country
25 yrs& under3
26 yrs& older2
25 yrs& under2
26 yrs& older2
MALE FEMALE
25 yrs&
under2
26 yrs&
older2
25 yrs&
under2
26 yrs&
older2
Professional Certificates
Baccalaureate
Masters
Financial Mgmt.
Enterprise Mgmt.
Ag Policy
4
3
5
27
17
9
Doctorate
Dual Degrees ׀
Joint Degrees׀
2 Example: Education, Agriculture, Health, Business, Law, Environment, etc.3 U.S. Government reports often require participants to be described by gender (Male and Female) and by estimated age—youth (25 years and under) or adult (26 years and older)
17
Describe training programs: The training program is a new Master’s degree granting program introduced to the Faculty of Economy and Agribusiness in 2010 in collaboration with AHEED project.
Describe types of degrees: XXX ׀
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TABLE 3. ORGANIZATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT STRENGTHEN THE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS. An organizational improvement is a change in structures, systems, resources or policies that improve the performance of the institution. This includes, but is not limited to, changes in human resources (improved faculty skills, improved capacities of staff and administrators); management and administration (financial management, service delivery, fundraising, outreach, institutional linkages to the private sector, personnel policies); research capacity and methods; and academic programs (quality relevant degree programs, curricula, pedagogy).
Please describe how your partnership was engaged in the following institutional capacity strengthening activities at the host country and U.S. institution(s) during this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
ACTIVITY Description of Activity Benefiting Host Country Higher Education
Institution(s)
Description of Activity Benefiting U.S. Higher Education Institution(s)
3a. Established new academic programs
N/A
N/A
3b. Reviewed academic programs/curricula
N/A
N/A
3c. Developed new individual courses
N/A
N/A
3d. Improved teaching/learning methods
N/A
Last year 6 courses of the Master’s program were taught by US instructors; this year Albanian instructors taught several of the classes following last year’s prototype. This exposed Albanian students to new teaching methods and improved materials.
N/A
3e. Developed new teaching modules
N/A
N/A
3f. Improved faculty skills/ improved capacities of staff and administrators
N/A
N/A
3g. Improved financial management, service delivery, fundraising, outreach, institutional linkages to the private sector, or personnel policies
N/A
N/A
3h. Publications resulting from partnership activities
N/A
Three research projects representing collaborations between FEA and UH faculty on milk, table olives and apples are being prepared for the IFAMA and the 2011 FEA/AUT conference.
N/A
Collaborative research between FEA and UH faculty on milk, table olives and apples are being prepared for international symposiums.
3i. Other:
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TABLE 4. NEW RESEARCH ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED BY COMBINED USG AND NON-USG RESOURCES. This includes funded social and scientific applied research, not basic research. Funding can include USG, higher education institutions, other public sources, other donors and development banks and private sector.
Please describe how your partnership was engaged in the following research activities at the host country institution during this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
ACTIVITY Description of Activity Benefiting Host Country Higher Education Institution(s)
4a. New research programs initiated
N/A
4b. New research proposals developed
N/A
4c. Research fellowships granted N/A
4d. Research outputs produced, including peer-refereed journals, technology products, policy briefs, teaching materials, etc.
N/A
4e. Other:
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TABLE 5. USG-ASSISTED NEW POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM ACTIVITIES IN HOST COUNTRY. Policy development and reform activities include but are not limited to policy analyses, policy dialogues, policy designs, policy research, and legislative testimony, regardless of sector.
Please describe how your partnership was engaged in the following policy development and reform activities at the host country institution(s) during this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
ACTIVITY Description of Activity Benefiting Host Country Higher Education Institution(s)
5a. New policy analyses, policy dialogues, policy designs, policy research, and legislative testimony
N/A
5b. Policy effects on K-12 N/A
5c. Policy effects on Workforce development
N/A
5d. Policy effects on Trade Capacity N/A
5e. Policy effects on Rural Development N/A
5f. Policy effects on Economic Growth N/A
5g. Policy effects on Agriculture/ Food Security
N/A
5h. Policy effects on Nutrition N/A
5i. Policy effects on Environment/ Natural Resources
N/A
5j. Policy effects on Business Development
N/A
5k. Policy effects on informed policy at local, community, and/or national levels
N/A
5l. Other:
TABLE 6. NEW INNOVATIONS FROM USG-SUPPORTED HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS APPLIED TO DEVELOPMENT. Innovations include research-based science and technology inventions, patents, value-added products, goods, and services that are adopted and applied in any sector. These innovations are critical links of the value chain for the needs of the productive sectors (public and private) in society.
