BTC Annual report 2014

BELGIAN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

Annual Report 2014

KEY FIGURES 2014TURNOVER

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2010 2011 2012 2013 201425

5

253

244

229

235

In million euros

TURNOVER BY ACTIVITY (€ million) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Public development cooperation tasks (direct bilateral cooperation) 218 218 205 216 226.5

Specific public development cooperation tasks (Infocycle, Kleur Bekennen, Annoncer la Couleur, Trade for Develop-ment Centre, emergency aid, rehabilitation aid…) 11 10 9 7.5 6.5

Other development cooperation tasks that are entrusted to BTC by third parties (European Union, World Bank, DFID…) 23 22 12 9 8

Junior Programme 3 3 3 2.5 3

Total turnover 255 253 229 235 244

STAFF 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Staff in Brussels 202 210 198 187 178

International experts 176 184 190 185 186

Junior Assistants 78 88 76 66 64

Local staff in the country offices 201 200 193 179 169

Local staff in the interventions - 739 744 1,014 850

Total 657 1,421 1,401 1,631 1,447

1 HEAD OFFICE, 15 COUNTRY OFFICES

BTC’s head office is in Brussels. BTC also has a country office in the main city of 15 partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation (not in Algeria, South Africa and Ecuador).

• Ecuador• Peru• Bolivia

Belgium

PalestinianTerritory

Vietnam

• Algeria• Morocco• Senegal• Mali• Niger• Benin

• Congo (Dem. Rep.)• Uganda• Rwanda• Burundi• Tanzania• Mozambique• South Africa

Central Africa (RDC + RWA + BDI)N&W Africa + Middle EastE&S AfricaLatin AmericaAsia

Health

Agriculture

Infrastructure

Education

Governance

Multisector

Others49%

26%

11%

9%

5%

0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25

25

22

20,5

17

9,5

5

1

GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN SECTORAL BREAKDOWN

1

Foreword .................................................................................................................................... 2

Performance .............................................................................................................................. 3

Strategic map ......................................................................................................................... 3

Contribution of the Country programmes to results 1, 2 and 3 ............................................ 5

Result 4 (internal organisation) ............................................................................................. 6

Result 5 (support from political decision-makers) ................................................................ 7

Accountability ............................................................................................................................ 8

Management bodies .............................................................................................................. 8

Internal complaints ................................................................................................................ 8

Internal audit ......................................................................................................................... 8

Organisation chart 2014 ........................................................................................................ 9

Workforce Report .................................................................................................................... 10

Financial report ........................................................................................................................ 16

2

2014 was an important year in BTC's existence. On 4 April the Council of Ministers approved the Fourth Management Contract concluded between the Belgian State and BTC. The new Management Contract does not completely respond to the earlier ambition to profoundly reform and reorganise governmental development cooperation, but it does contain some very significant improvements giving BTC more autonomy and responsibility.

The planning cycle of governmental development cooperation is revised, so projects and pro-grammes can be started faster after the Joint Commissions. BTC for a first time is given a formal supportive role in identifying programmes to be implemented. New concepts are introduced for technical assistance to better respond to the various assignments that are entrusted to development cooperation experts. BTC is asked to develop a robust and credible monitoring and evaluation sys-tem in which the own management bodies are given a more important part. For financing, finally, BTC's management costs will depend on operational expenditure as from 2017.

Sustainable Development Goals

2014 will be put on record as the year that the existing aid paradigm, which has determined our work since 2000, started shifting to a new model. In September 2015, the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 will be followed up by the Sustainable Development Goals, which comprise a more comprehensive and universal agenda. The 2002 Monterrey Financing for Development Conference will be followed by the Financing for Development Conference of Addis Ababa in July 2015. This will not only address traditional donor funds, but also other financial means that help finance develop-ment efforts, such as tax systems and trade revenues, and the fight against corruption.

Undoubtedly, the Sustainable Development Goals and the future commitments of Addis Ababa will have consequences for our sector and how we work.

Beside these new international choices, also the policy choices of the Belgian Development Coopera-tion will influence BTC's future. The new Minister of Development Cooperation, Alexander De Croo, clearly chose to concentrate governmental development cooperation in fragile and least developed countries, and to focus on inclusive economic growth and respect for human rights. He emphasises the achievement of results, but is willing to take into account the risks involved in said partner coun-try choices. BTC has ample experience in a few fragile states and will further develop its tools to bet-ter address the risks involved in its assignment: in-depth screening of all actors involved, a perform-ing monitoring system and a well-developed knowledge building system determining what works and what does not work in such difficult settings.

The policy is clear. BTC is ready to start implementation.

Carl Michiels Chairman of BTC's Management Committee

3

In 2012 BTC adopted a strategy that defines the objectives that it wants to achieve by 2016. These 13 strategic objectives are brought together – in BTC's strategy map – in 4 perspectives which express BTC's desire to focus its management on results in general and on those of interventions in particular in order to eventually contrib-ute to the development processes of Belgium's partner countries.

BTC is concerned about monitoring its perfor-

mance, i.e. the degree to which it achieves its

strategy. Monitoring its performance must enable

it to: (i) Steer its strategy by sound decision-

making based on regular performance measure-

ments; (ii) Analyse, draw lessons and learn; and

(iii) Render accounts and ensure that it contributes

to the commitments made by Belgium, in particu-

lar under the OECD Development Assistance

Committee's framework on the evaluation of assis-

tance and the IATI initiative on aid transparency.

BTC aims to monitor its performance by means of

a limited number of key performance indicators

that are aligned with the objectives of its strategy

map. The monitoring of BTC's performance will be

implemented progressively since it depends on the

concomitant evolution of the information man-

agement system. It will be put in place step by step

as from the beginning of 2015.

4

There are five results in terms of changes to which BTC wants to contribute in relation to its main stakehold-

ers.

In the following pages, the results achieved by each partner country in 2014 are accompanied by a reflection from the local BTC resident representative on the contribution of BTC's portfolio to one of the three primary global results to be achieved by 2016.

Main commis-sioner:

the Belgian State

People benefit-ing of the inter-

ventions

Partner Institutions

BTC employees Belgian politi-cal decision-

makers

1. Support the Bel-gian State with its

strategies

2. Strengthen the efficiency of the

interventions

5. Obtain increased support from Belgian

political decision-makers

4. Adapt our internal organisation

3. Support our part-ners in their institu-tional development

5


strategies


interventions





Algeria

“The Cooperation Programme concluded between Belgium and Algeria at the end of 2013 is the first under the new Belgian Development Cooperation strategy in a middle-income country. It emphasises the transfer of competences and of new technologies and capacity development through the creation of partnerships between Algerian and Belgian institutions. The new programme primarily targets environmental issues.”

Georges Pierseaux, Brussels-based acting Resident Representative

Environment & Waste Management

- Elaboration of the comprehensive management plan of the Algiers coastal watershed.- Design of a pollution vulnerability map for the watershed and water table

of the Mitidja plain.- Installation of a dynamic management system for the Boukourdane, Bouroumi,

Keddara and Hamiz dams.- Development of a water-saving awareness-raising programme targeting pupils

of 300 classes.

Improved water source in urban areas (% of urban population with access): 86%

- Support to the creation of two public waste collection and processing units.- Ongoing construction of an engineered landfill at El Keurt, which will include a sorting centre.- Training of engineers and officers of the public industrial and business unit for managing waste.- Removal of 15 illegal landfills.

CO2 emissions (metric tons/capita): 30%

Budget by sector (in %)

11213

expatriate

national

staff members

3.4 million euros of turnover in 2014

5 interventions ongoing in 2014

Population: 39.21 millionLand area: 2,381,741 km2 (78 times Belgium) GNI per capita: $ 5,330Human Development Index: 0.717 – 93rd / 187

Infrastructure Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentMulti-sectorOther

70%

25.5%

3%

1.5%

Algeria is listed in the high human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Algeria increased 40.8%, i.e. an average annual increase of 1.04%.

