National Universities Commission One day workshop the African Centres of Excellence Project. 16 th July 2013

ACE - Defined What? A frican C entres of E xcellence Project. A World Bank-supported initiative.

ACE - Defined What? ACE seeks to promote regional specialization among African higher education institutions that are working on particular areas, common to regional development challenges. First Phase is targeted at West and Central African countries.

ACE - Defined What? Countries participating in the first call include; Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo Beneficiaries of demand-driven regional services Liberia The Gambia

Why ACE? Despite this strong economic growth, West and Central Africa faces significant development challenge Countries in these regions have witnessed rapid economic growth in the last decade but significant development challenges remain; including failure to meet MDG targets especially in maternal and child health, weak governance, state fragility, nutrition, youth unemployment and climate change.

Why ACE? There are immediate skill shortages in addressing development challenges and poverty reduction in West and Central Africa. This skills shortage is severe; in the growing sectors of extractive industries, energy, water, and infrastructure; and in service sectors, such as hospitality, banking, and ICT. in the lack of health workers with the necessary training to deliver quality healthcare, or treat infectious and chronic diseases.

Why ACE? Agricultural investments have not been accompanied by development of related human capital in post-farm high yielding technologies, crop and animal science, as well as veterinarians and agronomists Sustained economic growth and competitiveness for Africa requires an increase in science and technology capacity, more skilled labour and applied industry-related research to increase technology absorption, raise total factor productivity, and generate new competitive sectors.

ACE Design ACEs will be competitively selected and charged with the responsibility to promote regional specialization among participating universities in areas that address regional challenges and strengthen the capacities of these universities to deliver quality training and applied research

ACE Priority Areas i.Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) ii.Health Sciences iii.Agricultural Sciences

ACE – Project Components Two Project Components; Component 1: Strengthen Africa Centers of Excellence This will seek to strengthen around eight to ten competitively selected institutions to produce highly skilled graduates and applied research to help address specific regional development challenges.

ACE – Project Components Component 1: Strengthen Africa Centers of Excellence The selection process will entail four main standard steps: (i)call for proposals to institutions (ii)submission of Center of Excellence proposals through the NUC to the regional facilitation unit (AAU); (iii)evaluation of proposals by independent African and international experts according to pre-defined criteria, (iv)selection of institutions by the steering committee and a no-objection by the World Bank.

ACE – Project Components Component 2: Enhancing Regional Capacity Building, Evaluation, Facilitation and Collaboration (by the Association of African Universities) Component 2.1, Enhancing Regional Capacity Building and Evaluation Component 2.2, Demand-driven Regional Education Services

Overall Project Organogam /S ACE ACE Steering Committee University Government (NUC/National Performance Review Committee) Industry/Sector Partners Academic Partner institutions Regional Facilitation Unit (AAU)

 Each participating country’s RA for universities will serve as the coordinating secretariat  NPPRC set up by the RA will be responsible for first level evaluation of proposals as well as Project implementation support and supervision at the national level  Each ACE will be responsible for strategic planning and implementation of institutional proposal, M & E and reporting. The ACE will also be responsible for all fiduciary aspects required under World Bank guidelines for financial management, procurement and environment and social safeguards. Implementation/Management /Decision Structure

 Responsible for Project implementation support and supervision at the national level  Will have representation from NUC, FME, FMoF, selected ACEs (ACE Center Leaders and Head of Institution), WB co-TTL (observer status) and RFU Regional Project Facilitator or designate (observer status) The NPPRC /S ACE ACE

ACE Institutional Organogram Management Team (Centre Leader – Lead Proponent ) Main Department leading the ACE ACE Supporting Department to the ACE Administration (procurement, financial management and monitoring and evaluation ) Africa Centre of Excellence /S ACE ACE

ACE – Institutional Responsibilities Selected institutions will implement their own Centre of Excellence proposal aiming to help address a specific regional development challenges through preparation of professionals (education), applied research and associated outreach activities with partners. Goals: High quality training High impact applied research Industry partnerships International academic partnerships Enhanced governance and management

Important notes:  One lead institution, with collaborating partners to submit maximum of two proposals in any of the priority areas  Maximum of US$8 million per proposal, but most likely $4m will be given  Proposals must address specific regional development challenges  Emphasis is placed on regional partnerships and collaboration with the private sector as well as international linkages  More points will be allocated to Anglophone – Francophone collaboration

Important Dates:  CFP: 15 th July 2013  Submission to NUC: 16 th August 2013  Review by National Project Performance and Review Committee (NPPRC): 30 th August 2013  Submission to AAU: 2 nd September 2013  Final decision to be taken by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors before the end of 2013

Thank you for your attention