Please describe how your partnership was engaged in the following research-based innovation activities benefiting the host country and U.S. institution(s) during this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
ACTIVITY Description of Activity Benefiting Description of Activity Benefiting
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Host Country Higher Education Institution(s)
U.S. Higher Education Institution(s)
6a. New/improved research-based science and technology inventions and/or patents; value-added products, goods and services that are adopted and applied in any sector
N/A
N/A
Other: TABLE 7. HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTIES, DEPARTMENTS, OR PROGRAMS THAT HAVE MET ONE OR MORE CRITERIA TOWARDS ACCREDITATION AS A RESULT OF USG SUPPORT. Accreditation is the acknowledgement by a recognized international, regional, or national accreditation agency that a higher education institutional unit (specific faculty, department, or program) has met criteria and benchmarks that reflect sector, national, or industry standards. Criteria are established by accrediting agencies.
Please describe how your partnership was engaged in the following accreditation activities benefiting the host country institution(s) during this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
ACTIVITY Description of Activity Benefiting Host Country Higher Education Institution(s)
7a. New Academic Programs Accreditation - New acknowledgement by a recognized international, regional, or national accreditation agency that a HE institutional program has met criteria and benchmarks that reflect sector, national, or industry standards
N/A
7b. New Academic Departmental Accreditation – New acknowledgement by a recognized international, regional, or national accreditation agency that a HE institutional department has met criteria and benchmarks that reflect sector, national, or industry standards
N/A
7c. New Faculty Member Accreditation – New acknowledgement by a recognized international, regional, or national accreditation agency that a specific faculty member has met criteria and benchmarks that reflect sector, national, or industry standards
N/A
7d. New Higher Education Institution Accreditation – New acknowledgement by a recognized international, regional, or national accreditation agency that a Higher Education Institution has met criteria and benchmarks that reflect sector, national, or industry standards and has received full accreditation.
N/A
7e. Other:
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TABLE 8. NEW MANAGEMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING AT HOST COUNTRY INSTITUTION AS A RESULT OF USG INVESTMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS. Increased management or institutional capacity includes improved administration, financial management, human resources, strategic planning, and service delivery. Higher education institutions include universities, teacher-training colleges and institutes, community colleges, post-secondary professional and technical schools, and research institutes. Other organizations could be research institutes, think tanks, policy centers, NGOs/PVOs, Chambers of Commerce, public advocacy organizations, etc.
Please describe how your partnership was engaged in the following management activities benefiting the host country institution(s)during this reporting period (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011).
ACTIVITY Description of Activity Benefiting Host Country Higher Education Institution(s)
8a. New/improved administration, financial management, human resources, strategic planning, and service delivery
N/A
8b. New/improved governance structures N/A
With assistance from the AHEED project, the FEA is organizing an annual conference with the aim of making it self-sufficient in the future. A newly introduced registration fee will allow the organizers to be more independent in the future.
8c. New/improved administrative/management procedures
N/A
8d. New/improved business models and income generating schemes
N/A
8e. New/improved international development oriented programs
N/A
8f. Other:
TABLE 9. CONTRIBUTIONS MADE FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD (10/1/2010 – 3/31/2011)
Name of Contributor
Type of Contributor4
Description of Contribution
Estimated Dollar Value of
Contribution
Name of Contributor
Other leveraged contributions not reported as official or proposed cost share. (See Glossary for definitions.)
NGO (Host-Country)
Three mini grant projects proposed by participants in the AHEED project are being
$9000.00 USD ($3000/project)
Albanian USAID – World Learning Center
4 E.g. Public sector (Host-Country), Public Sector (U.S.), NGO (Host-Country), NGO (U.S.), Private sector (Host-Country), Private sector (U.S.).