4th bilateral donor of Algeria in financial terms

Benin

“Institutional support is essential to our programme.In the agriculture sector, the support to organisation-building of professional agricultural or-ganisations in the rice, market produce and cashew nut value chains allowed the establish-ment of cooperatives, the maintenance of plantations, commercialisation, the achievement of organic certification and the supply of inputs and seeds to meet the needs expressed by the membership.In the health sector, the initiatives developing the local health system showed significant positive effects in the five health zones supported. Participation to self-assessments was broadened to other actors outside the health sector, such as individuals, households and the community. The various stakeholders are actively involved as co-producers of their own health and participate to the care providers’ platforms, which strengthens the quality of the health services, in particular the delivery of care, the functioning of the management bodies, of the private sector and of the communes.”

Michel Françoys, BTC Resident Representative in Cotonou

Agriculture

- Publication of three regional inventories of actors promoting the agricultural value chains covering all components of the value chains.

- Achievement of 21 village assessments allowing better alignment of the programme components with the agriculture council strategy.

- Training of agents of the regional agricultural centres for rural development (908 training sessions).

- Achievement of 45 high-quality communal infrastructure investment projects: boutiques, market infrastructure, warehouses, hydro-agricultural works, culverts.

- 13% increase of turnover in the cashew nut value chain and achievement of organic certification.

- Better structuration of the rice chain: collective harvesting and marketing of paddy rice; aggregate turnover of the communal unions doubled.

Rural population (% of total population): 57%

Health

- Improvement of the blood supply system in five health zones: 95% of needs met.- Installation of a results-based management and financing mode in five health zones,

involving: - Improvement of numbers of users of the health centres, of supervision and

of availability of medication and vaccines. - Strengthening of the referral/counterreferral system in two sub-territories. - Activation of the supply/demand dialogue mechanism thanks to the recruitment

of advisory consultant physicians and of NGOs to evaluate service delivery. - Installation of health service users platforms. - Identification of the destitute in 32 targeted ‘arrondissements’ and in the

26 ‘arrondissements’ of the Donga.- Establishment of a new birth registration system.

Life expectancy at birth: 59.33


17108125

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 10.32 millionLand area: 112,620 km2 (3.7 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 790Human Development Index: 0.476 – 165th / 187

Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentHealthMulti-sector

60%

37%

3%

Benin is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Benin increased 65.8%, i.e. an average annual increase of approximately 1.54%.

6th bilateral donor of Benin in financial terms

Bolivia

“BTC’s programmes in Bolivia in a strategic way develop and strengthen the capacities of our partners at different levels of government (ministries, departments, municipalities). In the health sector and the rural development and irrigation sector our actions provide feedback of successful field experiences to the central level and inspire decision making.

In a medium-income country like Bolivia our primary focus is on training staff, using avail-able resources more efficiently and transferring technologies and know-how. Capitalising on the experiences of our development cooperation programmes allows us to better tar-get and improve the implementation of our interventions.

Our programmes are aligned with the development plans of Bolivia and implemented in a permanent spirit of partnership. Some are pilot interventions for the Bolivian government. This was the case for an innovative project in support to family agriculture which was launched in 2014 in the Chuquisaca department.”

Christelle Jocquet, BTC Resident Representative in La Paz

Health

- Contribution to the global result: 91% of children are breast-fed exclusively during six months thanks to the promotion of breastfeeding by the programme’s nutrition units.

- Contribution to the global result: 85% of children under two eat food supplements (Nutribebé) thanks to gifts of the programme.

- Decrease of chronic malnutrition among children under two in 166 priority municipalities of the “Programa Desnutrición Cero”.

- Emergency aid to prevent a dengue epidemic following the floods in the La Paz and Beni departments.

- Gift of medical equipment for cervical cancer screening to the Ministry of Health.

Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 33

Rural Development and Irrigation

- Increase of productive farmland with 1,050 hectares, thanks to increased access to water. Support to almost 30 irrigation projects to the benefit of more than 1,100 families.

- Institutional strengthening of 12 municipalities in the Cochabamba and Chuquisaca departments.

- Support to the commercialisation of cocoa of the Forest cocoa pickers association and coaching for obtaining Fair Wild certification for chocolate.

- Plantation of seven million trees to extend the forest cover.- Training of more than 2,000 farmers in agroforestry, marketing and business management.

Forest surface (% of territory): 52.5%

62531

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 10.67 millionLand area: 1,098,580 km2 (36 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 2,550 Human Development Index: 0.667 – 113th / 187

Bolivia is listed in the medium human development category of the UNDP’s report. Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Bolivia increased 35.1%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.92%.


Health Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentMulti-sectorOther

53%

44%

3%

1%

Burundi

“In Burundi, through solid partnerships with Belgian institutions and synergy with other development cooperation actors the effectiveness of the interventions deployed has sig-nificantly improved. For instance, the interventions in support to Burundi’s National Police benefited from the valuable collaboration with Belgium’s Federal Police. A similar approach was used in the domain of Justice where several experts of Belgium’s Federal Public Service Justice and Belgium’s Judicial Training Institute were mobilised in support to Burundi’s Su-preme Court, the Professional Justice Training Centre and the penitentiary administration. In these two domains, this approach brought significant added value in particular because of the trust that soon established between staff members of the institutions of Burundi and Belgium and because of the ease of assessing issues and searching pragmatic solutions with peers, who are used to work in only slightly different settings and are familiar with the profession’s experiences, challenges and reforms.

In addition, the synergies created in other sectors of intervention – with the University of Ghent, the Museum for Central Africa at Tervuren, APEFE, MEMISA, CARITAS, ASF, the Swiss cooperation, the Dutch cooperation, the European Union among others – allow the set-up of a smart systemic approach combining the complementary actions of the various actors to eventually improve aid effectiveness.”

Olivier Heck, BTC Resident Representative in Bujumbura

Agriculture and Rural Development

- Construction of water-drawing device on the Nyamagana River to irrigate 4000 ha cultivated by 4,218 farmers.

- Financial support to 60 agricultural projects and increase of producers’ capacity to negotiate credit conditions.

- Paving of 44 kms of roads in Bujumbura and Kirundo, enabling the training of 3,834 apprentices (5.5% of households living in the northern communes of Bujumbura).

Vulnerable employment (% of total employment): 94.6%

Health

- Complete reform of bachelor-level nurses training in paramedical schools and rehabilitation of 3 public paramedical schools.

- The number of patients transferred in emergency to district hospitals has doubled (from 1,746 in 2012 to 3,512 in 2013) thanks to a referrel/counterreferral system in Kirundo and Muramvya.

- Implementation of Performance-based financing (PBF) at the central level.


Education

- Support to the coordination of the 69,000,000-euro Common Education Fund for the account of Norway, France, Belgium, UNICEF and the Global Partnership for Education.

- Rehabilitation of four technical and vocational training centres. Elaboration of a training offer matching the job market to facilitate professional insertion.

- Development of professional, competence, training and evaluation specifications for the basic primary school and secondary school teachers training.

Primary school drop-out rate (% of the primary school cohort): 56.2%

64200264

expatriate

national

staff members

46 million euros of turnover in 2014

1st bilateral donor of Burundiin financial terms

Population: 10.16 millionLand area: 26,338km2 (0.86 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 260Human Development Index: 0.389 – 180th / 187

EducationAgriculture & Economic DevelopmentHealthGovernanceInfrastructureMulti-sector

47.5%

16%

12%

12%

10.5%

2%

Burundi is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Burundi increased 69.3%, i.e. an average annual increase of 1.61%.



DRC

“Whereas governance used to be a fully-fledged intervention sector, today it has become a transversal theme taken into account in all priority sectors under the latest two govern-mental cooperation programmes. For that reason, road maps list recommendations for rehabilitating the overall intervention framework of the Belgian-Congolese development cooperation. Joint Management Support Units (‘Unité Conjointe d’Appui à la Gestion’/UCAGs) within the priority sector ministries aim to strengthen the sector ministries’ capac-ities at the central, deconcentrated and decentralized levels. The objective is to increase the level of ownership of the interventions of the Belgian–Congolese cooperation so as to ensure sustainability and empower the governmental action.”

Dirk Deprez, BTC Resident Representative in Kinshasa


- Construction and equipment of 18 administrative buildings.- Organisation of more than 80 training sessions for 1200 administrative officers

at the central, deconcentrated and decentralised levels.- Maintenance of 2,400 kms of dirt roads.- Rehabilitation of 93 bridges between 2011 and 2014.- Rehabilitation of 10 ferries in four provinces between 2013 and 2014.- Construction of three new ferries.- Installation and support to more than 100 local road maintenance committees.- Installation of 12 rural development houses in view of creating synergy between

the Administration and the citizens at the local level.


