Assisting Business Plan Development: Findings, Lessons Learnt, Outlook

GRANT No.: H834-AFCfP Reference No.: P132742Contract No.: DMTVET/C27

Afghanistan Second Skill Development Project (ASDP-II) Consultancy Services for Developing Business Plan

Stefan Siewert, Team LeaderE-mail: Ssiewert@integration.org

January 28, 2015

Assisting Business Plan • Development (15 new TVET institutions)• Implementation (Winner of the first round)

Findings• Significant performance gap Kabul – Rest of

the country• Trust is a key success factor• Periodic on-site visits and face-to-face

contacts are an unconditional must• Administrative capacity is extremely poor

(up to 10 orthographic mistakes/page in Dari); change capacity differ

• Steep acceleration of learning curve during final weeks

• Most TVET schools: – appreciation of business planning as a management

tool– Momentum created for further change

Lessons learntSuccess factors are:

• Trust (Who is Integration?)• Change and administrative

capacities• One-day workshops • Expectation management

(Time, organization, milestones, evaluation)

• Involvement of stakeholders (the more the better)

Recommendations

• Coordinate activities with DM TVET/WB• Evaluate and consider change and

administrative capacities• Monthly workshops for appreciation:

progress reports and peer review• Agree in written on individual Work

plans• Create and update Internet presence in

English/Dari/Pashto (free of charge and easy done)

Assisting Business Plan Implementation

• Standardize Business Planning and M &E• Create Administrative capacities• Strenghten Teachers training Capacities• Faciliate Capacity creation for Business Links

Assisting Business Plan Implementation

• Standardize Business Planning – Review format (not activities) of BP within 10 days

after winning the Grant– Align M & E indicator to DM TVET requirements– Monitor proactively (at least two on-site visits

each months)– Each quarter: • One sheet overview about BP implementation, • in-depth analysis of all BP related activities

Assisting Business Plan Implementation

Create Administrative capacities – Harmonize all activities with DM TVET– Encourage to enlarge capacities with Grant resources

(computer, internet, qualified staff)– Give assistance (job and qualification requirements,

performance measurement, change management)– Design and implement on-the-job trainings for staff – Create and guide Community of Practice

• Monthly events for exchange of best experience• Online presence (forum, Q&A, guidelines, etc.)

– Inform and coordinate with other donors

Assisting Business Plan Implementation

Strengthen Teacher Training CapacitiesThreat of market coordination failure as unmet demand emerges of up to $30,000/months

Counterstrategies• Identify and exploit existing strengths and opportunities

(TTTI, ATVI, other)• Encourage the market entry of new training providers• Strengthen cooperation and coordination between Grant

winners• Identify and implement appropriate and transparent

procedures • Cooperate closely with DM TVET for quality management

and daily supervision

Assisting Business Plan Implementation

Facilitate Capacity Creation for Business Links• Coordinate activities (job fairs, surveys, etc.)• Create and implement blended and long-term

trainings for administrators and teachers• On-the-job consultancy for performance

improvement • Create online-presence for coordination and

problem-solving– Forum, Calendar, Q & A, Best experience, Guidelines and

questionnaires, databases, links.

Thanks for your attention!