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funded by USAID through the World Learning Center
NGO (U.S.) Two faculty members has won travel grants of $500 each to go to 2011 IFAMA symposium in Frankfurt
$1000 International Food and Management Association
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Partnership Profile1. In approximately one page or less, please provide an executive summary of your higher
education partnership, including:
Key development issue(s) being addressed; Overall objective(s) for the partnership; Primary activities of the partnership; Outcomes this during this reporting period
Key Development Issue(s): The key development issue being addressed is the economic development of Albania’s agriculture sector primarily through training faculty, students and extension personnel as a long approach to enhance capacity and also improving the local work force by integrating research and extension. Overall Objective(s) for the Partnership: The overall objective for the partnership is to strengthen the Agricultural University in Tirana/Faculty of Economy and Agribusinesses (FEA) faculty’s capacity to provide quality graduate education and to build capacity for effective training, consulting and advising to the Ministry of Agriculture, extension agencies, and producer associations. Primary Activities of the partnership:
Albanian instructors began teaching 3-5 core classes based upon the classes previously taught by American instructors.
Developed relevant training modules and conducted training workshops. Continued engaging faculty into collaborative scholarly research activities relevant to solving
agricultural issues Hosted workshop to share and promote AUT research to MOA officials and extension agents Presented research at local and international conferences Continued monitoring mini-grants work
Outcomes this Reporting Period:One of the main goals of the AHEED project is the build the capacity of AUT”S faculty in effective training, consulting and advising to the Ministry of Agriculture, extension agencies, and producer associations, and this year several workshops and courses were held to achieve this objective. Perhaps the most important of these, “Research at FEA, Supported by AHEED Project and USAID”, was given at the Ministry of Agriculture with the aim of promoting AUT/FEA’s collaborative research with extension agencies. This workshop brought AUT/FEA scientists together with, Ministry and extension agents as well as funding agencies and allowed them to highlight current research while opening a dialogue among the stakeholders regarding current and future research needs. Other effective courses and workshops include an on-line course on latent class analysis attended by 3 Albanian faculty members and 1 UH student. In addition, two workshops given by project PI Dr. Catherine Chan-Halbrendt in January 2011 on consumer preferences and Sawtooth Software SSI were immediately applicable to consumer preference research ongoing at AUT.The new MSc II program, developed in collaboration with the AHEED program, entered its second year as Albanian instructors began to assume responsibility for teaching the classes previously developed by AHEED instructors. “Applied Economics for Business Management”, taught by Dr. Irma Qinami, and “Research Methodology”, taught by Prof.As. Engjell Skreli, are completed with three more classes in the planning stages. The classes have been well received and have helped revitalize the AUT/FEA curriculum.The 2011 IFAMA conference in Frankfurt, Germany will be a great opportunity for FEA staff to share and promote their research as well as network with colleagues. A record ten proposals representing the work of 19 FEA faculty members have been selected to present by conference organizers. Though a travel grant of $13000 from USAID unfortunately fell through, two researchers, Drini Imami and Evdin Zhllima were able to procure their own travel grants through the conference. AUT/FEA, supported by the AHEED project, will organize and host the 3rd Annual Economics Symposium in Tirana, Albania in June 2011. This symposium will be an excellent platform to highlight research at AUT, and allow AUT faculty and students and to share their knowledge as well as network with colleagues from Italy, England and Austria.As the project moves forward, priorities will include continued improvement of teaching methods; exposure of AUT faculty to more international conferences in order to increase networking, collaborations, and build knowledge and capacity; and further facilitation of the faculty’s skills in grant writing and independent procurement of funding for their research.
2. Include one or two well-crafted success stories related to your partnership (see attached success story outline as a guide).
Title: Better Living through Agribusiness ResearchHow university researchers, Ministry of Agriculture officials and Extension agents are working together to improve the lives of Albanian farmers
Researchers on the Faculty of Economy and Agribusiness (FEA) at the Agricultural University-Tirana (AUT) have been working hard for years to better understand Albanian agribusiness. Unfortunately, the results of this research have not always reached those to whom it matters most—the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) officials who develop policy and the
extension agents who pass the results onto farmers. This is where the Albanian/Hawaii Higher Education and Economic Development (AHEED) project comes in. Since its inception in 2009, the project has worked to close the gap between extension needs and research produced by the university.
