Advancing Postgraduate Education in Africa: ACE Impact Project Overview

6th ACE Impact Virtual Regional Workshop OVERVIEW DEVELOPMENT IMPACT DISBURSEMENT LINKED INDICATOR 2 Dr. Sylvia CC Mkandawire Project Manager ACE Impact Project, Regional Facilitating Unit Association of African Universities Participating Countries Senegal Togo Nigeria Guinea Gambia Niger Burkina Faso Cote D Ivoire Ghana Djibouti Benin ACE Impact Project - Advancing the Quality, Quantity and Access of Postgraduate Education in Africa

ACE Impact Project DLI 2. DEVELOPMENT IMPACT THE APPROACH TO DLI 2 EVALUATION CRITERIA Presentation Outline COMMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS

ACE Impact Project Measure the development impact of each Center through independent, external evaluation both at national and regional level, in terms of the extent of their contribution to their sector/industries DLI 2. Development Impact Assess the quality of the postgraduate graduates and applied research DLI 2 varies between countries from US$25,000 to US$35,000 equivalent per point in the score (1 to 5 scale)

ACE Impact Project ACE Impact is a results-based initiative, under which Centers must achieve DLIs to earn funds DLI 2 entails an evaluation of each Center by an External Evaluator (Consultant) Evaluating DLI2 DLI 2.1 (Progress Towards Development) will be evaluated for both new and emerging in year 3, and DLI 2.2 (Development Impact) will be evaluated in year 5. Evaluation in year 2 or 3 (for renewal) and then in year 4 (Development Impact) To ensure quality and transparency in the evaluation, a Working Group was created to guide on the definition of the criteria and methodology for evaluating DLI 2

ACE Impact Project Diverse constitution: 3 Center Leaders, 2 Reps from AAU, 2 Reps from WB, 2 Experts Responsibilities: draft the TOR for the external evaluation of DLI 2, define methodology, disseminate outputs to assure transparency, support evaluation process, help with recommendations Working Group Three web meetings: between 1stof March and 15th of April Deliverables: TOR for independent evaluation of DLI 2 with proposed methodology, meeting reports, present in regional workshop, Webminar Created the TOR for the consultant and created a detailed list of criteria to include in the evaluation process that the consultant will use to measure impact.

ACE Impact Project Evaluation Criteria shall include: Dissemination of Research Number of student internships Relevance and impact of graduates on society, including the number of graduates hired in the sector Number of short courses delivered in response to sectoral stakeholder requests Progress on other DLIs / DLRs Impact of research / innovation (e.g. startups / prototypes) Evaluation of Center and SAB annual reports Interviews with graduates, sectoral stakeholders, employers, Suggested Evaluation Criteria DLI2

ACE Impact Project Evaluate the contribution of the Centers towards development impact, in terms of graduates and applied research Broad objectives of the evaluation Make an overall independent assessment (external consultant) of the performance of the project, with attention to the impacts of the project activities against its objectives Analyse the spillover effects and outcomes of the development impact Identify key lessons and propose practical recommendations for follow-up actions

ACE Impact Project DLI 2 is very important. It s about impact! Key Observations & Points to Note Evaluation of DLI 2 is complex WG process was participatory and positive, providing a solid basis for the evaluation of DLI 2 Evaluation needs to be open & transparent External consultant is key for the success of the evaluation (independent, experienced, rigorous) Success means quality of the evaluation & recommendations Full collaboration of the Centers, and all stakeholders, is determinant

uv THANK YOU MERCI OBRIGADA