Bolivia Strategy

Identification

Report

2

0. Introduction and background

VLIR-UOS is a department of the Flemish Interuniversity Council responsible for the

management of funds for university cooperation for development obtained from the

Belgian Development Cooperation. VLIR-UOS supports innovative partnerships of willing

academics on themes that are developmentally relevant and result from a shared interest.

In 2010, VLIR-UOS signed an Agreement with the Belgian Minister for Development

Cooperation to reduce its south activities to 20 partner countries. Bolivia has been

selected as one of the privileged partner countries. For each partner country, a country

strategy (a road map for cooperation) will be developed. A country strategy represents the

strategic niche for future VLIR-UOS cooperation in a country. A strategy can contain a

geographical and/or thematic focus. It should be multi-disciplinary and include an optimal

balance between the different programme types and levels of intervention of VLIR-UOS.

The country strategy Bolivia is being elaborated in collaboration with the Bolivian partners

and taking into account Bolivian priorities for development and higher education, as well as

the activities of the Belgian-Bolivian bilateral development cooperation. VLIR-UOS

initiated a consultative process on Bolivia that will lead to the formulation of a Country

Strategy Paper by the end of May 2015. The country strategy will serve as a reference for

future calls for project proposals.

First, the Flemish areas of interest in working with Bolivia have been captured (supply

side) through a desk study and consultation rounds including a North Seminar in Brussels.

The country identification mission is meant to identify the needs (demand side) and identify

themes, institutions and possible regional focus, as well as the constraints and

opportunities for both to match. Need identification is done through visits to pre-selected

HE institutions, authorities and other stakeholders. In addition, the hosting of a local

seminar will allow for further inputs and discussions.

The CSI process will be guided by international expert Mr Bart Delvaux, supported by

regional expert Bernardo Paz. For VLIR-UOS, Mr Wannes Verbeeck (VLIR-UOS

programme officer South) is taking part, and prof. Paul Janssen, member of the Bureau

UOS, is representing the Flemish universities and university colleges.

SUPPLY

STRATEGIC NICHE FOR PROGRAMMING

NEEDS

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1. Conclusions from the North consultations

1.1 Bolivia Seminar in Belgium

On 8 January 2015 a North Seminar was organised in Brussels listen to the Flemish

partners concerning their experiences and interest in future cooperation with Bolivia. The

seminar welcomed about 35 participants from Flemish universities and university colleges

and representatives of DGD and other institutions, as well as the First and Second

Secretary from the Bolivian Embassy in Belgium.

After introducing the background to the identification process and of VLIR-UOS

cooperation in Bolivia, the main priorities in terms of development were presented. The

Bolivian development plan (“Plan Nacional de Desarrollo: Bolivia Digna, Soberana,

Productiva y Democrática para Vivir Bien” (PND), 2006-2011 and updated with the “Plan

de Desarrollo Económico y Social 2012–2015”), elaborated by the National Ministry of

Development Planning, as well as the 13 pillars of the Patriotic Agenda 2025 and the

Political National Plan 2015-2010 were elaborated by more than 70 experts, independent

ones and from the public administration. All these documents articulate several long-term

development policies and programmes that are interesting references for development and

higher education cooperation, including a focus on the link between research and

development. Bolivia has 11 public universities, 3 indigenous universities and about 40

private universities. The government budget for public universities has increased in recent

years, which proves the commitment to improve HE. However, no concrete policy reforms

in the HE sector are planned (in contrast with for example in Peru and Ecuador where

these reforms are planned or being implemented).

The current Indicative Cooperation Programme of Belgium with Bolivia is in a transitional

phase (2015 – 2016), and is currently focusing on water management, capacity building

and interculturalism. For the next ICP (from 2017 onwards), the idea is to have a larger

input of indirect cooperation actors in order to come up with a solid, synergetic proposal

taking into account the new MIC approach from DGD. It is obvious that university

cooperation can play an important role in the type of capacity building and exchange

foreseen in future cooperation programmes with MIC countries.

The group discussions during the North seminar were organised around 4 topics: the

generic needs for HE cooperation with Bolivia (why?), what do we want to do in the future?

(thematic areas and transversal support domains); with who do we want to work?

(partners, synergy and complementarity on different levels); and how do we want to work

(cooperation modalities). The main outcomes of the North seminar are summarised below.

A detailed account of these discussions is given in the seminar report. Moreover, the

international expert interviewed several stakeholders in the north to complement the

information of the north seminar. A report of these interviews can be found in annex 5.

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1.2 Prevailing broad themes, trends and issues

Based on the information gathered during the north seminar and through the interviews, it

could be concluded that in general the broad themes for cooperation of previous

cooperation remain crucial and are very much in line with the country’s priorities and with

the Belgian-Bolivian bilateral cooperation.

The following themes were confirmed and reorganised in view of fitting with the general

VLIR-UOS approach:

Strategy in development - summary matrix of current strategic opportunities from the North

versus National priorities, Belgian ICP & other donors (discussed at level of the Bureau UOS

of 23 January 2015)

THEMES SUB-THEMES PND

BOL

BTC

BEL

IDB EU AECID

ESP

GIZ

GER

FOOD

SOVEREIGNTY

(family) agriculture, nutrition, link with environment and climate change

x x x x

ENVIRONMENT

& NATURAL

RESOURCES

(WATER)

Sustainable management of natural resources (water resources, use of land for production, pollution from mining and effects on health), biodiversity, ecology, impact of climate change

x x x x x x

SOCIAL

DEVELOPMENT

society and psychosocial health, social insecurity and safety, indigenous rights, multiculturalism, urbanisation, migration, link with governance and indigenous rights, cultural identity, health related to social development

x x x x x

CROSSCUTTING/ SUPPORT DOMAINS

RESEARCH

SUPPORT

PhD training, language training (academic English), scientific writing, statistics, data management, ICT support and intellectual property rights

x x x x

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It is important to limit the number of (sub) themes and make sure there is an integrated,

multidisciplinary approach starting from the central theme of ‘vivir bien’ and linking up for

instance biodiversity, food sovereignty with natural resources management (mainly water

and effects of climate change and health) and societal problems (children at risk, related

health, community development, decentralisation) and also taking into account economic

development (technology for productive sectors, software for technology) and not address

all of these as separate development problems.

In view of the recommendation to link up with national priorities, the contacts with the

Bolivian Embassy, national authorities in the domain of planning, development and

science should form an entry point for further prioritisation during the identification mission.

A number of issues are crosscutting and instrumental for all activities in Bolivia:

‘enhancing of research quality’ as a ‘crosscutting’ theme to be addressed possibly

through a more national approach/project whereby the link is made with research

policy and practices (research based education, scientific writing, academic

English). Also teacher training was mentioned but there it needs to be investigated

how university cooperation can have a considerable impact in absence of VVOB

(as is the case in Ecuador and Suriname);

Importance of regional embedding. Possibilities of cooperation over the borders, in

particular with the other Andean countries (themes as water, effects of mining,

ecology, social psychology and development (cfr Peru cooperation with PUCP)

could be crosscutting topics resorting under the general cooperation themes linked

with government and society).

From the above, mainly the enhancing of research quality through attention for research

based education has the potential to develop into a project approach (and could link up

with initiatives in Ecuador and Peru).

Current partner universities are Universidad Mayor de San Simon (UMSS), Universidad

Mayor de San Andres (UMSA) and Universidad Católica de Bolivia San Pablo (UCB)

(cluster of 4 universities and several extension centres). ARES-CCD focuses on

cooperation with Universidad Mayor de San Simon (UMSS) and continued an Institutional

University Cooperation after the ending of the VLIR-programme in 2008. In terms of future

partner universities, further investigation is needed, but since the field is not so wide, a

possible focus could be on public universities (11) + a restricted number of private

universities (or universities with an intermediate statute). However, this had to be

investigated and discussed with local stakeholders.

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In terms of VLIR-UOS intervention types, the cooperation with UCB seemed to have

potential to develop into other cooperation modalities. There should be potential for TEAM

and South Initiatives around strategic themes and guidance of the new indigenous

universities (more focus on professionalization) could be envisaged through twinning

modality or through smaller, more accessible south initiatives in which also institutes for

higher education in Flanders could play a role in particular in areas of teacher training and

more practical approaches.

Maybe some national-level projects could arise around crosscutting themes (research

quality) and in the future network style projects (post IUC or research platforms) or

regional cooperation projects (Andes, Latin America) are not to be excluded.

Also, a great number of Flemish travel grant students have Bolivia as a destination and

there are opportunities to strengthen Bolivia as a country in our North programmes as for

the moment the numbers of Bolivian students in KOI, ITP and ICP are limited.

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2. Identification Mission Report

2.1. Introduction

The Country Strategy Identification Mission is part of the country strategy identification process as conducted by VLIR-UOS. After the desk study and the North Consultations (including a North Seminar), a Country Identification Mission was the following step to develop the overall identification report based on North (offer, history and experience in cooperation) and South (demand, priorities) input. The mission was conducted by a country team consisting of 2 experts (one international (Bart Delvaux) and one local expert (Bernardo Paz)), a member of the Bureau UOS (prof. Paul Janssen) and the VLIR-UOS programme officer South (Wannes Verbeeck).

2.2. Objectives and expected results of the mission

Mission objectives

According to the terms of reference, the objectives of the mission are to: Facilitate the implementation of the country strategy identification process Formulate recommendations in view of integrating the results of the desk study,

the North and South consultation processes and mission activities into a country strategy for the specific country.