After much consideration, the project decided to try to encourage FEA faculty to collaborate with MOA officials and extension agents by offering mini-grants
to finance exceptional research of strong interest to the MOA and extension. While this research was certainly interesting, it was pointless unless the project could make sure its results reach the people who most needed it—the farmers. Cooperating with MOA director Tatiana Dishnica, AHEED project officials decided to bring together three major actors in this process: the FEA faculty who produce research of interest, the extension and MOA agents to whom the research could be of great use and the funding agencies such as USAID who could facilitate these partnerships. The idea was to allow the researchers to present their current research projects and get feedback and ideas from the audience in order to guide future projects. In true collaborative spirit, a MOA extension specialist helped FEA organize the meeting, and, in addition to MOA officials, it was announced to extension staff in Tirana and other cities, as well as to USAID, the Albania Agriculture Competitiveness (AAC) program and World Learning Project staff.
The culmination of all this hard work took place on February 14 in the MOA meeting room. AHEED project assistant in Albania, Ana Kapaj presented an overview of the project and the AUT FEA research it supports. Presentations topics ranged from consumer preferences for apples, olive oil and table olives to greenhouse tomato value chain analysis. The audience of FEA faculty, MOA officials, extension agents, and representative from USAID, AAC and World Learning listened carefully to all the presentations and asked many intelligent and probing questions regarding the research, results, and methodology. Extension and Ministry representatives thought the agriculture products selected for study were of great importance to Albanian agriculture. Olives and olive oil are two of Albania’s most important agricultural products and so were of great interest to the audience. Extension agents and AAC Program staff were particularly interested in the three consumer preferences studies’ methodology and are very
interested in applying this method to other Albanian agricultural products. FEA’s research faculty benefited from this interaction as well. They found the feedback they received form MOA and extension agents to be very useful to not only the projects they are working on now, but also for better understanding what the agencies need from them in the future. But perhaps the most encouraging outcome of the workshop is that MOA officials and extension agents also expressed their hope and willingness for future collaborations and research support. They are looking forward to future workshops to strengthen the bond between AUT FEA, the Ministry, and extension, particularly workshops focusing on consumer production, price analysis, policy analysis and value chain analysis. All in attendance thought this workshop was a step forward in the collaboration between University researchers, the Ministry, and extension. In the end, all realize the importance of getting the answers Albanian farmers need to maximize their productivity and their profits. With the assistance of the AHEED project, these groups are learning to work together to improve the lives and livelihoods of Albanian farmers.
3. If appropriate, please provide HED with samples of information about your partnership disseminated during this reporting period and the following as attachments to this report:
Photographs that may be used in future HED publications (Enclose prints or a CD-ROM with high resolution images);
Articles published in the campus, local, national, or international media; Papers published or presented; and Features in any other media.
Please note that photos submitted with success stories are intended to be used in HED publicity materials. HED reserves the right to use these images in its fact sheets, success stories, presentations, website, and other outreach materials. Please include caption and photo credit information with images.
4. We invite you to share any additional information or comments about your partnership. Apple_project_WL.docxConsumer_preference_for_table_olives_in_Tirana.docWorld Learning_Study Project_22.02.2011.doc
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!
Glossary of Terms
Accreditation is the acknowledgement by a recognized international, regional, or national accreditation agency that a HE institutional unit (specific faculty, department, or program) has met criteria and benchmarks that reflect sector, national, or industry standards established by accrediting agencies.
Capacity: Usually considered mental and/or physical ability to produce and/or perform; learning, improving:
Human Capacity Strengthening focuses on the development of people’s knowledge and skills, not things. Helping people identify what they would like to see changed, learn new skills to achieve what they believe is most important.
Institutional Capacity Strengthening focuses on institutional changes that will improve the operation of the institution and its ability to provide quality higher education.
Cost Share Contributions: Cash and in-kind contributions that are: 1) verifiable from the applicant’s records, i.e., auditable; 2) not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted program; 3) reasonable for the accomplishment of partnership objectives; and 4) not paid by the federal government under another grant.
Degree Training: A learning activity taking place in the U.S., Host-Country or a third country, which may eventually result in a bachelor, master or doctoral degree, conferred by a higher education institution.
