www.vliruos.be

www.vliruos.be

www.vliruos.be

Meeting of Flemish and Cuban rectors, MES and the CTG partners

Havana/Santa Clara,30 March – 5 April 2008

Introduction to VLIR-UOS

Kristien VerbrugghenVLIR-UOS director

www.vliruos.be

CONTENTS

I. The organisation

II. The VLIR-UOS mission statement and mandate

III. How VLIR-UOS functions

IV. The VLIR-UOS programmes

V. The application and selection system

VI. The project implementation system

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I.

THE ORGANISATION

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VLIR

• Rectors’ conference, created in 1976

• Umbrella organisation of the six Flemish universities

• Advisory body to the universities as well as to the respective authorities responsible for higher education and research

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Members of VLIR

• The six Flemish universities

– Catholic University of Leuven (K.U.Leuven)

– Ghent University (UGent)

– Vrije Universiteit Brussel

– University of Antwerp (UA)

– University of Hasselt (UHasselt)

– Catholic University of Brussels (K.U. Brussel)

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Mission of VLIR

• VLIR promotes dialogue and cooperation among the Flemish universities, and between the universities and the public authorities:

– Forum

– Policy advice

– Thinktank

– Operational unit for quality assessment in higher education

– Cooperation with developing countries

University cooperation for development

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Two separate units within VLIR

• General secretariat of VLIR

– Higher education, with special focus on quality assessment

– Quality assessment in research

• VLIR-UOS secretariat

– University cooperation for development

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Council

VLIR and VLIR-UOS

Bureau of Rectors

Bureau UOS

VLIR-UOS secretariatGeneral secretariat

Implementing body

Policy

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VLIR and university cooperation for development

(UOS)

• Until 1998: Policy advice to public administration, based on

proposals by Flemish academics

From 1998: Full responsibility for the management of the funds for

UOS of the Flemish universities Funding agency

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II.

THE VLIR-UOS

MISSION STATEMENT

AND

MANDATE

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VLIR-UOS mission statement

General objectives:

To support the universities in the South to fulfill their role as actors in the development of their region and country (education, research and service to society)

THROUGH

cooperation with the Flemish universities and non-university institutions for higher education

VLIR-UOS funds cooper ation,

not institutions in the south

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Specific objectives:

Institutional capacity building in the South: Building education and research capacity of partner

universities to stimulate the development of knowledge and expertise

Expertise development in Flanders: maintaining and enlarging development expertise

Maintenance and expansion of the level of support for development cooperation in Flanders by promoting mutual understanding and solidarity, world

citizenship

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VLIR-UOS basic principles

• Solidarity and quality

• Attention for sustainability

• Interuniversity approach

• Multidisciplinary approach

• Shared interest

• Participation and ownership

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Actors involved in VLIR-UOS

• In the north :– Flemish universities

– Flemish non-university higher education institutions

• In the south :– Type of institutions :

• Universities

• Research centres

– Geographical focus

• OECD country list, limited to 41 countries (new, as of 2008-2009)

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DGDC country list

41 countries:

• 18 partner countriesAlgeria, Benin, Bolivia, Burundi, DR Congo, Ecuador, Mali, Marocco, Mozambique, Niger, Palestina, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, South Africa

• 22 countries in which in 2004 1 mio EUR was spent :

Bangladesh, Brasil, Burkina Faso, Cambodja, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinée, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Suriname, the Philippines, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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Mandate of VLIR-UOS

1. Platform for

• Information and expertise development, exchange, capitalisation

• Cooperation and networking

2. Lobby organisation: try and influence policy at different levels (governments, academic authorities, civil society, …)

1. International network of HEIs, research centres, embassies, sister organisations … (in order to valorise parterships, research groups, results, expertise, …)

1. Funding agency with a specific target group, accountable to DGDC

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III.

HOW VLIR-UOS

FUNCTIONS

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Task division between VLIR-UOS

and the Flemish universities

VLIR-UOS:• Overall policy & programmation• Selection, follow-up & evaluation of projects and programmes• Accountability towards financing public authority

Universities:• Formulation of project proposals • Implementation of projects

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VLIR-UOS team

• VLIR-UOS secretariat in Brussels

• The Institutional Coordinators for Development Cooperation (ICOS) within each university

In support of both the north and south partners

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VLIR-UOS budget

• 100% funded by DGDC

• Annual budget : ± 30 mio EUR

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VLIR-UOS and the funding authorities

• DGDC, federal administration for development cooperation

• Steering committee– DGDC

– Bureau UOS

• Five-year plan and corresponding budget, and consecutive annual programmes and budget– New five-year plan : 2008-2012

– Annual budgets and annual programmes

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IV.