Main expected results are:

Overview of strategic niche for cooperation taking into consideration the local needs and the Flemish supply and interests.

Shortlist of potential, in terms of VLIR university cooperation for development of the specific country; strengths and weaknesses of each visited institute; links with national priorities, etc.

Recommendations formulated in terms of:

o Identifying core transversal support domains for Capacity Building: of importance for all scientific/multidisciplinary domains/themes (ICT, research policy support, statistics for research, academic English, quality assurance...)

o The best possible portfolio (combination of intervention types) for VLIR-UOS cooperation in the country

o Generic opportunities and constraints for university cooperation for development with the country

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2.3. Mission activities

The identification mission took place from 9 to 21 March 2015, with the local seminar with

more than 50 participants taking place on Thursday 19 March 2015 at the Auditorio in La

Paz.

Based on prior analysis, a selected number of HE institutions were visited during the

mission and invited for the country seminar (for a more detailed programme, please refer

to annex 3: mission programme):

UMSS (Universidad Mayor de San Simón), Cochabamba

UARGM (Universidad Autónoma René Gabriel Moreno), Santa Cruz

UAJMS (Universidad Autónoma Juan Misael Saracho), Tarija

USFX (Universidad San Francisco Javier), Sucre

UATF (Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías), Potosí

UTO (Universidad Técnica de Oruro), Oruro

UITK (Universidad Indígena Túpac Katari) Huarina / Warisata, La Paz

UPDS (Universidad Privad a Domingo Savio), La Paz (private)

UTB (Universidad Técnica Boliviana), La Paz (private)

UCB (Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo), La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa

Cruz (private, member of National System)

UPIEB (Universidad de Postgrado para la Investigación Estratégica en Bolivia), La

Paz (Foundation)

It was an explicit aim of the identification team to interview also non university institutions

linked to investigation to get an opinion of University performance outside of Universities

themselves and get a general understanding of research activities in civil society and the

link they may represent with University performance. The following non university

institutions were visited:

CEUB, La Paz (umbrella association of Bolivian universities of the National

System)

MMAyA, La Paz (Ministry of Environment)

MDPEP, La Paz (Ministry of Production and Plural Economy)

INIAF, La Paz (National Institute for Agricultural and Forestry Research)

IPDRS, Fundación Javier Albó, La Paz (Social research and documentation centre)

CEDIB, Cochabamba (documentation centre)

Museo de Historia Natural, Cochabamba

CIAT, Santa Cruz (regional public agricultural research and extension centre)

IICA, La Paz (Inter American Agricultural Development Institute)

CAINCO, Santa Cruz (Chamber of Commerce)

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PROINPA, Cochabamba (Agricultural Research Foundation)

ASUR, Sucre (foundation for anthropological research)

ESFM Simón Bolívar, La Paz (Public Teacher training Institute)

CONAMAQ, La Paz (Social Movement representing rural areas)

Contact details of these institutions can be found in annex 1.

Last but not least, the Belgian DGD representation was an important stakeholder during

the mission and the local seminar. At the start of the mission a briefing session was

organised at the Belgian Embassy, in which the VLIR-UOS objectives with the CSI mission

were put forward to the Belgian DGD Attaché, Mr. Roland Provot and his colleagues.

Opportunities for interaction with the bilateral and Belgian indirect actors were discussed

during this session and also during the FABEB (Foro de Actores Belgas en Bolivia)

meeting of 18 March 2015.

2.4. Mission findings and accomplishments

2.4.1. The Bolivian Higher Education and University System: general

description of the sector

1) The higher education landscape in Bolivia

Roughly, Bolivian Universities can be divided into four groups: the Public Autonomous

Universities, the universities under special regime (the first 2 categories forming the

“National System”), the indigenous universities (UNIBOL) and the Private Universities

(including some foundations).

1. The National System (public universities and the universities under special regime).

The National System consist of 11 Public Universities and 4 universities under special

regime which are also represented by the CEUB (see below): UCB ,Universidad Andina

Simón Bolívar (a private postgraduate university) and the Military and Police University. All

public universities are autonomous. The Public universities are fully funded by the state,

whereas the private special regime universities don’t receive state funding through the

education ministry. UCB is partly funded by the Catholic Church and the Universidad

Andina Simón Bolívar covers its costs by tuition fees. The Military University and the

Police University, are both funded through their respective Ministries. There initial mission

was to form officers. Now the Military University offers also university education (mainly

engineering faculties) for the public in general and covering the cost by relatively high

tuition fees.

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The Public Autonomous Universities are managed by a system of co-government. This

means that the maximum authority is a University Council, in which students and

academics combined with administrative staff have each a representation of 50%

(Exceptions are the UNSXX (Universidad Nacional Siglo Veinte en Llallagua) and the

UPEA (Universidad Pública del Alto), with a slightly different representation, involving civil

society).

During the last decades, the national and especially the public universities have shifted

from attending a more elite population (middle class and higher) to a population

representing most segments of the Bolivian society. This also implied more focus on

education and less on research.

Funding for the public universities is based on a percentage of the national budget

established by the Constitution and they are totally autonomous in all their economic and

academic and educational decisions. Spending of the Universities varies from 1000 to

2000 Euros per student per year, according to the received factsheets.

University Budget (Bs) Budget (€) Students Budget(€/student)

UMSA 649.947.808 86.659.708 81.174 1.068

USFX 546.880.631 72.917.417 48.859 1.492

UCBlp 1.900

UCBcbb 45.235.871 6.031.449 2.968 2.032

Since 2006, additionally to the specific budget allocation, 8.62% of the Direct Hydrocarbon

Tax (Impuesto Directo a los Hidrocarburos- IDH) assigned to each one of the nine

departments is transferred to the public Universities in each Department1.

According to the specific law 3058 these funds can be used for infrastructure and

equipment, research, science and technology, evaluation and accreditation, university

extension and student services:

- Operation and functioning of the rural decentralized units Infrastructure and

equipment in favour of students (canteens, university hostels, nurseries, sports

fields, classrooms)

- Several types of scholarships for students (direct cash support, alimentation,

accommodation, student research, graduation costs and the salaries for

student teaching assistants)

- Cultural, artistic and sportive activities, organized by the students

- Free emission of academic certificates

1 Gas and oil Law No 3058 of may 2005 and regulation DS N° 28421

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These payments represent nowadays about 30% of the university Budget in general but

this varies by department. Departments with hydrocarbon extraction participate to a larger

extent in the hydrocarbon tax.

Very few – if any – complaints were heard about serious funding deficiencies, which

seems to imply that financing is according to needs and spending capacity. Although it

was suggested in many occasions that access to financial resources is complicated and

cumbersome especially regarding the hydrocarbon tax resources. Each university has the

obligation to develop its regulations in how to allocate the carbon tax resources (example:

http://www.uto.edu.bo/documentos/links/reglamentos/r1.pdf) and due to the co governance

system this has resulted in very complicate decision making processes.

A second factor in Bolivia is the very strict anti-corruption and public administration laws

and regulations. As a result spending hydrocarbon tax money is complicated especially in

research. In general, infrastructure and equipment is of a reasonable level, although

maintenance and management is a problem. Especially in terms of research equipment,

actualization is limited.

The National System, as mentioned before, has a national representation through the

CEUB (Comité Ejecutivo de la Universidad Boliviana). The CEUB’s mission is to

coordinate and represent the Bolivian University System. For this purpose they have 8

national secretaries: the National Executive Secretary, National Secretary of Institutional

Development, National Academic Secretary, National Postgraduate Secretary, National

Secretary for Research, Science and Technology, National Secretary for International

Relations, National Secretary for Evaluation and Accreditation, National Secretary for

Social Interaction and University Extension. The CEUB organizes congresses and sector

meetings. During the congresses, general standards and regulation applying to all

universities of the system are agreed upon and the sector meetings have a more technical

content. The last one for instance was a national investigation congress where all 15

universities of the system presented their scientific research results. Some of their

products were purchased by business owners during the congress.

2. The private Universities

The Bolivian Agency for the development of the Information Society (ADSIB - Agencia

para el Desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Información en Bolivia: www.adsib.gob.bo) reports

33 private Universities, but this information may not be up to date. About 40 private

Universities are active in Bolivia. In comparison to other countries in the region, they have

a very recent history (about 35 years) and attend only 20% of the University students’

population. Private Universities were created by religious or industrial organizations. These

universities are organized through the ANUP (National Association of Private Universities).

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The Private Universities have authorities, appointed by their respective boards, mainly

controlled by their respective corporations. This is less democratic, but offers a more

stable management structure in the long run. The graduates from these universities have

more access possibilities in the competitive industrial sector than professionals coming

from the public ones.

Most of them respond to a social demand for professionalization for people already at

work. Research is not really high on the agenda in most of these Universities, with some

exceptions. The Universidad Evangélica and the Universidad Privada Boliviana were

mentioned as partners in research projects. They can be considered the most active

private universities in research.

For their programme and institutional accreditation private universities are entirely

dependent on authorizations by the Education Ministry. This process is considered as very

long and bureaucratic, with little technical considerations.

This leads to the paradox that private universities – fully funded by students and the

private sector – to assure their academic standards, are totally dependent on the state,

and that on the other hand, public universities – fully funded by the state – are

academically totally autonomous.

