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Advanced training for administrative staff
Local anchorage for global action
Core labour standards in Southeast Asia
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Advanced training for administrative staff
For a competent and efficient public administration
By Paul Schlüter
InWEnt and the University of Potsdam celebrated a small anniversary at the beginning of April: their Master of Public Management course is now in its fifth year. Eighteen participants from 17 countries who are being promoted by the German Development Ministry (BMZ) began their studies in Potsdam on April 1. They will complete it at the end of 2004 with, hopefully, all obtaining a Master's degree.
InWEnt has implemented the Master of Public Management (MPM) programme since 1999 in cooperation with the University of Potsdam. The participants obtain the much sought-after title in Potsdam in an English-language course of two semesters [six-month terms]. The programme's goal is to strengthen the performance of the administrations in the partner countries and by means of the advanced training of multipliers, such as staff in ministries, municipalities and further training institutions, make a contribution to democracy, decentralisation and efficient administrative action. The participants come from countries which work closely with the German Federal government in development policy. Many of them stem from InWEnt projects or those of other developmental organisations, such as the GTZ and the German political foundations. Via InWEnt, the BMZ grants up to 20 scholarships per year out of an annual total of about 250 applications. Some 100 applicants from 28 countries have been accepted to date. Most of the participants are at least 30 years-old and work in responsible positions in their homelands.
The participants spend 14 months in Germany, most of which is determined by a tight work schedule: they have to attend management courses and seminars on public administration, budgeting and finance; write comparative studies and a number of term papers; take intermediate examinations; prepare presentations – and at the end they have a two-month Master thesis to complete. There is not much time left for them to get to know their host country and the other participants.
That is why it is all the more important that the University of Potsdam organises a tour around Germany for them, and that some participants have the opportunity to attend international summer universities. In addition, InWEnt organises during the 14 months three meetings with all participants at which the pressure of study and exams can be forgotten. Instead, the focus is on South-South and South-North communication, intercultural learning – and partying. What expectations do the participants have of living and working in Germany? What is their image of Germany when they come here, what of their time here do they take back home? What cultures do they come across during their advanced training, what differences and things in common can be noted? The experiences of recent years have shown that this 'extra' in the InWEnt offer, which in this form has not existed for all that long, is received extremely positively by the participants and makes a substantial contribution to the success of the entire programme. Since as part of the three meetings at least one includes a visit to Bonn organised by InWEnt, the scholarship holders also have the opportunity of getting to know the host organisation and the developmental goals of the German Federal government.
For some of the people in InWEnt divisions, the MPM offer has become an indispensable part of their work because many of the programme's graduates have since become important contacts in the partner organisations. The intended capacity-building has, for instance, resulted in a much better cooperation with the Academy of Management in Mongolia, the National Academy of Public Administration in Vietnam, and the Office of the Prime Minister of Namibia. New, reliable partner organisations have been gained due to the commitment of the participants, and new projects designed.
The programme was developed by the former Centre for Public Administration of the German Foundation for International Development (DSE). It would be desirable if other InWEnt units would in future use the MPM offer more intensively for cooperation with their partner organisations.
Further information: InWEnt Division 2.03, Administrative Policy/Security Policy, at paul.schlueter@inwent.org
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