THE VLIR-UOS

PROGRAMMES

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VLIR-UOS programmes

• South programmes :– Institutional University Cooperation (IUC)– Own Initiatives (OI)– Congo programme

• North programmes :– North Actions Programme (NAP)– Training costs (TC)– Scholarship Programme (SP)

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SOUTH PROGRAMMES

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Institutional University Cooperation (IUC)

• Long term cooperation between universities in the South and Flemish universities

• Objectives:- Local capacity development at institutional level- Universities in the South fulfill their role as actor in

development of their own society - Contribution to self-reliance

• Max 10 years (2x5 years) (guaranteed funding), followed by ex post toolbox (access to competive funds)

• Annual budget : 745.000 EUR

• Partners: 17 universities in the South

• Level: university at large

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IUC PROGRAMME PHASES

•

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IUC partner universities

• Phased out– Sokoine University (Tanzania)– University of Zambia (Zambia)– Universidad Mayor de San Simon (Bolivia)– University of Nairobi (Kenya)– University of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)– Can Tho University (Vietnam)– Hanoi University of Technology (Vietnam)

• Ongoing– ESPOL (Ecuador)– Saint Louis University en Benguet State University (the Philippines) – Mekelle University (Ethiopia)– University of the Western Cape (South Africa) – Universidad Central Marta Abreu de Las Villas (Cuba)– Jimma University (Ethiopia)– Moi University (Kenya)– University of Cuenca (Ecuador)– University Eduardo Mondlana (Mozambique)– Anton de Kom University of Suriname (Suriname)

• Possibly entering– Limpopo (South Africa)– La Molina (Peru)

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Own Initiatives (OI)

• Development-relevant research or training projects initiated by academics at Flemish universities in close collaboration with and benefiting to an academic partner or a research institute from a developing country.

• Objective:– To strengthen the education and/or research capacity of the local partner

by means of exchanging knowledge and cooperation, including institutional reinforcement of the academic unity in the South.

• Max. 5 years

• Maximum budget : 330.000 EUR

• 1 call a year in 2 rounds (concept notes and fully fledged project proposals) r

• Average 10 to 12 projects per year

• Level: at the level of a faculty, department or research unit

• Observation: Not as such open for units which received substantial benefits during IUC partner programmes until 5 years after ending op PP; other units can apply after finishing of IUC partner programme support.

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South Initiatives

• Seed money (for any subsequent “regular” project within the existing VLIR UOS programmes)

• Harvest money (to broaden the impact of earlier projects)

• Encouragement for innovative forms of cooperation

• Small projects (max. 1 year, max. € 15,000)

• 6 typologies (to be revised), 1 call a year

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UOS with DR Congo

• VLIR UOS is has country programme for the DR Congo, with on average € 2.500.000/year for scientific and institutional cooperation (under debate now ! )

• Country policy is new and unique for VLIR-UOS. All other calls are open to all 41 countries.

• Launched in 2006, further developed in 2007, and to be fully operational as of 2008-2009

• Country representative VLIR-UOS in Kinshasa, DR Congo, as of July 2007

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NORTH PROGRAMMES

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North Actions

• Objectives

– Maintain and expand knowledge of and experience with development cooperation within Flemish universities

– Maintain and expand the support for development cooperation within the academic community in Flanders, and Flanders at large

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North Actions Programme (NAP)

• Research :– Policy advisory research– Ph.D. grants for graduates from Flemish universities– Ph.D. grants for ICP graduates– International conferences

• Education– Master programmes (ICPs) + scholarships– Training programmes (ITPs) + scholarships– Short training initiatives

• Sensitization activities :– Travel grants for Flemish students– Debates, courses, …

