Adventures in Addis

In May and June of 2016, I was assigned to support a new educational program at the African Institute of Governance and Development (AIGAD) located at the Ethiopian Civil Service University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My role was to assist Institute staff for six weeks in preparing their first five-year strategic plan as well as mentoring staff and volunteers in strategic planning and project management.

The CESO project assignment description enthralled me. The AIGAD educational program aims to promote peace in the Horn of Africa region, an area including Ethiopia, and eight neighbouring countries with a population of roughly 300 million people. In recent years, the region has seen continuous strife over resource development, borders, religion, and politics. AIGAD’s vision uses student course and cross-cultural experiences to build trust and embrace new approaches to collaborative and cooperative planning and regional decision-making. Ten participating countries sponsor forty senior civil servants to attend the recurring one year program. The students stay and study at the Ethiopian Civil Service University campus.

AIGAD’s Director, Dr. Berhanu Beyene, provides much of the program’s inspiration and energy. On my arrival, Dr. Beyene and CESO field staff enthusiastically shepherded me around the city, University and Institute. I needed this help as I had never lived in Africa before. My many learnings included how to plan my work day around electrical, internet and water outages, and limited resources while employing a culturally appropriate planning approach. I also learned to appreciate the very friendly, warm and affectionate ways of the Institute members.

Prior to my arrival, staff had assembled a rough plan about how the program would evolve. The challenge lay in ensuring that these dynamic ideas addressed environmental scans, other University strategies, and resource challenges. It also became clear that the strategic plan had to identify both strategic and tactical approaches to bringing to completion a partially developed MA program, developing a new PhD program and implementing an online educational environment. The plan needed to be modular, reusable and flexible enough to respond to new opportunities and changes in priorities. My particular focus lay in helping the staff define the five-year activity and resourcing schedule. This information would enable Dr. Berhanu to present his resourcing requests to senior University officials and international funders.

The plan unfolded quickly and smoothly. As it progressed, the Institute invited me to develop project management presentation materials and teach about administrative practices. I enjoyed working with both the students and staff in identifying key issues and needs and developing “made in Africa” approaches and content. I made several fast friends who I still contact regularly. The plan is currently with the University senate for approval.

With CESO’s encouragement, I also took the opportunity to explore the deep cultural heritage and beauty of Ethiopia. This included travelling to Lalibela, an 1,100-year-old church complex carved into a mountainside and visiting the capital’s many churches, natural areas, museums and markets.

On reflection, I helped a brave, new school establish a planning foundation. In return, CESO and the Institute gave me a lifetime experience I will always cherish.