3. The Indigenous Universities (UniBol)

In 2008, as a government policy, 3 Indigenous Universities were created, by Presidential

Decree (No. 29664), one for each of the main indigenous language and culture groups of

Bolivia: The Aymara University Tupac Katari in the La Paz Department, the Quechua

University Casimiro Huanca in the Cochabamba Department, and the Guaraní University

Apiaguaiki Tupa in the Chuquisaca Department, in the Chaco region.

These Universities were created with the double aim to improve access to Higher

Education for people belonging to indigenous groups, and to adapt the pedagogic

structure and curricula to indigenous reality, by means of (social and anthropological)

research. The Article 17 of the mentioned Decree defines the financial sources considering

the following possibilities: a) Indigenous, Originary and Peasant Fund (Fondo Indígena,

originario y campesino - FONDIOC2), b) Specific resources and c) External funding

(credits and grants). The UniBol universities have an academic dependence of the

Education Ministry. Access has without doubt improved, but a drop in number of students

(after only 5 years of functioning) raises questions about the realistic demand for this kind

of education.

2 Not to be confused wih the “Fondo Indígena”, financed by the International Cooperation: http://www.fondoindigena.org/drupal/es

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They offer technical (engineering) studies (agronomy, veterinary, agro-industry) and have

each a research centre for indigenous language and culture. The purpose of these

research centres is to adapt and enrich the curricula of the technical disciplines with its

research on indigenous language and culture to generate a curriculum which responds

better to the demands of the specific indigenous groups. However visiting one of these

universities, this link and integration could not be found in reality. The engineering

disciplines, at this moment, should be seen as technical high school training, research is

not developed. This may change in the future.

Due to the recent creation of these universities it is not clear if they may conquer a social

integration that enables them to defend themselves in case of a change in government

policy. The latter making them vulnerable in the long run.

4. The Foundations

Two Universities are private foundations, initially financed by international cooperation,

and have a mission related to research but in reality are postgraduate schools. They have

no regular faculties or students.

(U)PIEB: The PIEB Foundation organizes post graduate courses in research skills for

academics. These courses are funded through international cooperation.

The second foundation is the Universidad de la Cordillera. The vision of the Universidad

de la Cordillera is to become a reference centre in terms of climate change research. It

develops research activities and postgraduate training for professionals. It depends heavily

on international cooperation, and recent cutbacks in cooperation seem to have affected it

strongly.

2) Ranking of Universities in Bolivia

To get an idea of how Bolivian Universities rank in there context a comparison was made

to universities in Peru and Ecuador (table 1). This approach was chosen due to the

similarities between these countries and the previous experience of VLIR-UOS in both

Peru and Ecuador. It has to be made clear that only three Bolivian Universities participate

in International Ranking Systems, for the majority of Bolivian Universities this is not a

priority. When comparing with Peru and Ecuador, the first Bolivian University appears on

the sixth spot. The other two universities with international ranking appear in the lower part

of the table. However, this ranking should be taken with care, while internationalization and

attracting international students is not high on the priority list of the Bolivian Universities.

They focus more on their educational mission, and international rankings pay more

attention to research.

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Next is a second table (table 2) which ranks Bolivian universities. It’s obvious that also this

ranking should be taken with care.

The sources are QS-ranking and Webometrics.

Table 1: International ranking of universities (Peruvian/Ecuadorian Universities: shaded).

(Sources: http://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings, 2014 Results and

http://www.webometrics.info/, January 2015 edition

Table 1 International Ranking Webometrics Country Name QS

(LA) National ranking

LA ranking

World rank

Perú Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú (PUCP) 30 33 785

Perú Universidad Nacional de San Marcos (UNSM) 57 40 876

Perú Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia 65 133 1978

Ecuador Universidad de San Francisco de Quito 71 108 1817

Ecuador Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador 97 114 1870

Bolivia Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) 112 1 140 2023

Perú Universidad Agraria La Molina 132 213 2797

Perú Universidad de Lima 133 460 5041

Ecuador Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) 134 81 1472

Perú Universidad de Ingeniería 161-170 184 2500

Bolivia Universidad Mayor de San Simón (UMSS) 191-200 2 154 2108

Ecuador Escuela Politécnica del Ejercito (ESPE) 201-250 147 2052

Ecuador Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil

201-250 242 3080

Bolivia Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo (UCB)

201-250 3 328 3884

Ecuador Escuela Politécnica Nacional (Ecuador) 251-300 103 1749

Bolivia Universidad Privada Boliviana 4 583 6521

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Table 2: National ranking of universities (Public Universities: italic; indigenous Universities:

underlined)

(Sources: http://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings, 2014 Results and

http://www.webometrics.info/, January 2015 edition)

This table gives an idea of how Bolivian Universities are ranked among each other. The

highest ranked universities (1 to 8) all are located in the “Eje Central”: La Paz,

Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz.

Table 2. National Ranking QS (LA)

Webometrics

City / Department of Head Office Name

National ranking

LA ranking

World rank

La Paz Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) 112 1 140 2023

Cochabamba Universidad Mayor de San Simón (UMSS)

191-200 2 154 2108

La Paz Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo (UCB)

201-250 3 328 3884

Cochabamba Universidad Privada Boliviana 4 583 6521

Santa Cruz Universidad Autónoma René Gabriel Moreno 5

Santa Cruz Universidad Privada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra 6

Cochabamba Universidad Católica San Pablo Cochabamba 7

La Paz Universidad Privada Abierta Latinoamericana 8

Tarija Universidad Autónoma Juan Misael Saracho 9

Oruro Universidad Técnica de Oruro 10

La Paz Universidad Central 11

Cochabamba Universidad Privada del Valle 12

La Paz Universidad Nur 13

Santa Cruz Universidad de Aquino Bolivia 14

La Paz Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar Bolivia 15

Santa Cruz Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo Santa Cruz de la Sierra 16

La Paz Escuela Militar de Ingeniería 17

Potosí Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías 18

Sucre, Chuquisaca

Universidad Mayor de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca 19

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La Paz Universidad Nuestra Señora de la Paz 20

La Paz Universidad Salesiana de Bolivia 21

Santa Cruz Universidad Privada Domingo Savio 22 Vinto, Quillacollo, Cochabamba Universidad Adventista de Bolivia 23

La Paz Universidad Loyola de Bolivia 24

Trinidad, Beni Universidad Autónoma del Beni José Ballivián 25

Cochabamba Universidad Técnica Privada Cosmos 26

Santa Cruz Universidad Nacional del Oriente 27

Santa Cruz Universidad Privada Franz Tamayo 28

Pando Universidad Amazónica de Pando 29

Santa Cruz Universidad Tecnológica Privada de Santa Cruz 30

Santa Cruz Universidad Privada Cumbre 31 Sucre, Chuquisaca

Universidad Pedagógica Mariscal Sucre 32

Villa Macharetí, Chuquisaca.

Universidad Indígena Guaraní Apiaguaiki Tupa Chuquisaca 33

Tarija Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo Tarija 34

La Paz Universidad Tecnológica Boliviana 35

Santa Cruz Universidad Evangélica Boliviana 36

Santa Cruz Universidad Cristiana de Bolivia 37

La Paz Universidad Real 38

Santa Cruz Universidad Nacional Ecológica 39

La Paz Universidad San Francisco de Asis 40

La Paz Universidad para la Investigación Estratégica en Bolivia 41

La Paz Universidad Empresarial de los Andes 42

La Paz Universidad La Salle de La Paz 43

Cochabamba Universidad Simón I Patiño 44

El Alto, La Paz Universidad Unión Bolívariana 45

Huarina/Warisata, La Paz

Universidad Indígena Aymara Túpac Katari La Paz 46

Chimoré, Cochabamba

Universidad Indígena Quechua Casimiro Huanca Cochabamba 47

Yacuiba, Tarija Universidad Privada del Chaco 48

Santa Cruz Universidad Santo Tomás 49

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3) University Research in Bolivia

Research is not a high priority within the Bolivian Universities, their main objective is

education. Student numbers are increasing continuously and this is not accompanied by

an increase in financial resources and as a result the resources available are focused on

responding to the increased demand for education. In general, as a country investment in

R&D is estimated to be 0.16% of GDP, in comparison with 0.32% as a regional average

and 2.4 in OECD countries (World Economic Forum, 2013, The Networked Readiness

report.). Private sector participation in research is low and in general, innovation is not a

key element in national economic policy or strategy. As a result the production of

internationally indexed research papers is very low. The number of researchers in Bolivia

is about a third from the regional average and only 1% of these is are employed in the

productive sector, compared to 16% in Latin America (World Bank, 2012 Development

Indicators). Only 10% of researchers has have a PhD degree.

It is estimated that in Bolivia there exists 317 research centres of which 75% are part of

the universities and the rest are mainly privately run foundations. There are 1989

researchers of which 1101 are full time, of these 254 have a PhD degree and 728 have a

MSc degree. (Ministry of Education 2011)

All this has to be considered in the context of a strong economic growth in Bolivia in recent

years which is not followed by a growth in research and innovation investment. In terms of

research and innovation, Bolivia has some serious structural problems.

- Research and innovation is not an integral part of the university institutional policy

- There does not exist a public innovation and research system and as a result

university research focus is not related to national needs.

