Annual report 2016

NFP and NICHE programme

2 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme – Introduction

Foreword

It is with great pleasure that we submit our 2016 annual report of the Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) and the Netherlands Initiative for Capacity development in Higher Education (NICHE).

2016 was a year of innovation, progress and reflection. Within the Innocap project, new approaches for capacity building were brought forward, as well as pilots with co-financing of the NFP master’s degree programmes and new modalities such as the calls for partnerships in Bangladesh or joint and innovative initiatives.

Nuffic continued to embed the Dutch agenda for Aid, Trade and Investment in the NICHE and NFP programmes, stimulating local economic development and improving the business-enabling environment. Technical vocation and training as well as entrepreneurship development were emphasised in the NICHE and TMT projects to provide students with the right technical skills and a business mindset. NFP students were able to become acquainted with relevant businesses and organisations in the Netherlands, while NFP and NICHE alumni were linked to the Dutch business community in their country during events and conferences.

We are proud of the number of projects and scholarships that we were able to award: 30 NICHE projects of which 19 NICHE projects and 11 projects under Innocap, 1,086 NFP short courses, 432 NFP master’s degrees, 37 PhD scholarships, 79 TMTs, 5 TMTs under Innocap and 20 refresher courses. The work of our partners in the Capacity Development activities is featured in this annual report.

2016 was also a year of reflection, as the NICHE and NFP programmes will enter a new phase as a combined Knowledge Development Programme (KOP). Country studies in Kenya and Tanzania were executed as part of the evaluation of the NFP programme and an external evaluation of Ethiopia was also completed.

We intensified our collaboration with the Dutch Enterprise Agency and their Private Sector Development coaches, as both organisations work to improve the business-enabling environment and encourage cross-sectoral synergies.

One of the highlights of 2016 was the combined trade-knowledge mission to Ethiopia in May. The knowledge and expertise of the Dutch education sector is an important export product. The delegation included representatives from companies and educational institutions in the agricultural sector. For the first time, a two-day thematic NFP alumni conference was organised in the slipstream of the mission by Nuffic, in which over 40 Ethiopian and Kenyan alumni took part. After all, Holland Alumni are key to Dutch public and economic diplomacy.

I would like to thank our 96 Dutch knowledge partners for their achievements and efforts in implementing integrated capacity building. In addition, many compliments to our 210 southern partners for their dedication and good work to strengthen their organisations. We look forward to continuing our cooperation.

Theo Hooghiemstra Nuffic Director, The Hague, June 2017

3 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme – Management Summary

Management Summary

In 2016, the service portfolio of NICHE and NFP, the capacity development programmes administered by Nuffic, was extended beyond the traditional projects, trainings and fellowships that are much appreciated in our partner countries.

INNOCAP, which started in mid-2015, delivered its first tangible results in 2016. In consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, as well as the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (VH), Borderless Network, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, PIE and Profound and knowledge institutions in the Netherlands and in the programmes’ partner countries, the one-size-fits-all approach of the past years made way for greater flexibility.

10 projects with a co-financing component, though representing only a limited percentage of the project budget (28%), show that a contribution from the project beneficiary can turn out to be feasible in countries that have grown out of the aid relationship. Both local governments and the private sector proved to be able to contribute financially to several projects. With funding from other sources than Dutch development aid, the possibility for mutually beneficial initiatives emerged.

Other countries are still fully dependent on aid, but in many cases synergies were realised through improved coordination of different (Dutch) funding channels, as is described in the full report. “Experiments” in INNOCAP also included shorter project periods (down to 19 months) which proved a fitting solution in the quickly changing and competitive business environment. But educational institutions also benefited from well-defined, agile problem solving (e.g. business incubators, Living Labs), which in some cases was scaled up only when project participants were convinced of the commitment of their partners – leading to a lower risk of large-scale projects getting stuck in sluggish communication.

The standard tender procedure of searching for an executing consortium for a predefined project was replaced in 11 cases by a call for project proposals which were developed jointly by Dutch implementers and partners in NICHE countries from the start based on an equal relationship and mutual interest in a certain topic. These proposals yielded surprising projects that brought results quickly and are transferable to the context of other partner countries.

