Strengthening Management Development Institutes In West Africa

Seminar on repositioning management development institutions for public sector policy reform in West Africa

Chief executives of Management Development Institutes (MDIs) in West Africa have agreed on the need for a forum to interact with government, the private sector and civil society.

Meeting at a Commonwealth seminar in Abuja, Nigeria, delegates urged MDIs to recognise the importance of building networks. Their main objective was to examine how MDIs could contribute towards government policy by serving as think tanks, undertaking investigations and offering practical solutions to public administration.

The seminar on 'Repositioning Management Development Institutes for Public Sector Policy Reforms in West Africa' was held on 8-11 November 2004. It was attended by more than 30 chief executives of MDIs and government officials from Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Participants agreed that MDIs should tap human resources in the private sector, the public service and civil society to improve their own faculty profiles. They also stressed that these institutes should be proactive in identifying critical public issues and proffering solutions.

Alhaji M Yayale Ahmed, Head of the Civil Service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, said that MDIs in his country had concentrated disproportionately on only one of their core functions -- training. "They have done this to the detriment of the other two, research and monitoring, from which they were expected to come up with unassailable inputs to policy formulations and implementation."

In a communiqué issued at the conclusion of the seminar, participants emphasised, "MDIs should strive to improve their internally generated revenues through consultancy services to both the public and private sectors of the economy.

"In order to maintain high quality standards, MDIs must train and retrain their staff in core competencies so that they can be at the cutting edge of their profession."

It was noted that the capacity of chief executive officers to lead effectively was a key factor in the performance of MDIs. Participants recommended the recruitment of competent CEOs, with the requisite leadership, marketing and public relations skills. 

The seminar was organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat's Governance and Institutional Development Division in collaboration with the West African Management Development Institutes Network.

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service  Issue 210  17 November 2004