- There are no clear national public policies to involve universities in the innovation

process and as result articulation is slow and limited

- Public and Private sector investment in innovation is very limited

4) Alliances and networking of Universities in Bolivia

The link between university research and private sector, which should be the driving force

of innovation, is considered very weak. Most universities have agreements with the public

sector. These agreements involve occasionally research work, but are mainly focused on

internships for students. Contacts among Bolivian universities are often externally

motivated, mainly by international cooperation.

Most universities organize extensions in the provinces of their region to improve access for

students and to gain some visibility in the region with extension activities. A lot of

Universities, both public and private, offer master studies financed with tuition fees in other

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regions than their home region, to increase their number of (paying) students). Universities

are generally considered as islands in Bolivian society by other actors.

International Relations of Bolivian Universities:

The international alliances mentioned by universities are generally agreements for

internships of students. International Alliances of Universities exist directly between

Bolivian and international universities, or through the CEUB.

These alliances are mostly focused on exchange of academics and training initiatives, for

students or at MSc and PhD level and some investment in equipment and research

operational costs.

Most contacts are with Spanish and Cuban Universities, followed by other European and

Latin American Universities. International financial support comes mainly from Europe

(62%), other South American Universities (17%) and the United States and Canada (9%)

Language limitations (English) have without doubt their impact.

Most universities participate in regional networks, but these networks seem to be meetings

at the higher level (rectors), without a clear impact on university performance. These

networks are: Consejo de Rectores por la Integración Centro Oeste de América del Sur

(CRISCOS); la Organización Universitaria Interamericana (OUI); el MERCOSUR

EDUCATIVO, el Convenio Andrés Bello; Instituto de Gestión y Liderazgo Universitario

IGLU and others.

Internationalization of Bolivian Universities is very limited and in many cases not even part

of institutional policy. Although for example, Brazilian students can be found within Bolivian

Universities this is mainly because a few years study in Bolivia permits the student to study

in its home University without having to take an entrance exam. Most forms of

internationalization are based on development aid projects or research projects and

involve exchange of student and training for researchers but no long term sustained

relations with universities in other countries. There are very limited actions in terms of

exchange of learning outcomes or accreditation, something which would be enormously

beneficial to Bolivian Universities. As mentioned before, Bolivian Universities are very

isolated within the country itself but even more internationally. To start working on a NVAO

(2010) type accreditation for example would have an enormous impact within Bolivia

Universities. Belgium Universities could play a role in this.

5) National education priorities of Bolivia

The Education Ministry aims at access for anyone to productive, socially relevant

education, with emphasis on participation and improved quality. The Vice ministry of

Science and Technology is the department of the Education Ministry that is closest to

University Education. Nevertheless, no direct mention of activities or projects with

19

Universities is made in its mission; this is to be explained by the – almost absolute –

university autonomy, which makes universities completely responsible for their own

academic and financial management. The Vice Ministry is creating the Bolivian System of

innovation and the Bolivian system of scientific and technological information, in which

Universities should play a role, but not as protagonists.

The only way the state has an influence in University policy is through financing. Basic

financing is determined by law and cannot easily be modified. The additional financing last

years through IDH can be controlled by modifying investment regulation. The state is

willing to improve relevance of investments by more flexibility, adding extra investment

possibilities, and more strict regulations to have more control. The current regulations are

currently under revision.

The only national actor directly involved in formulating University policy is the CEUB. It

formulates common policies and regulations for all (public and special status) universities.

For this purpose it organises Congresses and has eight technical secretaries that address

issues as accreditations, international relations, postgraduates and research policies, etc.

These policies can only be adopted in the congresses if universities agree, due to the

autonomy system. This implies that the vision of the CEUB is a mixture of individual

university visions and interests.

Despite the autonomy of the universities, in 2007 the Minister Felix Patzi negotiates five

topics to give more social relevance to the autonomous universities including the

deconcentration to rural areas, native language in the curricula, recovery of ancestral

knowledge, salary reduction and inclusion of much more training in the last years of

education in the University.

6) National development priorities of Bolivia with link to education and research

The “Agenda 2025”, to be understood as the National Development Plan 2015 – 2025,

mentions 13 pillars for a Dignified and Sovereign Bolivia:

Eradication of extreme poverty, universal basic services, health, education and sports for

an integral human being, scientific and technological sovereignty with an own identity,

community financial sovereignty, productive sovereignty with diversification and integral

development, sovereignty over natural resources, through nationalization, industrialization

and commercialization in harmony with nature, food sovereignty, environmental

sovereignty, complementary integration of sovereign nations, sovereignty and

transparency of public management, enjoyment of traditions, happiness and prosperity.

The National Development Plan 2006 – 2011 mentions the following policies regarding

science and technology:

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Science, technology and innovation in the National Integration for productive

development with sovereignty and social inclusion.

Inclusive scientific culture for the construction of a knowledge society with its own

characteristics.

Retrieval, protection and use of technical and ancestral local knowledge

This complements the general priorities of the Development Plan of which is expected they

will remain in force:

1. Industrialisation of natural resources 2. Diversification of the economy generating a greater role for government in the

economy with a focus on industrialization of renewable and non-renewable resources. 3. Protection of the environment, sustainable forest management (SFM)

2.4.2. Synergies and complementarities with the Belgian bilateral cooperation

programme and with Belgian and international actors in Bolivia

The on-going Belgian bilateral indicative cooperation programme in Bolivia focuses on two

sectors (a) health and (b) water management and environment, with a total budget of 40

million Euros (ICP 2008).

Partners are Ministries (Health, Environment and Rural development) and local partners

(municipalities and departments). Interventions are concentrated in the departments of La

Paz, Cochabamba, Potosí and Chuquisaca, with a focus on institutional strengthening.

The new intervention (ICP 2014) concentrates on one sector: Water and environment, and

a smaller intervention in intercultural issues, with a total budget of 18.000.000 Euros,

which is complementary to research interests as expressed by Universities in both North

and South. An important intervention is a contribution through basket funding for the

national watershed plan. The DGD office is closing down, but the operational presence

(BTC) will go on for the time being.

Complementary topics with themes mentioned in the North and South Seminars are

natural resources management, climate change, and – to a lesser degree – health and

rural development.

The Swiss cooperation, Cosude focuses on decentralization and human rights, climate

change, work and income. The mitigation of the effects of climate change concentrate on

food security and access to water. They also contribute to the basket fund for the national

watershed plan. They count explicitly on universities for research regarding natural

resources and climate change. In a climate change project, mentioned also by several

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universities they promote joint research activities that can be presented by two

universities.

The Danish cooperation, Danida, made a shift from a thematic approach in rural

development, natural resources and education to poverty reduction, sustainable

development, including climate change and biodiversity, and green growth with emphasis

on innovation.

The Spanish cooperation, AECID concentrates on (drinking) water, (primary and technical)

education, food sovereignty and good government.

The Swedish cooperation, SIDA, supports explicitly research in universities on topics as

agriculture, climate change and health. Other topics are environment and natural

resources, democracy and human rights, and education.

The priorities if the German cooperation, GIZ are sustainable agricultural development,

water and sanitation, and governance and democracy. Projects of judicial reform,

renewable energy intercultural education and violence against women are other topics

they work on.

International cooperation in Bolivia acts to an important degree through basket funds on

the following topics: Water and sanitation, watershed management, education,

environment, ombudsman, health. These basket funds are integrated by different groups

of donors.

Cooperation actors in Bolivia are coordinating their contributions through the GRUS (G

rupo de Socios para el Desarrollo de Bolivia, http://www.grus.org.bo/). Members are:

Germany, the World Bank, Belgium, IADB, Brazil, CAF, Canada, Colombia, South Korea,

Costa Rica, Denmark, Spain, IMF France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, United Nations,

Norway, OAS, Sweden, Switzerland and the European Union.

Grus has thirteen thematic subgroups: NGO coordination, Water and Sanitation,

Education, Health, Integral Development/Narcotics, Gender, Autonomy and Public

Management, Macro Economy, Environment and Climate Change, Disaster Management,

Agriculture and Livestock, Monitoring and Effectiveness, Water and Environment

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2.4.3. Observations resulting from institutional visits and the interaction with

local stakeholders

a. Bolivian Universities

In the following tables some specific findings per university are proposed. The general

findings as established in the general SWOT under 2.5 apply to all of them. The

universities are ordered by national ranking.

University Universidad Mayor de San Andrés

Webpage www.umsa.edu.bo

Visited Yes

Seminar Yes

VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet Yes

Data/short description

National ranking 1 Main campus in La Paz, 14 regional dependencies 13 faculties

81174 students 1875 academics 73 graduate programs, 16 master programs, 4 PhD programs

Strengths Weaknesses

Good research experience

Relatively high degree of PhD holders among staff (30%)

Conscious of the importance of research (to improve ranking).

Research projects are financed and selected after thematic competitive calls

have on-going institutional programme with Swedish cooperation

No mention of current VLIR-UOS projects (2 TEAMs ongoing), not in interview nor in Fact Sheet

Due to its size, a VLIR-UOS IUC intervention may not have much impact. TEAMs and South Initiatives could be considered, cooperation through the current TEAM project (Master in Irrigation) is positively evaluated by the Belgian partner. Could be an interesting partner in the definition of a national research policy.