However, success is not reserved exclusively for the 16 INNOCAP projects. The 197 regular NICHE projects (19 of which started in 2016), 1 TDECB project, 99 NFP group trainings and 1,558 individual NFP fellowships continued to market the Dutch “export products”: education and expertise. Dutch education is famous for practically oriented, competency-based learning (CBL) that equips individuals with independent problem-solving skills, an entrepreneurial attitude and the ability to contribute to teamwork across disciplines. Dutch expertise is renowned and sought after on topics like water engineering, agriculture and logistics (including maritime logistics), with green energy being increasingly prominent as well.

The 20,000 international students and alumni registered in the Holland Alumni Network promote Dutch education abroad and are advocates of Dutch expertise. Through thematic networks in water, logistics and agri & food, alumni, Dutch higher education institutions, businesses and other relevant organisations around the world connect and continue to create solutions for global challenges. Holland Alumni’s ties with the Dutch private sector will help the latter gain a foothold in fast-growing economies that offer ample opportunities for investment and trade.

Another pillar of NICHE and NFP in 2016 was Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Dutch TVET is of excellent quality due to the close cooperation between the private sector and educational institutions, a model which governments of partner countries are eager to adapt. Unlike in most developing countries, TVET

4 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme – Management Summary

graduates are respected in the Netherlands because of their expertise and because of the underlying idea of life-long learning. The Dutch system of “doorstroom” (transfer) from lower to higher levels of TVET education and beyond offers many possibilities for TVET students to develop further. This concept was well received wherever Nuffic presented it.

The 85 NICHE projects that intervene at TVET level will improve the business-enabling environment in our partner countries by helping to transform the high number of unemployed young academics and unskilled dropouts into the skilled workforce the economy needs to gain momentum. This transformation will simultaneously lower the threat that high numbers of jobless young people without perspective can pose to their country and the region.

The infographics clearly show the incredible number of opportunities that were created through the programmes, influencing not only the lives of the people who directly benefited, but also the lives of their families, hundreds of employer organisations and the millions of beneficiaries of the services and goods these organisations provide. The total number of beneficiaries for 2016 can only be approximated, keeping in mind that each year more students will attend the 940 curricula developed through NICHE and more people will profit from the improved services of the organisations benefiting from NICHE and NFP. Up till now, 122,000 students attended the courses that were newly developed or substantially updated through NICHE. These students’ skills will match the demand of the labour market in their home countries because the curricula are based on thorough labour market analyses and because internship systems have been set up to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

The results of the efforts under NICHE and NFP contributed substantially to the objectives set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the policy priorities for development cooperation:

98 NICHE projects contributed to Food Security, reaching 293,000 farmers who were able to increase their productivity and income. This was achieved through classical on-campus trainings, e-learning modules, model farms, extension services of educational institutes to farmers, availability of better agricultural inputs and techniques, improved value-chain management and logistics, techniques of processing and conservation, entrepreneurial skills training and many other interventions. 809 NFP fellowship holders who are in a position to improve the food security in their home countries were trained directly, 15 of them being PhD fellows who develop knowledge that is of specific value for the local context of their country or region.

The Ethiopian Centre of Excellence in Freight Transport and Logistics is a great example of how NICHE supports an organisation that plays an important part within a large-scale programme involving Dutch and Ethiopian enterprises, the EKN in Addis Ababa and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. A thematic alumni event on food security was held in Ethiopia where Kenyan alumni were also invited.

Complementary to the results in food security is the contribution made by 42 NICHE projects (of which 6 started in 2016) to the policy priority Water. More people have safe drinking water and sanitation, water management was improved to protect people from water-related natural hazards like floods and droughts, and the productivity of water used for agricultural purposes increased. 330 NFP fellowship holders were selected in 2016 to improve the water situation in their country by studying in the Netherlands.

5 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme – Management Summary

A thematic alumni conference – “Challenges that are posed to sustainable development and livelihood in the Mekong Delta” – was held in Vietnam, paying special attention to agriculture and coastal management, water planning and water governance. The event acted as a catalyst for the interaction between Dutch companies (Vitens Evides, Pernam and Fresh Studio) active in Vietnam and Vietnamese knowledge institutions and professionals in the water sector. In Benin, 568 students enrolled in new courses, developed with NICHE support, of the only institute for water in the country which was set up under NPT, a NICHE predecessor programme.