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North Actions

RESEARCH

Policy preparing research

– Research platforms

– Objectives• Research funding for Flemish universities aiming at maintaining

and enlarging development expertise in Flanders• Tailor made scientific advice to Belgian development agencies• Network, platform of Belgian development agencies, possibly also

comprising actors from the south

– Funding• 150.000 EUR / year

– Pilot in 2009

– Call every 2 to 3 years

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North Actions

RESEARCH

PhD grants for Flemish graduates

– Who ?• Graduates from a Flemish university

• Graduated maximum ten years ago

– Annual intake : • As of 2004 : 6

– Funding : • Scholar : scholarship and travel fund (2 x 2

years),

• Bench fee for host unit : 3.750 EUR / two years

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North Actions

RESEARCH

ICP PhD grants

– Who ?• “Outstanding” graduates from an ICP • Graduated maximum five years ago• Development relevant topic• Local institution

– Annual intake : • As of 2003 : 10

– Funding : • Scholar : scholarship and travel fund (2 x 2

years)• Sandwich system (1/3 in Belgium, 2/3 at home)• Bench fee for host unit

– Ph.D. degree award by the Flemish university

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North Actions

RESEARCH

International conferences (INCO)

– Objective : to contribute to knowledge creation and distribution

– Location : north or south, but with substantial contribution from Flanders

– Funding : max. € 20.000 (personnel and operational costs, travel costs, …)

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North Actions

EDUCATION

International Masters (ICPs)

• What ?– Master programmes (1 or 2 years) – 15 in VLIR-UOS programme– Primary target group: students from developing countrie– Focus on specific problems of developing countries

Objective ?– Aim: provide training to people from the South with a responsible position in the

South, in order to apply or transfer this knowledge within their country of origin

Funding– Funding : institutional allowance + scholarships – 180 scholarships / year

Programme and scholarship allocation frozen up until at least 2009-2010 – new call scheduled for 2009

Care for impact through : • Follow-up activities (NA)• ICP Ph.D. scholarships (BTP)• ICP backpacks (OI)

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North Actions

EDUCATION

International Training Programmes (ITPs)

• What ?– Short term practical training course: between 1 to 6 months– Destined for students from the South who already have some

professional experience

• Objective ?– to transfer knowledge and skills to young professionals from

developing countries and create possibilites for cooperation and networking

Funding– Funding : institutional allowance + scholarships – 70 scholarships / year – 5 à 6 ITPs / year– Secury of funding : 1 or 2 years– Annual call

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North Actions

EDUCATION

Short Training Initiatives (KOI/STI)

– As of 2004

– In between ITP and INCO INCO (min. 5, max. 14 days)

– To take place at a Flemish institution

– Funding :

• Institutional allowance (max. € 12.500) + travel budget (€ 24.000 / min. 12 participants)

– Annual call

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North ActionsSENSITIZATION

Sensitization initiatives

– Objective : co-funding of activities organised by a Flemish institution which aim at communicating development relevant themes, in a scientific way, to the global Flemish scientific community, and beyond

– Form : workshop, colloquium, conference, public course, series of courses, etc

– Funding : institutional allowance (max. € 10.000)

– Annual call– Security of funding : 1 or 2 years

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North ActionsSENSITIZATION

Travel grants for Flemish students• Objectives :

• Sensitize Flemish students for development issues through hands-on experience : research paper, Master’s thesis, internship

• Visit to a developing country; eye-opener ; • Part of the own institution’s policy

• Funding : • 600 travel grants / year

• max. 1.000 EUR (ticket, visa, research permit, travel insurance, … )

• Two formulas : • Individuel travel grants

• Group travels (still to be operationalised)

• Annual call

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Training Costs (TC)

A subsidy to Flemish universities for costs related to the enrolment of students from developing countries

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Scholarship programme

• Scholarships for

– Master programmes

– Training programmes

– ICP Ph.D. programme

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V.

THE APPLICATION

AND

SELECTION SYSTEM

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Calls for proposals

• Open calls, competitive selection

• Assistance to applicants by ICOS and VLIR-UOS secretariat

• Submission of proposals– Link with a Flemish university or non-university higher education

institution

• Competitive selection by peers

• Selection criteria– Quality (!) – minimum !– Development relevance– Effectiveness– Efficiency– Feasibility– Sustainability

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VI.

PROJECT

IMPLEMENTATION

SYSTEM

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Project implementation

• Final approval by Minister

• Agreement between VLIR and the Flemish university, and, if applicable, the southern university

• Funds are transferred– By DGDC to VLIR– By VLIR to the Flemish universities– By the Flemish universities to the southern universities

• Annual reports – submitted by project partners to VLIR– First checked, and then submitted by VLIR to DGDC

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VLIR – UOSSharing minds, changing lives

VLIR-UOS photo