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University Universidad Mayor de San Simon Webpage www.umss.edu.bo

Visited Yes Seminar Yes VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet No

Data/short description

National ranking 2 main campus in Cochabamba, 8 regional dependencies Public University 13 Faculties 53.000 students (2006) 1596 academics (2012)

Strengths Weaknesses

Institutional mission tuned to National Development Plan

investigation should be in line with National Development Plan (Agenda 2025)

43 specialised research centers

25% of IDH for investigation through competitive project calls

Only 5% IDH distributed per faculty, which allows a more coherent policy, in comparison to just divide the funds to avoid problems (as done most).

For all public funded research, involvement of local stakeholders is required

30 projects/activities with VLIR-UOS between 1998 and 2014

Intention to create and participate in a National Investigation Fund and System

Intention to improve contacts / networks (e.g. with a Cosude initiative)

Investigation centres highly dependent on very rigid central administration, Planning centre (CEMAR, created during VLIR-UOS IUC, disappeared)

Impact of VLIR-UOS IUC not known / propagated by the university management

Also no mention of other on-going projects with other Belgian actor (IUC with ARES-CCD and MSc. in Tropical Medicine with ITM)

Discontinuity in management: there are good intentions but all policy seems new

UMSS is a good and nationally acknowledged university which is making some efforts to increase research relevant for local development. Although the IUC programme had good results in the strengthening of academic capacities, results on institutional level were limited and little remains. Also other (Belgian) projects are not propagated by the management. Since they benefitted already from an IUC, UMSS is no possible IUC partner. Since the institutional heritage and acknowledgement of the IUC programme seems limited, possibilities to function as a network hub seem limited. Whether or not a former IUC partner can benefit from TEAM or SI remains a VLIR-UOS decision to be taken. UMSS could play a leading role in a cross-cutting platform regarding national research policy.

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University Universidad Católica Boliviana de San Pablo (main campus in La Paz, dependencies in Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija)

Webpage www.ucb.edu.bo

Visited Yes: La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz

Seminar Yes VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet Yes Data/short description

National ranking 3 main campus in La Paz, 4 regional dependencies

5 Academic Units in rural areas (UACs)

Only private University, part of the National System (CEUB) 6 faculties 12289 students 1125 teachers (32% M Sc, 10% PhD)

Strengths Weaknesses UCB has a strategic plan 2014-2020 with

an explicit research policy including alignment with National Development Plan

Specific research policy developed in 2013, with research topics in following areas:

o Family and community o Integral Human development o Health and education o Technology and increase in

productivity o Environment and natural resources o Cultures and heritage o Food sovereignty

Several staff members have good knowledge of English

Internal publications

In cooperation with the Environment Ministry they organised public servants (all departments of Bolivia) training in environmental management funded by the Belgium Technical Cooperation

UCB has a strong national network through regional semi-independent dependencies and good contacts with other universities, government, development actors, civil society,…

Organised trainings in cooperation with Education Ministry, BTC etc.

Not bound by limitations in status of

No public funding. Due to their status as private university, they are sometimes considered as “business” by other actors, although they consider themselves as a “public” actor, due to the fact they do not have the same business model as (other) private investors including a clear and well formulated social vocation

Only 10% staff holds PhD Research infrastructure is limited

(however, new investments are under way – construction of new building for labs)

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researcher / teacher Experience with international cooperation;

among others a very positive VLIR-UOS experience in La Paz and Santa Cruz with a TEAM project

Strong involvement in social initiatives

More than 100 interuniversity agreements

UCB gave a well prepared, professional, solid and strong impression, and they already have clearly formulated ideas on possible future multi-disciplinary collaboration with VLIR-UOS, which were internally discussed and agreed upon among different faculties. Hence UCB seems to be a good possible partner for IUC and is a proven partner for TEAM and South initiatives. Can play a leading role within discussion platforms (e.g. within CEUB).

University

Universidad Gabriel René Moreno, Santa

Cruz

Webpage www.uagrm.edu.bo

Visited Yes Seminar No VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet No Data/short description

National ranking 5 Biggest University in Bolivia, main campus in Santa Cruz, 12 regional

dependencies 17 faculties 120.000 students 1680 academics (2012) 36 PhD.

Strengths Weaknesses

Good formation of students, also

externally mentioned (CAINCO)

UMGRM has an agricultural research centre recognized at national level

Trapped in “traditional” burocracy

Huge scale seems difficult to manage Weak research policy and very little staff

dedicated to research, so very limited research output

Staff includes few (foreign) formed PhD, MSc.

UMGRM gave an inefficient impression. Due to this, and its size, a VLIR-UOS IUC intervention may not have much impact. Projects at departmental level (TEAM and SI) might be a possibility.

University Universidad Juan Misael Saracho, Tarija

Webpage www.uajms.edu.bo

Visited Yes Seminar No

VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet Yes

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Data/short description

National ranking 9 Main campus in Tarija, 6 regional dependencies 23.000 students 11 faculties 600 academics /70% MSc/ 5% PhD

Strengths Weaknesses University funds research projects which

are externally assessed before approval trough competitive fund

Some experimental stations which have been funded through Dutch , Danish and Spanish cooperation and own initiative

Good presence and knowledge of local environment

Experience with interuniversity cooperation (with Potosí) through the Autapo project

Named pilot change university in the LA Alpha Tuning project in 2006

Quality of the education programmes is a general preoccupation

No full time researchers and no incentives for research for teaching staff, which leads to little research output (although there is a research budget financed with IDH) and few publications

there is a need to link research with demands from society

Central (bureaucratic) administration Lack of own resources and external

financing, a part from public funding Highest ranked university outside the Eje Central. Experience with interuniversity

cooperation (with Potosí) through the Autapo project proves feasibility of institutional cooperation. However, a fully-fledged IUC intervention doesn’t seem recommendable since there is no previous VLIR-UOS experience. Nevertheless, departmental interventions could have considerable impact, given their remote location and limited presence of external donors (hence the enthusiasm for the VLIR-UOS visit).

University

Universidad Técnica de Oruro

Webpage www.uto.edu.bo

Visited Yes Seminar Yes VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet No Data/short description

National ranking 10 Main campus in Oruro, 10 regional dependencies 25.000 students

7 faculties

700 academics, 60% MSc, 3%PhD

Strengths Weaknesses Good experience in agronomic research

Development of institutional tools for IDH financial management

Few contacts with private sector

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Research policy

Cofinancing with INIAF, Probolivia

Research on new paradigms proposed as interesting topic

Could be an interesting partner in the definition of a national investigation policy. A possible good partner for TEAM and SI.

University

Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías, Potosí

Webpage www.uatf.edu.bo

Visited Yes Seminar Yes VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet No Data/short description

National ranking 18 Main campus in Potosí, 4 regional dependencies, 44 academic units (Uyuni,

Tupiza,…)

10.000 students

669 academics (2012)

9 faculties

Strengths Weaknesses

Strong investment in infrastructure last years

Research is facilitated through competitive research calls (5% of IDH budget is used for research)

Experience with interuniversity cooperation (with Potosí) through the Autapo project (together with UAJMS)

Political instable (university closed down for almost one year in 2006- 2007)

Lack of well-equipped labs

Remote location relatively hard to reach (nearest airport in Sucre, 2.5h drive)

Experience with interuniversity cooperation (with Tarija) through the Autapo project proves feasibility of institutional cooperation. However, a fully-fledged IUC intervention doesn’t seem recommendable since there is no previous VLIR-UOS experience. Nevertheless, departmental interventions could have considerable impact.. Important themes for UATF are mining, tourism, basic sciences and ICT.

University Universidad San Francisco Javier, Sucre

Webpage www.usfx.edu.bo

Visited Yes Seminar Yes VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet Yes

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Data/short description

National ranking 19

Main campus in Sucre, 9 regional dependencies 48859 students

15 faculties 1194 academics 78 graduate programs, 5 master programs, 1 PhD program PLAN NACIONAL DE DESARROLLO UNIVERSITARIO 2015-2018

Strengths Weaknesses

USFX has the ambition to be a development catalyst in the region. Chuquisaca is one of the poorest regions in the country

The university launches competitive calls for research projects financed with IDH budget

There are incentives to promote research (since 2013, research is a part of the job description for all university teachers, and publications are mandatory to become lecturer)

There are contacts with Belgian professors (UCL and UGent)

USFX makes special effort to keep young and qualified staff (PhD, MSc) at the university with a preferential treatment and special standards for contracts

Experience with international cooperation with AECID, Katholieke Hogeschool Mechelen, Spanish and South American Universities

Lack of postgraduates

Only 1% of staff are full time researchers

Several positive management interventions, but all very recent so the quality of the impact remains to be seen

USFX is the oldest university of Bolivia and one of the oldest universities of the Americas. It’s the university that gives the best institutional impression outside the Eje central. USFX has clear priorities: support of the productive sector and public health. Other important scientific themes include climate change, water resources, environment and forest resources. Additional to possibilities for TEAM and SI for these topics, USFX could be an interesting partner in the definition of a national investigation policy.

University Universidad Nacional Siglo XX, Potosí

Webpage www.unsxx.edu,bo

Visited No, interview in Oruro Seminar No

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VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet No Data/short description

10.000 students

Main campus in Lallagua, 7 regional dependencies

3 faculties, 15 programmes

400 academics, 80MSc, 3 PhD.

Strengths Weaknesses

Gives good access to local rural population

Tripartite cogovernment (students, academics, miners) PhD training for academics with UA Mexico, Cuba

Very isolated from cities

Weak infrastructure

Weak research experience

No experience with International Cooperation

University with little contacts and no experience in cooperation. . The University is isolated, a three hours’ drive from Oruro or Potosí..