Education

- Rehabilitation of 29 administrative buildings and construction of three new ones.- Organisation of 41 training sessions for 47 officers.- Development of new curricula for technical and vocational education.- Continuous support to the development of a strategy in technical and vocational

education and training.

Rate of Literacy (adults 15 +): 61.2%

Health

Support to 15 health zones, with the following effects:- The reorganisation of the general referral hospitals;- Better financial access for the population to care through the introduction of lump-sum

subsidized tariffs;- The availability of ambulances in hospitals at a mutual-insurance rate;- The fight against the sales of medicines that are not suited for consumption.



31186217

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 67.51 million Land area: 2,345,409 km² (76.8 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 430 Human Development Index: 0.338 – 186th / 187

InfrastructureHealthAgriculture & Rural DevelopmentMulti-sectorEducationGovernanceOther

39%

21.5%

17%

8%

7%

6.5%

1%

The DRC is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Congo increased 0.6%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.02%.

4th bilateral donor of DRC in financial terms

Ecuador

Health

- Improvement of access to health care for all, following the national model of comprehensive family, community and intercultural care, in eight districts:

- Training of staff in health management in six health districts; - Constitution of 115 health committees in the 128 operational health units; - Rehabilitation of 93 operational health units and gift of medical equipment

to improve their functioning.- Improvement of access to sexual health services for vulnerable adolescents

in the metropolitan district of Quito: - Awareness-raising among more than 30,000 youths aged 10–19 about their sexual

and reproductive rights; - Awareness-raising among more than 1,000 youths in a vulnerable situation to

prevent early pregnancies; - Training of health staff about sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents; - Rehabilitation and equipment of infrastructure of the three health units; - Contribution to the global result of more than 32,000 consultations per year for

adolescents aged 10–19 in the three health units.

Teenage pregnancy rates (births per 1,000 girls aged 15–19): 77

Rural Development

- Increase of revenue and employment of the most vulnerable populations in the four targeted provinces:

- Support to 88 economic development projects in rural environments, to the benefit of more than 10,000 people;

- Improvement of access to rural financial services; - Strengthening of 12 financial services organisations.

Vulnerable employment (% of total employment): 51%

63642

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 15.74 millionLand area: 283,561 km2 (9.2 times Belgium) GNI per capita: $ 5,760 Human Development Index: 0.711 – 98th / 187

Ecuador is listed in the high human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Ecuador increased 17.5%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.49%.


Health Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentMulti-sector

64%

32%

4%

6th bilateral donor of Ecuadorin financial terms

Mali

“From the Directorate-General of Local Authorities to the National Civil Registry Directorate, passing by the Ministry of Rural Development, the specific objective of no less than four interventions is directly related to institutional support and strengthening deconcentrated services in the exercise of their sovereign duties.

The other interventions also contribute to this result via the double anchoring principle: In the field, they conduct actions to respond to direct needs of the populations, whereas upstream, they strengthen deconcentrated services and professional organisations in their supervisory and coaching role of professionals in the sub-sectors concerned.”

Patrick Gaudissart, BTC Resident Representative in Bamako

Rural Development

- Rehabilitation of three pastureland areas, covering 56,000 ha, and improvement of access to pastoral resources such as watering points and fodder.

- Reduction by 88% of the surface burned by bush fires thanks to awareness-raising campaigns among the populations in the areas concerned.

- Installation of eleven cattle feed banks to improve the availability of fodder during the lean season.

- Vaccination of approximately 7,000 poultry through five rural veterinary cabinets that have been set up to increase animal health coverage.

- 150 households pulled out of extreme poverty, including 40 head of household women, through the granting of 900 small ruminants.

- Installation and stocking of five pisciculture sites, allowing 75 ton production of marketable fish.

- Increase of 100% of the supported private pisciculturists’ turnover in one year.


Decentralisation

- Information of citizens of 108 communes of the Koulikoro region about the importance of civil registry deeds through a poster and radio campaign and citizen’s manuals.

- Improvement of the civil registry service delivery through support to 267 registry offices and to the training of 150 communal agents, civil registry officers and state representatives.

- Training of 510 communal agents and 131 elected officials in management /administration, archiving and public accountability.

- Posting of street signs and numbering of doors in 2 cities in the Koulikoro region to improve fiscal revenue collection from taxable individuals and businesses.

- Improvement of work conditions in 31 communes through ICT equipment.- Strengthening of 116 Territorial authorities in their capacity to deliver high-quality

sustainable goods and services to the population (equipment and archiving material).- Support to 16 economic projects carried by women’s organisations, for a total

of 920 beneficiary women.

Population living in multidimensional poverty: 85.55%


112940

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 15.3 millionLand area: 1,241,231 km2 (40 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 670 Human Development Index: 0.407 – 176th / 187

Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentGovernanceInfrastructureMulti-sector

60%

33%

4%

3%

Mali is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Mali increased 95.5%, i.e. an average annual increase of 2.05%.

10th bilateral donor of Maliin financial terms

Morocco

“The Comprehensive agricultural development project of the rural communes of Iknioun and Aït El Fersi, in the Tinghir province, was completed at the end of November 2014. With Belgian support amounting to 3 million euros these two marginalized communes on the eastern slopes of the High Atlas received like a genuine small Marshall Plan, supporting all oasis agriculture components: construction of hydro-agricultural works, distribution of plants, seeds and various agricultural tools, financing of revenue-generating activities of cooperatives of young people and women, capacity development of the officials of the Ouarzazate Regional Office for Agricultural Development. An especially appreciated evo-lution during the five years of programme implementation was the installation (or reactiva-tion) of credible consultation and exchange platforms bringing together the State’s decon-centrated services and the area’s farmers. Morocco’s rural areas are laid out in function of the effective provision of water resources. The State has insisted upon the creation of Agricultural water users’ associations, which the project has patiently established and made into the farmers’ voice. It has indeed liaised and brought together and communicated locally on what was about to be done, and especially about what could not be promised to the farmers. Such intermediary governance instances are indispensable to ensure the sus-tainability of the works realized and their maintenance (cleaning, repairs, fair water tour). Through the field teams, local institutional development allowed the progressive transition of certain associations into service cooperatives (young orchard pruners and date palm pollinators) and commercial sales points for local produce, especially with women being better organised and entrepreneurial. These were definitely small contributions in this vast and changing kingdom, but the direct dialogue established between the beneficiaries and the project makes us hopeful.”

Jean-Yves Saliez, BTC Resident Representative in Rabat

Water and Sanitation

- Connection of 60,000 inhabitants in 40 middle-sized cities to a standardized liquid sanitation system.

- Rehabilitation of 45 rural primary schools with sanitation units adapted to the needs of the girls.

- Participation of approximately 4,000 women and 2,000 men to 77 awareness-raising sessions on the environment, school hygiene, the sanitation management of school buildings and gender equality.

Improved sanitation facilities in urban areas (% of urban population with access): 85%


- Planting of 1,650 hectares of almond trees to the benefit of more than 900 farmers.- Organisation of 38 days of training for more than 500 participants of the almond,

saffron and dates value chains.- Installation of 7.5 kilometres of small and medium water channels, including open

channels (seguias) and underground channels (khettaras).- Construction of four solar-powered pump stations in a fragile oasis environment.

Agricultural land (% of land): 68%


67076

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 33.01 millionLand area: 446,550 km2 (14.5 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 3,020 Human Development Index: 0.617 – 129th / 187

Infrastructure Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentEducationMulti-sectorOther

47%

41%

6%

5%

1%

Morocco is listed in the medium human development category of the UNDP’s report. Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Morocco increased 54.6%, i.e. an average annual increase of 1.33%.