32 projects supporting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) were implemented in 2016 and 90 NFP fellowships were awarded to individuals who are in a position to improve the situation in their home country. Perinatal health is one of the priorities within SRHR. In Ghana alone, the number of new midwives trained will lead to 150,000 more births being attended by professionals. In Benin, medical staff have been trained to prevent complications during and after birth that affect the lives of mothers. The projects and fellowships supported interventions ranging from the training of trainers on family planning (including the facilitation of safe abortion) to awareness-raising workshops among male and female adolescents about self-determination and equality of the partners involved in a relationship; from contributing to the establishment of health insurance systems to fighting against HIV/AIDS; from training on hygiene to counteracting impunity for sexual and gender-based violence.

With the help of 29 NICHE projects and 136 NFP fellowships, Security and Rule of Law in our partner countries improved. There are various approaches, such as short trainings on how to use the media to counter radicalisation or how to fight corruption; trainings on forensic investigation with 351 graduated technicians so far in Guatemala and another 20 in Rwanda; assisted reforms of the judicial system and/or improving the access of citizens to the judicial system in fragile states like Yemen

and the Palestinian Territories. The accountability of the national police in Guatemala was improved by training 8,396 police officers.

Finally, it must be noted that providing people with a perspective for their future by improving education and employment in any other field contributes to the stability of a state just as much as the interventions mentioned above.

It was a pleasure to operate NICHE, NFP and the INNOCAP projects in 2016. We look forward to continuing to use our expertise in programme administration to support Dutch policy priorities and scale up the outcomes of our good experiences from INNOCAP in 2017.

We are Nuffic: the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education. From primary and secondary education to vocational and higher education and research. Our ambition is for every pupil and student to gain international experience.

With this in mind we encourage everyone to expand their limits.

Nuffic. Meet the world.

Co-financing

2 Start-up alumni associations 3 Visits to Dutch companies

“Our alumni are not only ambassadors, but

our business partners of the future”

Programme managementFinanced by Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Administrated by Nuf�c

NFP Results

2016

Master

1,230PhDs

122Short

Courses

3,544

Total

424

Female211

Sub-Saharan

Africa280

Sub-Saharan

Africa625

Female18

Sub-Saharan

Africa19

Total

37

Female547

Food securitySafety and Rule of LawWater and SanitationSexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Total

1,097

50% of the budget

is for applications from Sub-Saharan Africa.

50% of fellowships

has to be awarded to female applicants.

– Refresher Courses 20

– Start-up alumni associations 4

– Alumni Events 34 • regional and thematic 15 • awarded and planned for 2017 16 • visits to Dutch companies 3

AwardedPhD Fellowships

Eligible candidates

AwardedMA Fellowships

AwardedSC Fellowships

NFP objectives

Alumni activities:

PriorityAreas

Tailor-MadeTraining

Total

84

Sub-Saharan

Africa 49

35%Food security

67%Category 1 countries

6 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme – NFP Programme

NFP Programme

7 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme – NFP Programme

Cuba

Philippines

Georgia

Armenia

Afghanistan

Pakistan

IndiaNepal

BhutanBangladesh

Burma/Myanmar

CambodiaThailand

Vietnam

Mongolia

Sri Lanka

Indonesia

Albania

Egypt

Nicaragua

Colombia

Peru

Chili

Bolivia

Ethiopia

Burundi

Zambia

Tanzania

Mozambique

Zimbabwe

Kenya

Somalia

Burkina Faso

Mali

Benin

Nigeria

Ghana

Liberia

Rwanda

Congo

Sudan

South Sudan Uganda

Yemen

South Africa

Surinam

Macedonia

NFP – Awarded Fellowships 2016

Palestinian Territories

www.nuffic.nl/en/nfp

Sierra Leone

Guinea

Afghanistan 6 2 0 1Albania 2 2 0 1Armenia 2 3 0 1Bangladesh 41 22 0 3 1Benin 0 0 0 5Bhutan 21 7 1 2Burma/Myanmar 7 0 1 4Bolivia 2 1 0 0Burkina Faso 1 0 0 0Burundi 0 0 0 1Cambodia 4 1 0 0 1Colombia 14 7 1 2 2Congo 1 1 0 1 1Cuba 2 0 0 1Egypt 2 2 0 0Ethiopia 206 48 12 7 2Georgia 3 5 0 1Ghana 63 66 0 3Guatamala 0 0 0 1Guinea 0 0 0 1India 90 3 5 0 2Indonesia 153 20 1 2 1Kenya 131 56 1 5 1Liberia 0 0 0 1Macedonia 0 0 0 1Mali 3 0 0 0Mongolia 3 0 0 0Mozambique 0 0 1 4 1Nepal 47 28 2 4Nicaragua 0 0 1 1Nigeria 76 18 0 1 1Pakistan 11 9 0 1 1

Master Short Course PhD PhD Refresher Courses

Palestinian Territories

0 0 1 2

Peru 6 6 1 0Philippines 37 18 2 1 1Rwanda 5 13 1 2 1Sierra Leone 0 0 0 2Somalia 6 0 0 0South Africa 1 3 0 2 3South Sudan 0 0 0 1Sri Lanka 4 3 1 1Sudan 3 3 0 1Surinam 1 0 0 2Tanzania 55 38 0 3Thailand 3 2 0 1Uganda 61 9 4 6 1Vietnam 10 2 1 1Yemen 1 1 0 1Zambia 3 12 0 0Zimbabwe 10 13 0 3

TOTAL 1,097 424 37 84 20

NFP Results

8 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme

NICHE Programme

“Education is key to development”

Programme managementFinanced by Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Administrated by Nuf�c

NICHE projects last 4 years

Newly developed courses from current projects will open for students

in the coming years.

Number of students

NICHE Results

2010-2016

Strengthenedorganisations

Priorityareas

Implementationeducational programmes

Trainedstaff

Gender

Labour market

210post-secondary

educational organisations in NICHE countries

total

122,015

attending newly developed courses

women15,492

Partnerships

3,142 newly developed

or improved educational programmes

total

39,507

promotion of female

academic staff gender sensitive

curriculasupport for

female leadership

role models for female

students

profession oriented learning

incubatorsinternships

business sector alliances

96 Dutch organisations

contributing to capacity building

Cross-cutting themes

All NICHE projects respond to gender and local labour market needs.

other17%

food security

40%

water18%

security and the rule

of law12%

sexual and reproductive health and

rights (SRHR)13%

June 2017

9 – Annual report 2016 NFP and NICHE programme

www.nuffic.nl/niche

Bangladesh

Burma/Myanmar

Vietnam

Indonesia

Palestinian Territories

Egypt

GuatemalaColombia

Ethiopia

Burundi

Zambia

Tanzania

Mozambique

Kenya

Mali

Benin

Ghana

Rwanda

South Sudan Uganda

Yemen

South Africa

NICHE countries

the Netherlands

Great Lakes Region

ProjectsGrant amount

in million € FS Water S&RL SRHR

Bangladesh 12 17.6 ● ● ● ●

Benin 14 16.5 ● ● ●

Burma/Myanmar 2 3.1 ● ●

Burundi tba tba

Colombia 6 6.7 ●

Egypt 6 7.5 ● ●

Ethiopia 20 26.6 ● ● ●

Ghana 11 11.4 ● ● ●

Great Lakes Region** 2 2.0 ● ● ●

Guatemala 3 4.6 ●

Indonesia 17 21.4 ● ● ● ●

Kenya 19 17.8 ● ● ●

Mali 7 9.0 ● ● ● ●

Mozambique 32 39.4 ● ● ● ●

Palestinian Territories 2 4.5 ● ●

Rwanda 16 22.7 ● ● ●

South Africa 11 15.4 ● ●

South Sudan 3 4.6 ● ●

Tanzania 10 15.1 ● ● ●

Uganda 4 9.3 ● ● ●

Vietnam 5 10.1 ● ● ●

Yemen 7 8.6 ● ● ● ●

Zambia 5 7.8 ●

TOTAL 214 281.8

Current partner countries

Food security

Security and the rule of Law

Former partner countries

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

To be announced

FS

S&RL

SRHR

tba

* Great Lakes Region is the region Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

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