University Universidad Privada Domingo Savio

Webpage http://www.upds.edu.bo/

Visited Yes

Seminar Yes

VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet Yes

Data/short description

National ranking 22 Main campus in Santa Cruz, 7 dependencies (in most departments)

4 faculties

30.000 students 300 academics, 50% MSc, 10% PhD

Strengths Weaknesses

Network, present in the entire country

Certification ISO-9001 in Potosí dependency

Contacts with Latin American and Spanish Universities

High % of students is also working (professionalization)

Very limited research capacity and little interest in scientific research

Due to its national presence it could be an interesting partner for broad networking activities, but the low research capacity does not offer interesting opportunities for VLIR-UOS.

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University Universidad Tecnológica Boliviana

Webpage http://utb.edu.bo/

Visited Yes

Seminar Yes

VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet No

Data/short description

National ranking 35 Main campus in La Paz, dependency in El Alto

9 programmes

6000 students 300 academics, 40% MSc

Strengths Weaknesses Social plan for students (scholarships),

“cheap” private university

Support for MsC/PhD training for academics

Contacts with Latin American Universities

Agreements with social movements

Specialized in Environment, Law and International Trade

Focuses on “professionalization” of people at work

No research experience

Relevant actor as response to demand for professionalization, but low research capacity. Not considered an interesting first partner for VLIR-UOS.

University Universidad indígena Túpac Katari

Webpage http://www.katari.org/warisata-escuela-ayllu

Visited Yes

Seminar Yes

VLIR-UOS Fact Sheet No

Data/short description

Main campus in Warisata, La Paz, 2 dependencies

4 faculties

2.000 students Strengths Weaknesses Gives good access to local rural

population

Good starting point for contacts an research with indigenous population

Very limited research capacity Not a member of CEUB, nor of the

Private University Association, depends directly on Ministry

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New institution, sustainability depends on public policy in the long run

Infrastructure still under construction Young and open minded institution with interesting philosophy. Given the prime focus on education, and limited interest in research, IUC and TEAM interventions don’t seem to be well suited in the short run, although SI might be interesting to explore cooperation possibilities.

b. Non University actors in Bolivia:

The following section is a short description of non-university actors visited and the links

they have to university performance. This is of course not an exhaustive list of Bolivian

initiatives, but is considered a good sample of the sector. Some of them also represent

part of the employment market for MScs and PhDs.

1) PROINPA. (http://www.proinpa.org/VallesNorte/)

PROINPA is a private foundation doing research in biosciences to promote innovation. It

has an annual budget of about 3 million USD, 30% is generated with its own resources. It

has a research group of 9 PhDs, 35 MScs and 15 graduate students.

PROINPA was created after the closing down of the IBTA, the national investigation

institute for agricultural research after cutbacks in the nineties. Two Universities (UMSS

and UPB) are part of the institutional board.

Recently, it generated a spinoff for the commercialization of bio fertilizers and biocides,

which provides part of their resources.

Scientific production is of good level, good international alliances are made. A good

example of these alliances is the Belgian ARES-CCD, (under its older name CIUF) with

the CIUF-PROINPA project “Promotion of the Diversity of Andean root crops and derivate

products (2001 – 2005)). They propose more intense cooperation with universities and the

private sector.

2) ASUR (http://www.asur.org.bo/es/inicio)

ASUR (Antropólogos del Surandino) is a personal initiative to promote and divulgate

anthropological research in the Sucre region. Good research skills are present, but links to

Universities are very weak. They would like to intensify contacts with universities, but see

these as very closed entities.

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3) CEDIB (http://www.cedib.org/)

CEDIB (Centro de documentación e Información Bolivia) is a documentation centre, press

articles from the seventies to today. It is linked to the UMSS and is used for investigations

involving news facts.

It also generates research and publications. Most treated topics are natural resources,

economy and social issues.

CEDIB is funded by international cooperation and own resources, generated by services.

They have alliances with the Belgian NGOs 11.11.11 and Broedelijk Delen.

They want to improve the academic level of their staff, but see a limited offer in national

universities. Cooperation is important to this respect.

4) INIAF, La Paz (http://www.iniaf.gob.bo/index.php/es/)

INIAF (Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agropecuaria y Forestal) was created in 2008 as

the national innovation service for agriculture and forestry. It is the successor of the IBTA,

and SIBTA, closed down during the last 20 years. As a new institution, it is still in the

process of establishing itself, in terms of institutional structure and capacity. INIAF has

agreements with various, mostly public universities and funds research in these

universities through strategic funds and competitive funding.

They want to improve the academic level of their staff, but see a limited offer in national

universities. Cooperation is important to this respect. They also feel a need to more

intense cooperation with universities for research.

5) MMAyA, La Paz

The MMAyA (Ministry of Environment and Water) is not directly involved in research or

funding of research. Specific agreements do exist with providers of training in

environmental issues; some of these providers are Universities. They also use the

universities for the provision of its staff. They can play an important role in extension

regarding results of environmental research.

6) MDPEP, La Paz (Ministry of Production)

For the Ministry of Production, industrialization is a priority, generating added value for

Bolivian production, changing from an extracting economy to a added value economy. For

this purpose innovation and development of technology are crucial. University Research

has to play a role in this, although it is recognized that there are limitations in the policy

framework (e.g. no national research funding) and that the interest of the universities is

33

rather limited. Relations between universities and the government are improving, but there

is still a long way to go, especially the incorporation of recent change processes in the

university policy. A limiting factor is the autonomy of universities. They feel that the

universities should be involved in platforms on national or regional level.

7) CONAMAQ, La Paz (http://conamaq.nativeweb.org/)

CONAMAQ is one of the so called Social Movements of Bolivia. It represents indigenous

and social groups. They are important for the definition of actual government policy. Their

view on (higher) education is that more involvement of popular classes is needed. They

feel very involved in the creation and mission of the indigenous universities, but their

actual role is not so clear.

8) IPDRS (http://www.sudamericarural.org/), Fundación Javier Albó

(http://www.fxa.org.bo/libreria/inicio), La Paz

The Fundación Javier Albó groups several libraries and documentation centres (CIPCA,

ACBO, IPDRS, CEBEM), which became difficult to maintain due to cooperation cutbacks.

Sustainability is maintained through its publishing and documentation services. Contacts

with universities are through documentation services and internships for students.

9) Museo de Historia Natural, Cochabamba (http://museodorbigny.org.bo/home.htm)

The Museum of Natural History is another institution dedicated to research, among its

museum activities. They publish good quality papers. A VLIR-UOS PhD student is part of

the staff.

10) CIAT, Santa Cruz (http://www.ciatbo.org/)

The Centro de Investigación de agricultura Tropical (CIAT) is a decentralized investigation

institute, depending on the regional government of Santa Cruz. They have a well-trained

staff and good extension in agriculture topics. They have a long term high quality research

history based on international relations with universities in the United States and Europe.

They have good relations with the productive sector and played an important role in the

development of the agro industrial farming sector in the tropical part of Bolivia.

They want to improve the academic level of their staff, but see a limited offer in national

universities. Cooperation is important to this respect.

34

11) CAINCO, Santa Cruz (http://www.cainco.org.bo/)

As the representative organism of the private sector, they consider that university research

is to distant from the productive sector and does not contribute to innovation. They have

cooperation links with some research centres outside the University (PROINPA, CIAT) and

with international cooperation. They would like to see more close contacts with

universities. They see discussion platforms regarding research and innovation as an

important issue.

12) IICA, La Paz (http://www.iica.int/Esp/regiones/andina/bolivia/Paginas/default.aspx)

IICA is a multilateral agency, funded by the member states of the Inter American System.

It focuses on rural and agricultural development, aiming at sustainable and innovative

agriculture. They support initiatives for institutional strengthening, skill development and

projects at different level. IICA does not do research itself, but supports local initiatives.

13) UPIEB (http://www.pieb.org/)

UPIEB is a foundation dedicated to the reinforcement of research capacities in Bolivia.

They organize trainings for researchers, partially funded by the universities and partially by

international cooperation.They want to play a role in improving academic level of university

staff.

14) ESFMSB (http://esfmsimonbolivarbolivia.blogspot.com/)

The EDFMSB (Escuela Superior de Formación de Maestros Simón Bolívar) is a teacher

training Institute. Links to universities are weak; most staff comes from within the same

school. They focus on education for production.

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2.4.4. South Seminar

In the framework of the VLIR-UOS country strategy identification mission for Bolivia, a

national seminar was held on Thursday 19 March 2015 (refer to full report in annex 4: The

South Seminar). Representatives of eleven Bolivian universities attended the seminar, as

well as representatives from 9 other (research) organisations and government

representatives also participated in the seminar. A total of 53 people (excluding the

Mission VLIR-UOS delegation) attended the seminar.

After a brief welcome word by Prof. Paul Janssen, member of the VLIR-UOS bureau and a

short introduction about VLIR-UOS, by Wannes Verbeeck, some presentations were made

by the Belgian Cooperation and two VLIR-UOS experiences: a IUC-project between 1998

and 2008 in UMSS, Cochabamba and a TEAM-project at the UCB, La Paz. These

presentations were very well received by the public, and are considered good examples of

the kind of interventions VLIR-UOS is promoting.