6th bilateral donor of Moroccoin financial terms(2012 figures)

Mozambique

“BTC has financed the installation of more than 700 solar energy systems at schools and hospitals in remote regions. Maintenance of these installations however constitutes a major challenge because of very poor accessibility. In order to ensure proper function-ing of these installations – supplying electricity for refrigerating vaccines, for illumination of night-time deliveries, for computers for administrative and internet use, for improving means of communication – there is a genuine need to be well-informed about the mainte-nance requirements. Since 2014, BTC has started rigorously monitoring a series of solar energy-production installations with its partner FUNAE. Via the mobile phone network the monitoring system sends data on the ratio between available electricity and electricity con-sumption and signals any problems. The web-based monitoring of these data simplifies the maintenance of the installations and improves the availability of electricity in rural areas in Mozambique.”

Paul Van Impe, BTC Resident Representative in Maputo

Energy

- 98 remote schools provided with electricity, television sets, DVD players, computers and printers for better education.

- 38 remote health centres provided with electricity for better illumination of night-time deliveries and emergency operations, as well as storage of vaccines.

- 37 remote administrative posts provided with electricity for more effective administration using computers (internet) and light for late meetings.

- 133 staff houses of nurses and teachers provided with electricity, leading to better retention of staff in rural areas.

- Wind energy potential studied at 5 villages.- Construction of measuring weir on the Luangua River in Machele-Meponda,

Niassa province.

Access to electricity (% of population): 15%

Health

- Improvement of HR management capacity through technical meetings of HR managers;- Definition of a strategic vision, mission and new functions by the Health Ministry’s

HR Management Directorate;- Improvement of quality and more effective use of Health HR Management Information

Systems;- Better equitable allocation of medical staff in the provinces;- Better working conditions for HR units in the Ministry, 11 provinces, 128 districts and

30 hospitals;- New HR management tools: HR archive management, HR procedure manual,

HR staff allocation tool, HR budgeting tool, HR staff integration manual;- 31 additional health units – 5 at central and 26 at rural/district level, have been financially

decentralized through the purchase of equipment and training on the country’s financial management information system (e-SISTAFE).


101626

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 25.83 millionLand area: 799,380 km² (26 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 610 Human Development Index: 0.393 – 178th / 187

Mozambique is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Mozambique increased 59.6%, i.e. an average annual increase of 1.43%.


Infrastructure HealthMulti-sectorOther

57%

35%

7%

1%

Niger

“Much progress has been made in Niger in respect to health. With its financing policies improved, the country hopes to address lingering challenges such as maternal mortality. Putting in place social protection mechanisms in the health sector is one of the keys to accessible health care.BTC’s institutional support consists of the creation of a National health insurance working group.In the consultation process, Belgium was the only donor to question the community-based health insurance approach and contributed to orienting the financing policy towards universal health insurance coverage, including the most vulnerable and destitute.”

Éric de Milliano, BTC Resident Representative in Niamey

Stock Breeding & Rural Development

- Support to the elaboration of strategies for the Livestock security fund, for the management of slaughterhouses, for rabies control and for herd censuses.

- Improvement of coordination between the livestock sector actors through a consultative platform.

- Achievement of 18 hydraulic works.- Launch of corridor and pasture land marking works: 2,000 kms planned.- Competence development of some thirty community agents in livestock revenue

and investment-related fiscal administration.

Improved water source in rural areas (% of rural population with access): 42%

Health

- Support to the elaboration of the reforms laid down in the Health development plan 2011–2015;

- Realization of the preliminary topographical and geotechnical master plan studies for the construction of 4 District Hospitals;

- Realization of a survey on health coverage and ownership of the approach by the Ministry of Public Health in view of country-wide roll-out.


Governance and Food Security

- Financing of 170 micro projects to boost food security.- Gift of 77 tons of cereals to provide more than 500 vulnerable persons with food

at below-market prices during a minimum 60-day lean period.- Improvement of access to drinking water for more than 6,000 people and alleviation

of chores of almost 7,800 women thanks to the rehabilitation of 2 mini drinking water supply systems, the construction of a village well and the installation of 8 grain mills.

Population living in multidimensional poverty: 89.81%


158196

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 17.83 millionLand area: 1,267,000 km2 (41.5 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 400 Human Development Index: 0.337 – 187th / 187

Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentHealthMulti-sector

75%

24%

1%

Niger is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Niger increased 76.4%, i.e. an average annual increase of 1.74%.

Palestine

“Since 2011, the Local Government Reform and Development Programme has been working closely with four pilot clusters of Local Government Units (Village Councils) in order to improve their capacity for delivering local services by using the scarce resources more efficiently. At the moment the Palestinian territory is fragmented with more than 240 small village councils unable to play their role at the local level.

Therefore, a pilot process of collaboration is being promoted between the villages through the creation of Joint Service Councils. These councils consist of different villages or mu-nicipalities, which work closely together to deliver one or more services (building roads, improving water supply…). The Belgian Development Cooperation supports institutional development and capacity building, while at the same time funding infrastructure projects. Yet, the establishment of the Joint Service Councils is only an intermediary phase. The ultimate goal is to create a newly amalgamated or agglomerated municipality, such as Al-Karmel in March 2015.”

Willy Demeyer, BTC Resident Representative in Jerusalem

Education

- Start of construction to a climate-friendly school in Wadi al-Mughair. This project uses geothermal energy to regulate the temperature in class rooms.

- Selection of East Jerusalem schools that will be granted rehabilitation funding on the basis of a needs assessment in 121 schools.

- 288 schools granted IT equipment for e-learning at school. They also receive technical and pedagogic support to develop materials into full learning materials.

- Training of 90 school inspectors (media and student-centred teaching), who will coach and train 1200 teachers.

- Development of the national www.elearn.edu.ps portal where teachers can upload teaching materials. The portal site already has 5000 users and a million pages visited.

- Introduction – in close collaboration with the private sector – of ‘Work-based learning’ in technical and vocational education, to create better job prospects for youths.

Literacy rate (adults 15 +): 95.3%

Local Authorities

- Organisation of the International Conference of Local Authorities in Solidarity with the Palestinian People: Local Authorities at the Heart of the State of Palestine: more than 650 participants, including Palestinian (300 Palestinian local authorities) and foreign mayors.

- Collaboration between Joint Village Councils to improve management and transform the councils into municipalities. Several projects to promote collaboration for the construction of roads, social infrastructure and council halls.

- Renewal of village centres with special attention for local economic development and the renovation of historic buildings to maintain the cultural patrimony of these villages.

Urban population (% of the population): 74.79%

81422

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 4.42 millionLand area: 6,520 km2 (0.2 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 3,070 Human Development Index: 0.686 – 107th / 187

Palestine is listed in the medium human development category of the UNDP’s report. Between 2005 and 2013 the HDI value of Palestine increased 5.7%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.70%.


Education Governance Health Multi-sectorOther

54%

39%

5%

1%

1%

http://www.elearn.edu.ps

Peru

“In November 2014, 16 comprehensive health system officers (Seguro Integral de Salud - SIS) shared experiences with Belgium’s National Institute for Health and Disability In-surance (INAMI/RIZIV) in Brussels. During this week the Peruvian officials familiarised themselves with a European health insurance system and learned about good practices to replicate in Peru. One of the results of this meeting was the design of the strategy of family doctors promoting health services, which will be implemented in 2015. The meeting was concluded with the signature of a cooperation agreement between Peru’s SIS and Belgium’s INAMI/RIZIV, which is a major step in the capacity development of SIS and which is supported by the SISTEC programme of the Belgian Development Cooperation.”

Guy Castadot, BTC Resident Representative in Lima

Health

- Affiliation of 15 million Peruvians to the comprehensive health system (SIS).- 16 senior managers trained in Brussels by INAMI/RIZIV.

Total health expenditure (% of GDP): 5.3%

Environment and Sustainable Economic Development

- Participation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP–20) in Lima in December 2014; contribution to the debate on the environmental policies in mountain regions.

- Support to environmental and sustainable development policies of the Ministry of the Environment and of five regional governments.

- Economic, environmental, social and cultural land management.

Impact of natural disasters (number of deaths per year and per million): 8.35

114657

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 30.38 millionLand area: 1,285,220 km² (42 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 6,270 Human Development Index: 0.737 – 82nd / 187

Peru is listed in the high human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Peru increased 23.8%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.65%.


