Association of African Universities (AAU) Bandwidth Initiative:

Lessons, Gaps and Emerging

Directions

African Research & Education Networking Workshop, CERN

25 – 27 Sept 2005

F F Tusubira and Nora K Muliratusu@dicts.mak.ac.ug; nora@dicts.mak.ac.ug

Contents ..

• The Starting Point..

• Issues

• Gaps, Lessons, and Emerging Direction

The Starting Point..• BAND-ITs, and AVU follow-on Reports

• ATICS Report

• PAREN Report

• AUBC Discussion List

• Discussions: IDRC; Sida, Connectivity Africa; Partnership for Higher Education in Africa; Association of African Universities

• (T Blair) Commission for Africa Report

• Our thinking; our experience; our commitment

Issues Examined…

• The Need for Bandwidth?• Pre-conditions for Efficient Exploitation• Capacity for efficient utilisation• Access to Internet vs Intra-African BW: detrench

airline syndrome• Supply level management issues• Procurement issues• Consumer Consortia; Development Partner

Consortia; Suppliers Consortia.• Different policy, regulatory, and technology

environments

The Challenge….

A

Consumers Development Partners

Levels: A-National; B-Regional; C-Continental

Suppliers

B

C

• Lessons, Gaps and Emerging Directions

Cost and required intervention..

• Put cost in Perspective: 50 times more or de facto 5,000 time more? There are generic drugs but no generic bandwidth.

• Relates to level and duration of financial intervention

• No quick fix solution - Development partners will have to take the courageous and correct decision: if the intention is to create some measure of equity, sufficient resources must be invested, including recurrent support (on a phasing out basis), for some time

Consumer Consortia Leadership

• Identification of acceptable and relevant high level home a major challenge in any consortium

• Key Requirements: Ownership and Trust• Association of African Universities is a

widely accepted forum – legitimate home• AAU members formally decided to take on

this initiative• Where/If there is lack of capacity, the

sustainable approach is to build it, not to create parallel institutions

Governance and Operations

• Executive Council of 7 – Policy direction and monitoring:– Chair from AAU (Secretary General)– Representing AAU Members – 2– Representing Continental policy level – 1 from

either AU or NEPAD– Representing Development Partners – 2– Representing multinational learning or

research networks in Africa – 1

• Secretariat whose capacity has to be built• Short term – engage/contract an external

party as Agent answerable to AAU.

Combine Bottom up and Top Down (1)

• Bottom Up:– Support the start or the strengthening of

national level consortia/ integration, the basic building block

– Support start or strengthening multi-national level integration through associations of institutions in politico-economic groupings (eg the Inter-University for East Africa in the EAC).

– At the continental level, it is likely to be a marriage of common approaches rather than common solutions.

Combine Bottom up and Top Down (2)

• Top Down (AAU)

– Spearhead a Master Plan that will provide both African Institutions and Development Partners with a coordinated and coherent implementation framework

– Document and give guidance of best practice approaches

– Mobilise funding

– Be the continental implementing organisation

Combine Bottom up and Top Down (3)

• Top Down (AAU) - ctd

– Lobby at the regional and continental level to promote favourable policy and regulatory frameworks

– Work with consortia to increasingly add value until the main focus of consortia is the higher level motivation of networked learning, research and community outreach

– Monitoring and evaluation

Development Partners

• Is it realistic to expect development partners to put funds into a common pot in the short term? No, but…

• .. they will fund different elements of a coordinated master plan, with entry points at the institutional, national, or multi-national level

• Should come out clearly with their positions to avoid false starts..

• Should cede, and be seen to cede direction and control to the African institutions (within an agreed framework)

Setting the ball rolling ..(1)

• Acceptance by the stakeholders of AAU as the home of the initiative

• Defining and establishment of the Executive Council under the auspices of the AAU. (Put in place an Interim Executive Council chaired by the Secretary General of the AAU)

• Establishment of a lean secretariat

• Definition of the Master Plan

Setting the ball rolling ..(2)

• Discussion and Adoption of the Master Plan by Stakeholders (Through Executive Council and a formal meeting of stakeholders)

• Mobilisation of funding

• Engagement of an Agent if that is an option agreed by the Executive Council

• Rolling out the Master Plan.

• THANK YOU!