The next session was dedicated to a brief summary of mission findings during the field

work. A SWOT of the University sector was presented (see: conclusions), which generated

some minor discussions but was generally seen as a good summary of the situation.

Afterwards, two group discussion sessions were organized.

The first session, discussed in three groups, approached the thematic research and

development priorities for the Bolivian University and society.

After a first brainstorm, the groups tried to order all mentioned themes thematically.

Several themes could be addressed from various viewpoints, which led to a short

discussion about the importance on interdisciplinary research. Most topics came as a

result from the experience the different participants and institutions have in certain areas,

but there were also topics seen as relevant for development (related to national priorities),

but without much experience present. Innovation as a force for development was explicitly

mentioned, but it was not that clear how this should be addressed. The main topics that

came out of the group discussions could be summarised as follows:

- Social vulnerability and Public Health:

- Food security – Familiar Agriculture

- Natural resources, Climate Change and Environmental pollution

- Innovation

- Some non-related themes as Communication and Heritage conservation

In the second session participants were asked to discuss general needs of higher

education in Bolivia and possible transversal support actions. The guideline for the

discussion was to focus on relationships in the triangle: University – State – Civil

36

Society/private sector. During the group discussions, the following issues were listed as

main problems at different levels:

Problems at State level:

- No scientific culture

- Bureaucracy

- Does not promote/accept incentives for science and technology

- Low accomplishment of laws and plans regarding Science and Technology,

- Research is not institutionalized

- Inadequate management models and tools

- Financing problems

Problems at University level:

- Bureaucracy problems from the past not entirely overcome

- Problems of training and research

- Postgraduates are “professionalizing”, not aimed at scientific research

- Low promotion of available resources

- Rules and regulations regarding teachers/researchers have low application

- Low level of publishing and divulgation

- Lack of interuniversity relations and interdisciplinary research

- Formation based on student demand, not on development needs

- Lack of scientific culture

Problems at Civil society level:

- Lack of scientific culture, e.g. acknowledging the importance of science for society

- Low confidence in scientific production

- Low confidence in private sector

- No representatives for discussion (interlocutors)

When discussing the possible solutions to the problems listed above, the following general

proposals were mentioned.

At academic level the following should be done:

- Strategic research plan

- Increase in scientific postgraduate programmes

- University programmes to improve publishing capacity

Internationalization needs attention:

- University programmes for internationalization

- Strategic international alliances

- Exchange of students and academics (international and national)

Development of Management and administration tools for:

- Increase in hours dedicated to research

37

- University programmes to reinsert scientific academics trained abroad

- Salary scale for teaching/research

Improve Relations (State – University – civil society/private sector):

- Creation of a National Fund for Research and open competitive calls for research

- Diagnose of supply of and demand for research among private

sector/universities/institutions/organizations

- Formulation of industrial / agriculture development plans

- Incorporation of technology/ innovative processes for improving administrative

processes

- More (participatory) R&D projects

- Training for development of “scientific culture”

- Coordination forums and development of a shared agenda

The discussion during the south seminar confirmed mainly the mission findings, and gave

some interesting additional details, useful for proposals for VLIR-UOS interventions.

2.5. Conclusions

2.5.1. General conclusions from the mission, including the South Seminar.

- Infrastructure and equipment is acceptable, no major investments are required

here.

- Universities focus more on their educational tasks than on research but feel that

there exists a real need in terms of fulfilling their research responsibilities.

- A national policy regarding research is felt as a necessity. Proposals do exist, but

there is a lack of formal discussion platforms. CEUB could play an important role

here.

- The financial resources provided by the tax on gas and petrol, as direct funding to

universities is important and can be used for strengthening research (among

others), but it is not always clear how to use these funds. An important issue for

institutional strengthening is clear this out, probably working on regulations at

university and national level. CEUB could also play a role here. They can use and

IDH funding for scientific research but they need to: 1) Define the rules for each

University (like Oruro and La Paz) 2) Design research projects in coordination with

the society partners 3) Report not only expenses but results regarding benefits to

the society and the students.

38

- International relations are reduced and focus mainly on students and academics

exchanges. (examples: 3 universities are working with VLIR-UOS, some

universities have cooperation with IRD (France), UMSS was working with NUFFIC

in 1997-2005. Some participate in Alpha CE projects, in INCO DC projects (UMSA

and UMSS)).

- Institutes linked to research outside the university feel a need to improve the

academic level of their staff, but see a limited offer in national universities.

- Links to the private sector are extremely weak, having a direct negative impact on

innovation.

- Most universities visited have the predisposition to include scientific research into

their main objectives at the same level as education, but this purpose needs

practical proposals

General SWOT of University sector in view of VLIR-UOS interventions

Strengths Weaknesses

Last five years changes in

funding, good financial means

available, especially the IDH

(Impuesto directo a los

Hidrocarburos) (although

depending on international

prices, prospects are good due

to the fact not all of the assigned

funds are used)

Good infrastructure,

reasonable equipment, including ICT

and network infrastructure

Teaching staff available

Good experiences and

capacities present

Education mission of University

taken very seriously

High level of academic autonomy

Research capacity is weak in

general

Rigid administrative management

Status of teaching / research

staff: most academic staff is paid

for teaching, not for research

Formation level of research staff

is low on average

Very weak knowledge of English

Experiences and capacities in

research not linked to each other

or to institutional policies

Link research – education –

society is weak

Links with private sector are

weak

Poor performance in terms of

innovation

Internationalization is weak

Opportunities Threats

Some good, but recent

interinstitutional contacts

Discontinuity in management in

most universities: all policies are

39

Good acceptance of CEUB

Research policy in development

Institutional plans available

Good external research

capacities and experiences

(outside of University)

Alignment with Government

policy (National Development

plan), more mutual approach

noticeable in recent years

Public Universities are normally

strongly linked to local

environment

recent

Lack of incentives for research,

hence motivation for research

and post-graduate formation

(MSc, PhD) is low

Lack of a quality assurance

system (for public universities)

2.5.2. Overarching conclusions of the identification process: matching North

and South interests and VLIR-UOS intervention tools

In the following section, proposals are made for possible VLIR-UOS interventions, based

upon the mission findings. The inputs are the North consultations and the North seminar,

the South consultations and the South seminar, the status of the Bolivian Higher

Education, the national priorities and the VLIR-UOS mission and instruments

A general characteristic of all Bolivian Universities – as mentioned in the General Swot – is

their overall weak external links and contacts at all levels. As far as possible this

component should be part of any proposal. It is evident that some VLIR-UOS tools such as

IUC or platforms and national crosscutting projects offer more possibilities on the

institutional level than other instruments (TEAM, south initiatives and scholarships). It is

recommended that experiences and tools that can be incorporated by Belgian Universities

are considered as an asset.

PARTNERS

The higher education landscape in Bolivia is diverse. There are considerable differences

between public (‘national system’) universities, indigenous universities (UNIBOL) and

private universities. Given the ‘for profit’ profile and the lack of quality research at the

latter, private universities (excluding the ‘special status’ universities as UCB) don’t seem

suitable partners for VLIR-UOS cooperation. Because the number of public universities in

Bolivia is rather limited (11), it is suggested to include all public universities, plus the 3

40

indigenous universities and UCB (given their special status labelling them as an institute of

‘public interest’) in the partner list. This list could be adapted according to the

corresponding instruments:

1. Universidad San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca (USFX), Sucre

2. Universidad Mayor de San Andres (UMSA), La Paz

3. Universidad Mayor de San Simon (UMSS), Cochabamba

4. Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno (UAGRM), Santa Cruz

5. Universidad Tecnica de Oruro (UTO), Oruro

6. Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías (UATF), Potosi

7. Universidad Juan Misael Saracho (UAJMS), Tarija

8. Universidad Autónoma del Beni ‘José Ballivián’, Trinidad

9. Universidad Nacional ‘Siglo XX’, Potosi

10. Universidad Amazonica de Pando, Cobija

11. Universidad Pública de El Alto, El Alto

12. Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo

13. UNIBOL – Aymara ‘Tupac Katari’, Warisata

14. UNIBOL - Guarani ‘Apiaguaiki Tüpa’, Macharetí

15. UNIBOL – Quechua ‘Casimiro Huanca’, Chimoré

There are considerable differences between universities on the ‘central axis’ (‘eje central’:

La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz) and in the other regions. The universities on the

central axis receive in general a lot more attention from international donors, so

concerning the geographical focus, it can be suggested to focus more on cooperation with

institutes outside the axis.

Apart from the suggested partner institutions listed above, interesting secondary partners

were identified during the mission. Below, some institutions that could be interesting

partners within IUC, TEAM or South initiatives are listed below, but should not be eligible

as a direct partner. This is not an exhaustive list:

- Private universities

- Ministerio de Agua y Ambiente

- Ministry of Production

- CEUB

- Proinpa

- INIAF

- CIAT

- CAINCO

- UPIEB

- Museo de Historia Natural

41

THEMATIC AND TRANSVERSAL AREAS:

Thematic areas:

Matching the topics mentioned in South and North (separate lists of topics supra), the

following thematic areas could be proposed as strategic themes:

- Environment & natural resources: water, irrigation, climate change, pollution

- Food security & sovereignty: family agriculture

- Social development: social insecurity and safety, indigenous rights,

multiculturalism, immigration

Moreover, several topics were suggested in the South, such as ‘social/anthropological

research regarding “new paradigms”. This is an interesting research topic, but without

matches so far in the north since it wasn’t mentioned during the north seminar. However, it

is possible that Flemish academics could be interested in this topic. The importance of the

topic in recent Bolivian politics could generate interesting research. An institutional triangle

between ASUR (research skills), an anthropological faculty (institutional support) and the

ICLA of the Aymara University (definition research topics) could be interesting. This could

be complementary to the intervention of the Belgian Cooperation in interculturalism.