Health GovernanceMulti-sector

48%

43%

8%

8th bilateral donor of Peru in financial terms

Rwanda

“The BTC experts in Rwanda provide significant support to the Embassy of Belgium in the policy dialogue and the elaboration of development cooperation strategies with the Government of Rwanda. That way, the Embassy disposes of indispensable data on the evolution in the three sectors of concentration, which are essential for feeding a relevant, targeted and concrete sector policy dialogue with the Government of Rwanda. BTC also ensures an appreciated follow-up of several transversal matters which, among others, relate to capacity development and public finance management, which constitute key topics of any dialogue with the Government of Rwanda.

In 2014, the BTC Representation provided very significant support to the installation of energy sector management instruments and to the reflection on an operational collabora-tion framework with the Rwandan sector Ministry as Belgium took on the lead donor role in this sector. BTC also plays a key role in identifying bottlenecks in Belgian–Rwandan programme implementation and in proposing concrete actions for key matters such as the faster implementation of programme execution and the monitoring and evaluation and sustainability of the interventions.”

Benoît Piret, BTC Resident Representative in Kigali

Agriculture

- Increase of productivity of 100,000 farmers by at least 50% through the participation to Farmer Field Schools – FFS.

- Involvement of 242,000 farmers in a campaign to fight BXW (banana bacterial wilt disease) .

- Designation of 2,500 FFS coaches as key players in the new national agricultural extension system aiming to reach each individual farmer in Rwanda.

- Production of 17,000,000 kg of potato seeds through positive selection (compared to 300,000 kg in 2013).


Health

- Improvement of the quality of health services of 30 district health management teams.- Equipment of ten maternities and of two neonatal care centres.- Initial accreditation of five District Hospitals.- Institutionalisation of a 3rd cycle in psychiatry at the National University of Rwanda.- Creation of a database of hospital biomedical equipment.- Training of 15,000 mental health community agents.


Energy

- Reforestation of 3,500 ha of land in view of reducing CO2 emissions and erosion.- Training of 181 professional foresters to increase the technical capacities of forest

sector operators.- Broadcast on BBC Great Lakes Service Radio and Radio Rwanda of a 24-episode

serial on agro-forestry issues.

CO2 emissions (metric tons/capita): 0.1 (Belgium:10.0)

217495

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 11.78 millionLand area: 26,338 km² (0.9 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 630 Human Development Index: 0.506 – 151th / 187

Rwanda is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report. Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Rwanda increased i.e. an average annual increase of 1.69%.


Health Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentInfrastructure EducationGovernance Other

61%

23%

7%

5.5%

2.5%

1%

3rd bilateral donor of Rwanda in financial terms

Senegal

“The health programme in Senegal has two main components. One component focuses on the offer, the quality of which must be improved, and the other component, as part of institutional development, focuses on the demand, namely the development of universal health coverage.

Since more than a year, under this second component, a pilot experiment has been running in five districts to test a health coverage model based on the Belgian model.

On the basis of this experience at the end of 2014 the President of Senegal decided to establish the Universal health coverage agency.”

Luc Vanbellingen, BTC Resident Representative in Dakar

Drinking Water and Sanitation

- 113,000 people have access to drinking water via the construction of 15 new village water supply systems and the rehabilitation of 13 existing ones.

- Access to basic sanitation for 31,000 people.- Training of some hundred Associations of well users (ASUFOR) in association

management to sustainably manage the drinking water and sanitation infrastructure and training of 200 women in hygiene and sanitation change management in their village community.

- Installation of 200 public toilet units in some hundred schools and training of 121 primary school teachers and 23 school inspectors in School Sanitation and Hygiene Education methods.

- Construction of 24 hydro-agricultural works in 121 villages to cultivate 622 ha of rice and 350 ha of market produce.

Improved drinking water sources (% of population with access): 74%

Health

- Lump-sum tariff system put in place in two departments to the benefit of 500,000 inhabitants.- Implementation of two departmental health insurance units.- 60 managers of the Ministry trained in leadership.- Capacity development and equipment development of 28 health districts to improve

health care.

Improved sanitation infrastructure (% of population with access): 52%112637

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 14.13 millionLand area: 196,722 km² (6.5 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 1,050 Human Development Index: 0.485 – 163rd / 187

Senegal is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Senegal increased 45.7%, i.e. an average annual increase of 1.15%.


Health InfrastructureMulti-sectorGovernance

41%

37%

20%

2%

8th bilateral donor of Senegal in financial terms

South Africa


- Strengthening of Provincial Department of Rural Development and Land Reform offices through the recruitment of 28 rural development planning assistants, providing added value in report compilation, research and administrative coordination.

- Training on geographic information systems of 27 rural development planning assistants with the purpose of strengthening the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

- Support to the elaboration of the Recapitalisation and Development Program (RADP) manual.

Total active population (15 +): 19.5 million (out of 52.78 million)

Education (Study funds)

- Improvement of front-line service delivery to citizens through innovative pilot initiatives at the three levels of government (national, provincial and district) in the Health, Environment, Education and Science & Technology sectors.

Access to electricity (% of population): 82.7%

- Organisation of the third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, attended by more than 1,800 people, where cutting-edge research, addressing the development of people-centred health systems, was shared.

- Assessment of the Routine Health Information System (RHIS) in two provinces to provide a better understanding of the existing capacity and to integrate data collection, processing, reporting, and the use of information management at all levels of public health systems that would impact on improved patient outcomes.

- Organisation of four study tours (Vietnam, Thailand, Switzerland and France) for capacity building and knowledge exchange activities for the Chief Directorate of Health and Social Development. This is in preparation of implementation of the National Health Insurance scheme.


246

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 52.78 millionLand area: 1,219,912 km2 (40 times Belgium) GNI per capita: $ 7,410 Human Development Index: 0.658 – 118th / 187

South Africa is listed in the medium human development category of the UNDP’s report. Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of South Africa increased 15.6%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.44%.


Education Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentMulti-sector

51.5%

43.5%

5%

Tanzania

“The projects of BTC in Tanzania focus on institutional development support in all sectors. The Scholarships Programme has allowed to train and assist the Local Government Authorities (LGAs) to identify their organisational capacity development needs as well as to formulate global three-year capacity development plans. The Kilombero project and the Lower Rufiji Wetlands Ecosystem Management Project have elaborated global capacity development plans while ensuring the necessary funds to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism to promote more efficient natural resources management in the Kilombero valley and in the Lower Rufiji watershed. The Enhance-ment of Procurement Capacity of Local Government Authorities project has developed solid competences on public procurement issues and challenges at the local level and on contracts management within the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, the Prime Minister’s Bureau, the regional administration and the local authorities, and of Hombolo, the local authority membership training instance.”

Tom Smis, BTC Resident Representative in Dar es Salaam

Natural Resources Management

- Support to various planning processes: two wildlife management areas, eight beach management units, six community forest management projects and 33 land use plans.

- Zoning of 20 new apiculture reserves; five village forest reserves designated in the Kigoma region. 2,000 small beekeepers granted access to the Moyowosi-Kigosi Game Reserve.

- Assistance to 161 beekeepers groups from 84 villages in the Kigoma region for the production and commercialisation of 450 tons of honey and of 15 tons of beeswax in 2014.

Forest surface (% of territory): 37%

Water and Sanitation

- Construction of 15 water supply networks.- Creation of 15 community-based associations of water users and training of these

associations in supplying some 170,000 people from low-income peri-urban areas of Dar es Salaam with drinking water.

- Enhance the capacity of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority to communicate with the local government agencies and the RAS/LGAMSS while respecting the area bureaus and vulgarisation centres put in place.

Improved drinking water sources (% of population with access): 53% 74249

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 49.25 millionLand area: 945,087 km² (31 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 860 Human Development Index: 0.488 – 159th / 187

Tanzania is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report. Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Tanzania increased 29.6%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.79%.


Agriculture & Economic DevelopmentMulti-sectorInfrastructureGovernanceOther

35.5%

26.5%

19.5%

16.5%

2%

Uganda

“Belgium has been a right-hand partner for Uganda since the country chose to take a strategic path to deliver employable skills to the national workforce. Against this backdrop, Belgium supported the formulation of the Skilling Uganda strategic plan. The strategy was approved in December 2011, and subsequently the Reform Task Force was constituted to spearhead the reform process. BTC has worked closely with this task force, availing technical support and means to orient and operationalize the strategic plan while also marketing Skilling Uganda. Support to Skilling Uganda consists of technical assistance to training in appropriate em-ployable skills within the Albertine region, targeting youths and especially young girls. In a broader perspective, these efforts will lead to the creation of a Skills Development Authority for Uganda.”