Double Counting: Something to be avoided when reporting numbers of participants taking part in partnership activities. A participant/recipient can be counted and reported only once each year even though the person is still participating each reporting period. If the person is involved in mutually exclusive activities, then he/she can be counted once for each activity.
Dual Degree Program: An academic program in which an individual receives a degree from each institution (Host-Country and U.S.) for academic work completed at both institutions. The work may be completed on campus or via distance education.
Exchanges: An institutional visit by a representative from a Host-Country, or U.S. institution for a partnership-related activity (excludes scholarships and internships) to another partnership related institution.
Higher Education Institutions may be US, host country, regional, or third-country and include universities, teacher-training colleges and institutes, community colleges, post-secondary professional and technical schools, and research institutes.
Higher Education Partnerships are formal linkages between U.S. and host country tertiary institutions designed to strengthen the host country institution through a variety of activities to improve the host country institution’s contribution to development. Other benefits of such partnerships also accrue to the U.S. institution.
Increased Management and Institutional Capacity includes improved administration, financial management, human resources, strategic planning, and service delivery. Higher education institutions include universities, teacher-training colleges and institutes, community colleges, post-secondary professional and technical schools, and research institutes. Other organizations could be research institutes, think tanks, policy centers, NGOs/PVOs, Chambers of Commerce, public advocacy organizations, etc.
Innovations include research-based science and technology inventions, patents, value-added products, goods, and services that are adopted and applied in any sector. These innovations are critical links of the value chain for the needs of the productive sectors (public and private) in society.
Internship: This service learning activity complements a participant’s academic study, training or research and may take place in the U.S., Host-Country, or a third country. It is not defined as training.
Joint Degree Program: An academic program in which an individual receives one degree (with both institutions named on the diploma) for academic work completed at Host-Country and U.S. institutions. The work may be completed on campus or via distance education.
Leveraged Contributions: Additional financial or in-kind donations made as a result of an HED partnership beyond the originally anticipated cost share.
Long-term Programs are six months or longer (“scholarships”) which lead to academic degrees (Associate Degrees, Baccalaureate Degrees, Master’s Degrees, Doctorate degrees) or professional certificates (not certificates of attendance or completion.).
Non-Degree Training: A learning activity taking place in the U.S., a third country, or in-country in a setting predominantly intended for teaching or imparting knowledge and information to the participants with designated instructors or lead persons, learning objectives, and outcomes, conducted full-time or intermittently.
The transfer of knowledge, skills, or attitudes (KSAs) through structured learning and follow-up activities, or through less structured means, to solve problems or fill identified performance gaps. Non-degree training can consist of short- or long-term technical courses in academic or in other settings, non-academic seminars, workshops, on-the-job learning experiences, observational study tours, or distance learning exercises or interventions. Non-degree training may also include printed educational materials.
Objective Statement:An objective statement contains two parts that answers two questions: 1) what major activities will occur, and 2) what is expected as the outcome or to change as a result of these activities.
Example:University partnership faculty from the U.S. and Host-Country will recruit and train eight long-term degree scholarship recipients for graduate degrees in natural resource management (NRM) resulting in 75% of the recipients returning to full-time teaching positions in a newly established NRM program at the University of Gaston Berger.
Activity: Something that happens or is done
Outcome/Result: Terms are used interchangeably—an expected change as a consequence of an activity.
Organizational Improvement is a change in structures, systems, resources or policies that improve the performance of the institution. This includes, but is not limited to, changes in human resources (improved faculty skills, improved capacities of staff and administrators); management and administration (financial management, service delivery, fundraising, outreach, institutional linkages to the private sector, personnel policies); research capacity and methods; and academic programs (quality relevant degree programs, curricula, pedagogy).
Policy Development and Reform Activities include but are not limited to policy analyses, policy dialogues, policy designs, policy research, and legislative testimony, regardless of sector.
Research Outputs are results of research activities of partnerships that are documented or published and disseminated in form of peer-refereed journals, technology products, policy briefs, teaching materials, etc.
Short-term Non-Degree Programs are less than six months and may be formal training courses, research activities, or informal learning activities, such as study tours, job shadowing, coaching, or mentoring, or exchanges including an institutional visit by a representative from a Host-Country or U.S. institution for a partnership-related activity (excludes scholarships and internships).