Transversal themes:

.

Given the general low research standards, the lack of incentives for research and the low

research outputs at almost all universities, research support is a very important

transversal topic. Research support could include:

- PhD training

- IDH management

- Academic/scientific English

- Data management

- Networking and internationalization

- Accreditation

- Staff training policy

- Research policy development

- Private sector involvement

- Development research methodology and innovation

- Intellectual property rights.

Other transversal themes that could be incorporated in future activities include

(international) networking and management support.

42

INSTRUMENTS:

IUC (International University Cooperation)

IUC seems a suitable instrument for cooperation with several Bolivian universities. For IUC

invitations to present a proposal, four possibilities are seen: one rather clearly, and three

more with some considerations about limitations. Normally IUC- interventions are

proposed to partners with some VLIR-UOS experience. In Bolivia there are three of them:

UMSA, UCB and UMSS. UMSS already benefited from an IUC project between 1998 and

2008, so it drops out. Apart from UMSA and UCB, two more possibilities for evaluation by

VLIR-UOS are presented, although no previous VLIR-UOS experience is present: USFX

(Sucre) and a combination of UAJMS (Tarija) and UATF (Potosí). Apart from UCB (La

Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija), all Universities are public.

1. UCB (La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija):

Strengths:

- good policy and management

- strong network, socially engaged institution

- successfully conducted VLIR-UOS interventions and forged multidisciplinary

ideas on possible future cooperation;

- cluster of 4 universities and several extension centres which offers almost

national coverage.

- As a private university, the administrative system is less heavy, which can

facilitate the execution of cooperation projects.

Weaknesses:

private university (heavily dependent on tuition fees), level of research needs to be

improved Possible themes to work on in a possible IUC programme (as proposed by

UCB):

- Families and people in vulnerable situations - Reduce food insecurity through productive innovations which improve

agricultural production - Promote effective adaption and mitigation measures for vulnerable communities

threatened be climate change

2. UMSA (La Paz):

Strengths:

- The highest ranked Bolivian University

Weaknesses:

43

- Due to its size (about 80.000 students) VLIR-UOS efforts may have marginal

impact. This consideration is confirmed by the fact UMSA didn’t mention the on-

going VLIR-UOS projects (2 TEAM) in the interview, nor in the fact sheet.

Being a very big university, UMSA offers a very wide range of programmes and research

institutes. Hence, the possible themes to work on in a possible IUC programme are many

and will need further discussion to be identified in more detail.

3. USFX (Sucre):

Strengths: University outside of the “Eje Central” (La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz)

where less cooperation is present and an eventual intervention may make the difference;

good institutional plan and policy; socially engaged institution in one of the country’s

poorest regions

Weaknesses: no previous VLIR-UOS experience; low ranking among Bolivian Universities;

no continuity in policy

Possible themes to work on in a possible IUC programme:

- support of the productive sector

- public health

- climate change, water resources, environment and forest resources

4. UAJMS (Tarija) and UATF (Potosí)

Strengths: Also outside of the “Eje Central” where less cooperation is present and an

eventual intervention may make the difference. Experience in interinstitutional alliances, as

a result of (F)AUTAPO project.

Weaknesses: no previous VLIR-UOS experience; low ranking among Bolivian Universities;

low continuity in policy

Possible themes to work on in a possible IUC programme, depending on proposals are:

- Mining

- Agricultural development

- Tourism, heritage

- Climate change

TEAM / South Initiatives

Both TEAM and South Initiatives will have their added value in Bolivia. South Initiatives are

interesting to explore new partnerships. In this sense, SI are of particular interest for the

indigenous universities. Given the lack of experience with these universities and their

relative lack of experience in international cooperation, it is suggested to limit cooperation

with these universities to SI. When these experiences are successful, TEAM calls could

later on be broadened to the indigenous universities as well.

44

As a result from the interviews, the fact sheets and the Seminars a summary of the

following topics can be drawn: be

- Natural resources and environment

- Family agriculture

- Air quality and pollution

- UV radiation and health

- Climate change and resilience

- Climate change and migration

- Energy

- Food sovereignty

- Environmental education

- Good governance

- The autonomy process, state reform

- Remittances by immigrants

- Economic pluralism and Social inclusion

- Role of social movements

- Agricultural transformation

- Sustainable agriculture

- Environmental management and private sector

- Organic production

- Water management

- Human economic and social development

- Social development: gender, equity, intercultural issues

- Revaluation of local knowledge and innovation

- Heritage conservation

- New paradigms (vivir bien, interculturalidad,…): social and anthropological

background

National Crosscutting projects

Transversal themes can be addressed as a transversal topic in projects of various types

(SI, TEAM, IUC), or as a main topic in a national crosscutting project. Based on the

importance of research support, it is suggested to consider the elaboration of a

crosscutting project on research support, including different partner universities

(universities of the national system). CEUB could be a partner in this project.

Networking possibilities / regional initiatives

45

Due to the experiences of VLIR-UOS in Peru and Ecuador it could be relevant to think

about networking between the three Andean countries. Nevertheless, it should be noted

that most Universities in their international contacts do not have strong links with these

countries.

Research and cooperation topics that seem relevant for the three countries are food

security and climate change (combined or not). Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are among the

most vulnerable countries due to climate change.

Some local Bolivian institutions have links and cooperation contacts with these countries:

IICA and PROINPA.

It should be evaluated if this kind of networking can be promoted through existing VLIR-

UOS tools or if on the other hand new tools are an option.

Scholarships

Apart from incorporating scholarships in broader initiatives as is VLIR-UOS’s usual

practice, it could be evaluated if scholarships for non-university research institutions are

relevant.

The conclusions made are summarised in the following table:

STRATEGIC NICHE FRAMEWORK FOR BOLIVIA

Geographical focus No exclusion of geographical areas, but more cooperation with

institutes outside the central axis (La Paz – Cochabamba –

Santa Cruz) could be stimulated

Partner institutions Priority is given to universities of the national system (public

institutions + UCB, excluding military and police schools) and

UNIBOL (3 Indigenous universities). This list can be adapted

according to the corresponding instruments:

1. Universidad San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca (USFX), Sucre

2. Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), La Paz

3. Universidad Mayor de San Simón (UMSS), Cochabamba

4. Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno (UAGRM), Santa Cruz

5. Universidad Técnica de Oruro (UTO), Oruro

6. Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías (UATF), Potosí

7. Universidad Juan Misael Saracho (UAJMS), Tarija

46

8. Universidad Autónoma del Beni ‘José Ballivián’, Trinidad

9. Universidad Nacional ‘Siglo XX’, Potosí

10. Universidad Amazónica de Pando, Cobija

11. Universidad Pública de El Alto, El Alto

12. Universidad Católica Boliviana San Pablo

13. UNIBOL – Aymara ‘Tupac Katari’, Warisata

14. UNIBOL - Guarani ‘Apiaguaiki Tüpa’, Macharetí

15. UNIBOL – Quechua ‘Casimiro Huanca’, Chimoré

Main (multidisciplinary)

THEMES for

cooperation

Environment & natural resources (water, irrigation, climate

change, pollution,…)

Food security & sovereignty (focus on family agriculture)

Social development (social insecurity and safety, indigenous

rights, multiculturalism, immigration,…)

Crosscutting & support

themes

Research support (policy, data management, statistics,

academic English, scientific writing, interface with society,…)

Management support

Instruments/ partnership

modalities:

National level: given the perceived lack of institutional heritage

of the IUC programme at UMSS, a network with UMSS as hub

seems not to be the best way forward. However, given the

general need for research strengthening (and the importance

of research in international (VLIR-UOS) cooperation), a

national crosscutting project on research support (with all

partners or with partners from the national system) is

advisable. Moreover, regional integration can be sought,

especially with other Andean countries (Ecuador, Peru), on

topics like food security and the link to climate change

Institutional level: IUC is a possibility in Bolivia. Most obvious

possible partner is UCB. Other possible partner institutions can

include USFX and UATF-UAJMS

Departmental level: opportunities for TEAM projects with well-

established partners (national system). SI are ideal to explore

new cooperation possibilities, especially so with UNIBOL

Scholarships: apart from incorporating scholarships in south

projects, (priority) access of staff of non-university research

institutions to individual scholarships (ICP and ICP PhD) can

be considered. Bolivia is an important country for Flemish

travel scholarship opportunities.

47

LIST OF ANNEXES

Annex 1: Contacts of institutions visited

Annex 2: Seminar participants

Annex 3: Mission programme

Annex 4: South Seminar

List of Presentations in South Seminar:

1_Seminario Bolivia - Introduction VLIR-UOS.PPT

2_Seminario Bolivia - Presentation Belgian Coop.PPT

3_Seminario Bolivia - VLIR UMSS IUC.PPT

4_Seminario Bolivia - VLIR UCB TEAM.PPT

5_Seminario Bolivia - Mission Findings.pptx

6_Seminario Bolivia - The way ahead.pptx