Nebeyu Shone, BTC Resident Representative in Kampala

Education

- Start of major construction works in three Colleges under the Teacher Training Education Project.

- Training of more than 300 lecturers from nine institutions in relevant modules for Active Teaching and Learning.

- Extension of pedagogic support to all Colleges through the college-based thematic teams.

- Continuous support to the orientation of the new Reform Task Force overseeing the implementation of ”Skilling Uganda”, 2012/13 – 2021/22.

Primary school drop-out rate (% of the primary school cohort): 75.16%

Health

- Organisation of multi-stakeholder regional health forums.- Consolidation of the ambulance system with fully equipped units, while maintaining

the existing units and providing professional training in accident and emergency care to over 100 staff.

- Completion of a national strategic supervision, monitoring and inspection plan.- Training of more than 170 senior health managers in governance, leadership

and management.- Continuous support to the country’s Health Manpower Development Centre

in the form of both staff development and equipment


153752

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 37.58 millionLand area: 241,038 km2 (7.9 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 600 Human Development Index: 0.484 – 164th / 187

Uganda is listed in the low human development category of the UNDP’s report.Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Uganda increased 65%, i.e. an average annual increase of 1.53%.


Health EducationMulti-sectorGovernanceOther

44%

38%

10%

7%

1%

Vietnam

“In the last two decades, Vietnam has achieved remarkable progress in sustaining a high level of economic growth, reducing poverty and increasing the well-being of the people. Undoubtedly, the country’s high level of public investment and the ability to attract con-siderable investments have been key for its development success. However, since 2008, growth has become less responsive to investment, especially to public investment, which accounts for as much as 30-40% of total investments. This gradually became a key concern for Vietnam’s policy makers. As a result, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) had to reform public investments. In this regard, BTC has been supporting the Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) reform since early 2000.

BTC’s contribution has had an important impact on the efficiency of public investments. This allowed Vietnam to save on otherwise mismanaged public investment funds.”

Alain Devaux, BTC Resident Representative in Hanoi

Governance

- Approval of the first Public Investment Law by the Vietnamese Parliament in June 2014. This will greatly contribute to the improvement of public investment efficiency in Vietnam.

- More than 70 locally prioritized public services and economic development projects implemented in the district of Quy Chau (60% poverty rate) in Nghe An province.

- Nigh An province rolled out the new planning and budgeting approach to the entire province.

- A total of over 100 people at province/district/commune levels and 30 trainers were trained on the new participatory planning approach in Nghe An province.

Vulnerable employment (% of total employment): 62.5%

Water and the Environment

- Launch of a new facility to support the funding of Green Growth activities; identification of priority sectors for pilots to fight climate change in three provinces.

- Extension of piped water system in the Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh province.- Construction of three landfills in Tay Son, Hoai Nhon and Phu My.

CO2 emissions (metric tons/capita): 1.7 (Belgium: 10.0)

81321

expatriate

national

staff members



Population: 91.68 millionLand area: 331,041 km² (10.8 times Belgium)GNI per capita: $ 1,740 Human Development Index: 0.638 – 121th / 187

Vietnam is listed in the medium human development category of the UNDP’s report. Between 1980 and 2013 the HDI value of Vietnam increased 37.8%, i.e. an average annual increase of 0.98%.


InfrastructureEducationGovernanceMulti-sector

55%

22%

15.5%

7.5%

6

BTC further adapts its internal organisation. The change that it undergoes is related to the priorities that it defines every year in view of achieving its strategic objectives. These priorities constitute the basis of broad change programmes which require specific resources to be allocated as well as in-tense collaboration between the departments and between the head office and the field.

BTC implements four change programmes.

The TIME programme aims to develop a compre-hensive approach to managing development inter-ventions, starting from BTC's existing normative framework and by means of the MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) and PRINCE2 principles. This programme also aims to strengthen the sup-port offered by BTC to interventions being execut-ed and to develop staff competences in manage-ment.

The MORE programme supports the development and implementation of a quality assurance system at BTC.

This system allows BTC to optimize its contribution to the achievement of development results, while respecting internal quality standards in the deliv-ery of products and services, while measuring the performance of the interventions against interna-tional criteria and while drawing lessons and capi-talising on lessons learned.

The ERP+ programme aims to implement a com-prehensive ICT architecture at BTC, which provides performing support to the management and fol-low-up of the development interventions, which reduces the administrative burden and facilitates collaboration and the exchange of information.

Finally, the BCG4 programme aims to operational-ise the commitments made by BTC to the Belgian State under the 4th management contract. This operationalisation consists not solely in adapting the cooperation programme management cycle but also in proceeding to other internal changes: revision of roles and responsibilities, adaptation of processes, development of new tools, etc.


strategies


interventions





7

The relations between BTC and political decision-makers are diverse. Supplying relevant information in due time for them to take decisions constitutes one of the work priorities of our agency. To be able to operate efficiently while integrating the European dimension and the search for Belgian and international partnerships, BTC also aims to obtain broader support from the Belgian political decision-makers.

IMPACT is the BTC magazine that puts the spot-lights on the results of our interventions in a spe-cific sector. At the end of 2014 an issue was dedi-cated to education. It was distributed among polit-ical decision-makers in January 2015.

The organisation of events facilitates meetings. BTC's annual New Year's reception is the place by excellence for decision-makers and practitioners of the development cooperation to meet in a relaxed setting that is conducive to sharing ideas.

The Be-cause Health and EDUCAID platforms, which BTC is a member of, constitute other oppor-tunities for dialogue where practice and politics meet. The annual EDUCAID meeting was hosted at BTC's Espace Jacqmotte on 25 November under the title: "Gender mainstreaming in education – Moving beyond theory, sharing practical insights". A few days later, on 28 November, the annual Be-cause Health meeting was held under the theme: "Putting People at the Heart of Development. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the post-2015 era."

Participation to international forums, like the Health forum in Pekin in 2014, leads to the publi-cation of Reflection papers – 'Access to the health care in DR Congo' in this case – which further feeds political reflection.

BTC actively contributes to the strategic dialogue between Member State agencies and the Europe-an Commission, in particular via the Practitioners' Network for European Development Cooperation and via EUNIDA.

Field visits of ministers offer exceptional opportu-nities for political as well as operational discus-sions. In 2014, Minister Jean-Pascal Labille visited Rwanda and saw the results of the support given by BTC since 2002 to the Ministry of Health with respect to mental health care.

BTC's approach also excels by concluding partner-ships with Belgian public institutions. In 2014, the format for mutual service delivery framework agreements was revised and new agreements were signed with Vivaqua, the Walloon Water Company (Société Wallonne des Eaux) and the Public Water Management Company (Société Publique de Gestion de l’Eau), the Judicial Training Institute (IGO/IFJ), the Flemish agency for entre-preneurial training (Syntra Vlaanderen), the Feder-al Public Service Defence, APEC-Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center and the Belgian National Insti-tute for Health and Disability Insurance (RIZIV/INAMI).

Through its North projects BTC also aims to pursue a dialogue with the decision-makers: Annoncer la Couleur and Kleur Bekennen, for instance, look into ways to incorporate global citizenship in edu-cation, whereas the Fair Trade Week, organised by the Trade for Development Centre, continues to raise general public awareness in Belgium about fair trade. Finally, some political decision-makers participated to the Infocycle training in 2014, which aims to promote and strengthen citizen's understanding and involvement in global challeng-es.


strategies


interventions





8

BTC is a public-law company with social purposes, established by the Law of 21 December 1998.

Its only shareholder is the Belgian State, which is represented in the General Assembly by the Minis-ter of Development Cooperation.

BTC's organisational structure targets efficient management and in-depth control. The main in-stances guaranteeing these aspects are the man-agement and control bodies.

Management bodies

— General Assembly (Minister of Development Cooperation). In 2014, the General Assembly con-vened on 27 June.