Workforce Development Programs: Workforce development programs include technical and vocational education programs and workforce readiness programs.
Examples: Delivering adult education, basic skills training, and/or high school equivalency programs; Delivering vocational education programs for youth. Connecting individuals with job search training and skills training through one-stop centers; Linking intermediary organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, in school- to-work
partnerships. Offering employee development, career development, and organization development programs
Partnership Success Stories
Higher Education for Development (HED) enjoys highlighting partnership success stories and photographs to educate the public about our programs, explain how U.S. development assistance works, and demonstrate the impact U.S. Agency for International Development-funded projects have on peoples' lives around the world. We want to convey information that the everyday reader can care about and understand. A Success Story does this by describing how an individual or community benefitted from our projects or programs, illustrated by a powerful photograph. The story should introduce the challenge, character, or opportunity, briefly explain the HED partnership and describe the end result or benefit.
Situation/Setting Problem/Challenge Project (what/why) - goal/purpose Solution/Results/Value
HeadlineGood headlines or titles are simple, jargon-free, and have impact; they summarize the story in a nutshell; and include action verbs that bring the story to life. Your headline should include few words.
SubheadIf you wish to provide a subhead, it should expand on the headline, humanize the story, or highlight a key fact.
Story CopySuccess stories will vary depending on the details of specific projects. Stories will resonate if they are personalized to show the impact of programs for specific individuals or groups affected by the project and relates to greater community, regional, or global needs. They should highlight how challenges were resolved or make explicit and illustrative the results of our programs. Depending on the specifics of a project, the success stories can be crafted to highlight our impact with a few different styles.
HED success stories online are roughly 150-200 words, but longer formats of up to 1,000 words coincide with USAID’s word limit and would be useful for information kits and other promotional purposes as well.
General Success StoriesThe introduction should showcase the challenge a person or group encountered and the context of the partnership. Presenting a conflict or sharing a first person account is two good ways to grab the reader's attention. Continue by describing what action was taken to improve the situation and briefly describe the project, highlighting HED’s role (as well as other stakeholders like USAID and/or university partners). Finally describe the end result or benefit. What changed for the person or community? What was learned? What was received? What was the impact? How did this make a difference in the community or country overall? (350-500 words)
Case StudyThe case study is a more succinct snapshot of a partnership’s success that highlights three aspects, the challenge, initiative, and results. Challenge: states the problem, issue or opportunity. (Up to 150 words.)
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Initiative: The initiative should be strategic in nature and explain what partnership programs addressed the challenge and how they responded to host country needs. (Up to 150 words.)Results: This last paragraph represents the end result or benefit — what changed, what was learned, what was received. Try to use quantitative measures and illustrative, tangible results when possible. We want to show strong impact. (Up to 150 words.)
Before and AfterA Before and After comparison can also highlight partnership impacts visually and in narrative form This example should broadly explain why the partnership initiative was needed and how it helped or affected the community. (Up to 250 words.) Graphic depictions of the contrast will strengthen the piece.
First PersonFirst person stories should be told from the beneficiaries of HED’s partnerships. They focus on one person who benefited from the project or worked to create change in the community and should provide a compelling account of how partnerships make a difference. These stories should include a quote and photo. (Up to 350 words.)
Photos & Quotes: Accompanying the StoryStrong images and interesting quotes grab readers and pique their curiosity to read a story. Provide a quote that represents and summarizes the story. This 10-20 word quote should capture the success of the program and will be highlighted in the piece. Please be sure to identify the source of the quote (name, title, affiliation).
Your photograph will bring the story to life. The photo should be colorful, depict action, capture people's attention, and feature a main character prominently if possible.
Photograph Specifications: The preferred format for photos is .jpg, .bmp, or .gif file, with at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). Digital photos should be shot with at least a 3-megapixel resolution. The larger the file, the better the quality and final result.
Please also include with photos: Permission to use photograph Photographer's name and organization Caption: A sentence of about 15 words that briefly summarizes what is occurring in the
photograph. Please specify who is in the image, what they are doing, when (if relevant), and where they are.
For archival purposes: date, HED partnership title, country (and region/city) of photo.
For more information on creating success stories, please visit USAID’s “Telling Our Story” section at http://www.usaid.gov/stories/guidelines.html.
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