— Board of Directors. There are twelve members on BTC's Board of Directors, including the presi-dent, who is a member by right. The Board has an equal number of Dutch-speaking and French-speaking members and an equal number of men and women. The Board members are appointed for a four-year renewable term by the Council of Ministers on the basis of their knowledge of inter-national cooperation or management. In 2014, the Board of Directors convened 11 times.

— Management Committee. The Management Committee consists of the chair and three direc-tors. It convened 22 times in 2014. Monitoring bodies — Commissioner of the Government (Develop-ment Cooperation & Budget)

— Board of Auditors (Court of Audit & Registered Auditors)

— Internal Audit

In 2014, BTC received 10 external complaints that were deemed admissible. They were processed in 28 calendar days on average. The maximum term to respond to a complaint is 35 calendar days.

A complaint may relate to four aspects of service delivery by BTC: the attitude of staff members,

quality, respect of procedures and the manage-ment of complaints itself.

Six complaints were unfounded because they per-tained to claims about the granting of scholarships, rules agreed with the partner. Likewise, one com-plaint was considered unfounded because it chal-lenged the Infocycle regulations. These two ser-vices are among the most likely to be criticized since they sometimes have to disappoint appli-cants or participants.

Two other complaints challenged BTC's application of regulations: They were considered unfounded too.

One founded complaint allowed the recalling of an application in a selection following a technical issue that had occurred when applications were closed.

The processing of complaints allowed BTC to im-plement two improvement actions: one concern-ing communication about the Scholarships pro-gramme, and another one concerning an internal procedure facilitating the communication between two services.

BTC has an Internal audit service, which reports to the Board of Directors through the intermediary of the Audit committee. The Internal audit service used to consist of two internal auditors. In No-vember 2014, one of the two auditors was se-conded to the Cabinet of the Minister of Develop-ment Cooperation.

The tasks of the Internal audit service consist in providing independent and objective assurance to BTC's Board of Directors regarding the degree of control of BTC's operations and their inherent risks.

The internal auditors formulate recommendations to improve BTC's functioning, evaluate the effi-ciency of risk, control and business management processes and thus help the agency to achieve its objectives. In order to achieve their tasks, the internal auditors have to respect the standards of the Institute of Internal Auditors.

BTC's Audit committee consists of five members of the Board of Directors. It convened 4 times in 2014. The Audit committee's primary role is to

9

ensure that BTC identifies and manages all risks in an appropriate way.

In 2014, the Internal audit service did the follow-ing:

— A second audit of service delivery for third par-ties (Article 7 of the Law establishing BTC); a first internal audit of this activity having been conduct-ed back in 2008.

— A mission on the programmes in Burundi;

— An audit on the budget process (managed by the Controlling service);

— Advice missions: administrative simplification; analysis of the opportunity of drafting a Royal Decree on integrity (via the federal Ombudsman);

— Follow-up audits of audits;

— Various advice and consultancy activities for BTC's Management Committee.

The Internal audit service also manages BTC's In-tegrity desk on a daily basis; it conducts the desk's administrative investigations and manages the questions and complaints received.

10

Because of its special legal status, BTC falls under several regulatory frameworks with regards to the rights and duties if its employees, in particular the Law of 3 July 1978 on Employment Contracts and the Law of 14 December 2000 to Determine Cer-tain Aspects of the Organisation of Working Hours in the Public Sector.

Human Resources

BTC has several categories of employees:

Employees at the Brussels head office;

Expatriates (employees who work abroad un-der a Belgian employment contract): — The international experts who are employed in the country offices (Resident Representa-tives, among others); — The International Technical Assistants who work in the projects and programmes; — The Junior Assistants of the Junior Pro-gramme of the Belgian Development Coopera-tion;

National staff (employees who are hired locally under a BTC contract): — At the country offices of BTC; — In the interventions of BTC in the partner countries.

Head office

There are 178 staff employed at the head office (171.2 full-time equivalent). The average age of the employees is 43. In response to the personnel cost austerity measures demanded by the State, BTC manages its head office human resources as efficiently and rationally as possible. In this re-spect, the agency adopted a policy to not replace staff whose fixed-term employment contract has expired and – in case of prolonged absence – to only approve replacement following an in-depth assessment of the replacement need. 84% of the employees work full-time; 16% work part-time.

98% of the employees have an open-ended con-tract; 2% have a fixed-term contract.

Expatriates

At the end of 2014 BTC had 250 expatriate em-ployees, which is just one short of the number of expatriates in 2013. They are 64 Junior Assistants, who on average are aged 28, and 186 Technical Assistants, who on average are aged 49.

Number of employees at the head office

Number of expats

11

All expatriate employees work full-time. The em-ployees in the country offices (i.e. expatriate and local staff) have an open-ended contract.

All Technical Assistants in the projects have an open-ended contract with a period clause.

After all, they are hired for the duration of their project, but since projects are often extended, it is necessary to provide a period clause. Junior Assis-tants also have an open-ended contract with a period clause.

National staff End 2014, a total of 1,019 local BTC staff members worked in the partner countries, of which 169 worked in BTC country offices and 850 in projects and programmes.

Evolution of the number of staff members Local

Women/Men ratio

The majority of Technical Assistants are men, but there is a gradual evolution towards a better gen-der balance. In the Junior Programme, on the contrary, there is a majority of women who apply and who are sent out as Juniors.

2014

REPRESENTATION (REP) PROJECTS (PROJ) REP + PROJ

NATIONAL STAFF NATIONAL STAFF NATIONAL STAFF

M F ALL M F ALL M F ALL

ALG 4 5 9 3 0 3 7 5 12

BDI 10 4 14 138 48 186 148 52 200

BEN 10 2 12 74 22 96 84 24 108

BOL 5 3 8 11 6 17 16 9 25

ECU 1 4 5 21 10 31 22 14 36

MLI 5 2 7 19 3 22 24 5 29

MOR 6 6 12 35 23 58 41 29 70

MOZ 2 0 2 11 3 14 13 3 16

NER 9 2 11 58 12 70 67 14 81

PER 2 4 6 23 17 40 25 21 46

PZA 2 3 5 4 5 9 6 8 14

DRC 16 10 26 134 26 160 150 36 186

RWA 14 1 15 50 9 59 64 10 74

SAF 2 1 3 0 1 1 2 2 4

SEN 4 4 8 16 2 18 20 6 26

TAN 9 1 10 24 8 32 33 9 42

UGA 4 5 9 21 7 28 25 12 37

VIE 2 5 7 2 4 6 4 9 13

TOTAL 107 62 169 644 206 850 751 268 1019

% 63 37 100 76 24 100 74 26 100

National staff at country offices

National staff in

interventions Total

2014 169 850 1019

2013 175 1014 (incl.

secondment)

1193

2012 193 939 1132

2011 200 739 939

12

At the head office and in the country offices, the situation is more equal.

Geographic distribution

In total, BTC employed 1,269 staff in the field in 2014. The geographic distribution is shown in the diagram below.

Salary policy

Head office

The Law of 21 December 1998 establishing BTC stipulates that BTC salaries should be in keeping with the salaries paid by the Belgian State. The salaries of BTC staff may not exceed the salaries of civil servants in the Federal Public Services.

In addition to the gross salary, employees benefit from meal vouchers, a group retirement savings plan, hospital and assistance insurance and full reimbursement of public transportation expenses.

In compliance with the salary policy that was ap-proved by the Board of Directors on 12 September 2006, new staff are placed in a certain salary scale on the basis of a formal job description and the corresponding function classification. Salaries annually increase with seniority in the function. The same salary scales are used for men and

women; so there is no difference between the salaries of men and women.

All staff members can consult the function classifi-cation, the job descriptions and the salary scales on the Intranet.

Expatriates The salary policy for expatriate staff is in keeping with the approach of the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and takes into account the situation on the international job market.

More specifically, it is based on a salary scale that is inspired by a Hay classification, supplemented with expatriate and hardship allowances. BTC also offers customary expatriate benefits (housing, school allowance...) and the necessary insurances. 86 out of 250 expats are foreign nationals; they hail from 19 different countries.

Junior Assistants

The Junior Assistants are employed through the Junior Programme of the Belgian Development Cooperation. They can work for a maximum of 2 years in the field under an employment contract and benefit from a monthly salary, a 13

th month,

accommodation, social security and necessary insurance policies.

Junior Assistants are employed under a separate fixed-term contract for the period of training and preparation. The specific expat contract is only activated when a Junior effectively leaves for the field.

Local staff

BTC takes into account the local job market in its partner countries. In practice, for every country, the median salary for each function level is deter-mined in relation to the median for the same level in similar organisations. On this basis, salary scales are elaborated for the function classes.

The application of the salary policy also means that the basic salary evolves annually and can be adapted to an increased cost of living.

In many countries where BTC operates, job market conditions remain volatile and are affected by international instances, donors or partner minis-tries and by changes to the context such as infla-tion, foreign investments, exchange rates or the security situation.

MEN WOMEN

Brussels 46 % 54 %

Expatriates 67 % 33 %

Country offices 79 % 21 %

Interventions 65 % 33 %

Junior Assistants 30 % 70 %

Local staff

Country offices 60 % 40 %

Interventions 77 % 23 %

13

Hiring local staff

BTC relies on local staff to achieve its mission. By coaching local staff and by providing training op-portunities, BTC also wants to contribute to local capacity development in the partner countries.

Everywhere, the recruitment procedures are open, objective and transparent. Local staff sign an em-ployment contract that has been approved by local legists and that complies with local legislation.

Employee mobility

Employee mobility is being encouraged through-out the organisation: employees can take on a new job assignment in the field or in Brussels in response to internal or external job openings.

In 2014, four staff members made the step from the field to the head office and seven staff mem-bers switched from the head office to the field. BTC also has long-term backstopping missions (from 1 month to a maximum of 6 months) to the field.

Absenteeism

Absenteeism at the head office, i.e. short-term absence of less than a month, was 2.45%. This figure is slightly below the 2014 private sector absentee rate published for Belgium by Securex: 2.50%. On the other hand, overall absenteeism amounts to 5.25 %, which is slightly above the 5.12% figure published for Belgium in 2014.

Staff turnover

Head office

There was a 6.7 % staff turnover (resignation and departure of employees) in 2014. This is an in-crease compared to 2013 (4.8 %). The budget measures demanded from BTC explain this in-crease.

Inflow at head office by age (1/1 – 31/12/2014)

Age Men Women Total

20 to 30 years 0 4 4

31 to 40 years 2 1 3

41 to 50 years 1 0 1

51 to 60 years 2 1 3

61 to 70 years 1 0 1

TOTAL 6 6 12

Inflow expats (1/1 – 31/12/2014)

Men Women TOTAL

Expatriates 47 17 64

Junior Assistants 11 26 37

TOTAL 58 43 101

Outflow head office (1/1 – 31/12/2014)

Reason Men Women TOTAL

Ended in mutual

agreement

1 3 4

Replacement

contract

0 0 0

Fixed-term con-

tract

0 2 2

End of mandate 0 0 0

Transfer head

office - field

3 1 4

Resignation by

employee

3 2 5

Dismissal 2 3 5

Retirement 0 0 0

TOTAL 9 11 20

14

Career development

Since 2007 BTC has a career development pro-gramme: the development circles. They enable the supervisor to fully take up his role as the coach and guide of his co-workers. They facilitate com-munication, contribute to achieving objectives and foster employee development. Development cir-cles are geared towards a better individual and organisational functioning. They do not affect salary. The assessment of this tool was one of the major HR undertakings started in 2013 and led to a repo-sitioning in 2014. A competence management system was put in place at BTC in 2014. It is compatible with choices made in the past, especially since it uses the model that is at the base of the function weighting sys-tem (5+1 Hudson Competency Model). This ap-proach is aligned with the competence manage-ment system of the federal administration and takes into account BTC's values.

Learning & Development

Various training sessions were organised in 2014:

Strategic training: The Infrastructure Sector Days in Burundi were very successful (more than 80 attendants) and so were the Health Sector Days in Brussels; the framework agreement for PRINCE2 / MSP training allowed certification of 30 people and 102 people were informed about the ambi-tions of the TIME programme; the framework agreement for Monitoring & Evaluation/More Results was used in nine Country offices and for three joint BTC–DGD training sessions reaching 49 people.

Transversal: Thirty people followed language courses during the 1

st half year. As from Septem-

ber, the courses were offered on an individual basis. Framework agreements facilitate the organi-sation of ICT and assertiveness courses.

Individual: 79 training requests were received.

Specialised: Custom-made training sessions were organised for Infocycle (types of coaching to be put in place), the infrastructure experts team (ge-ographical information systems), HR, etc.

Field: A ‘Team Management and Leadership’ workshop was organised in Rwanda. 18 people actively follow this ‘learning journey’.

Learn4dev

BTC was active in learn4dev, the international competence development network for donors and development agencies. The network organises joint training programmes, provides digital learn-ing materials and encourages its more than 30 member organisations to open up their training sessions to staff of other member agencies. It is where BTC experts share experiences and knowledge with peers from other institutions such as the European Union, GIZ or the World Bank. At the General Assembly in Ljubljana, which was jointly organised by Switzerland and Slovenia, the commitment to the key tasks of learning and knowledge sharing was renewed.

Outflow expats (1/1 – 31/12/2014)

Reason Men Women TOTAL

Expatriates

Retirement 1 0 1

Contract ending 34 9 43

Resignation by

employee

8 4 12

Dismissal 2 0 2

Mutual agree-

ment

0 0 0

Total 43 15 58

Junior Assistants

Contract ending 11 18 29

Resignation by

employee

6 6 12

Dismissal 0 0 0

Mutual agree-

ment

0 1 1

Total 17 25 42

OVERALL TOTAL 60 40 100

15

* These figures do not include all formal training sessions in the field.

**This ratio more or less corresponds with the men-to-women ratio at the head office and differs slightly in the field in 2014: respectively

46/54 and 67/33.

Telework

To better combine private life and a professional career and to have employees work in an envi-ronment that suits the performance of certain professional tasks, BTC offers two specific work formulas:

- Occasional telework allows staff members to work at home for up to 15 working days per calen-dar year. 60 employees used this formula in 2014.

- Structural telework allows staff members to work at home on one set day every week. BTC reim-burses the employee’s monthly Internet subscrip-tion for an amount of 20 € per month. In 2014, the formula was used by 52 employees.

Social consultation

The Basic Consultation Committee is the official body where the employer and the three repre-sentative trade unions meet. It convenes on a regular basis and is presided by the Chairperson of BTC's Management Committee. During these meetings, BTC, on the initiative or at the request of the trade unions, presents the different dossiers regarding BTC personnel. However, no individual cases are ever discussed at these meeting. The

trade unions are invited to present their opinions at the meetings.

The legal framework for the Basic Consultation Committee is the Law of 19 December 1974, or-ganising relations between public authorities and the trade unions of their employees, and the de-crees implementing that law. The Basic Consulta-tion Committee is part of Sector Committee VII (RD of 30/7/2003, published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 29/9/2003).

In 2014, the Basic Consultation Committee con-vened four times.

Comprehensive HR management tool

The final decision, taken in 2014, of acquiring a comprehensive HR management ICT system will lead to a start-up of the system in 2015. This will inevitably require much time and attention from many head office and field staff members but will eventually lead to improved and more efficient management of human resources deployed by BTC. The support to field staff and their close fol-low-up – both at the individual level and through improved and aligned systems, procedures, etc. – increased significantly in 2014 and will further be pursued in 2015.

Hours of training (head office and field) *

2010 2011 2012* 2013 2014 Men-to-women

ratio in %**

Head office

staff

8,257 12,275 12,077 9,525 6,357 51/49

Field staff 16,740 26,308 27,697 26,927 22,436 77/23

Total 24,997 38,583 39,774 36,452 28,793

Budget 396,486 € 441,739 € 337,657 € 290,988 € 156,988 €

16

The Financial Report is only available in French and

Dutch. Please refer to the Annual Report in one of

those languages on the website.

BTCBELGIAN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

RUE HAUTE 1471000 BRUSSELST +32 (0)2 505 37 00 F +32 (0)2 502 98 62 [email protected] WWW.BTCCTB.ORG

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BTC Annual report 2014

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