Governance Curriculum

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Governance Curriculum Initiative
Project home	Concept Outline \| Notes on Governance \| Principles \| Initiative Components \| Invited Partners
Meetings	Cambridge Meeting - Tuesday 1 April 2008 \| London Meeting - Wednesday 2 April 2008 \| Interim Steering Committee Meeting - Wednesday 23 April 2008
Resources	Photos

1 Executive Summary
2 Footnotes

Executive Summary

What is the Governance Curriculum Initiative?

This initiative is a coalition of governance experts, educational institutions and development stakeholders to strengthen good governance and familiarise target audiences with the obligations and techniques of sound public decision-making in order to enhance the trajectory toward Millennium Development Goals^[1]. It does so by facilitating the expansion of knowledge about good governance among all members of the development partnership, placing indispensable tools of principled, structured decision-making into the hands of those who need them: government officials including political leaders, citizens and international development agencies alike.

The Initiative seeks to expand knowledge and skills relating to good governance in order to prevent opportunities being lost to public institutions and civil society partners through sub-optimal public decision-making. At the heart of the strategy is a coordinated education campaign on both supply and demand sides of the public service relationship that promotes shared awareness, knowledge transfer, political consensus, professionalism, openness, accountability and effectiveness. Teaching materials will be tailored to meet the needs of target audiences in partnership with those engaged in leadership training, secondary and tertiary education and professional development programmes, employing both traditional face-to-face approaches as well as distance learning methods to ensure expanded access to quality materials.

By establishing a collaborative process that draws upon the knowledge and expertise of reputable colleagues and institutions active in the realms of governance, development and education, the Initiative provides a practical and authoritative vehicle for the infusion of good governance principles, rules and best practice into the mainstream of public life.

Key Beneficiary Groups

senior and local level government officials through leadership training

schools and universities through existing courses (politics, economics, law, development studies, business programmes)

civil society: through media coverage and training under the auspices of professional associations, charities, faith communities and other civil society organisations

international development practitioners through in-house training and reference tools.

Deliverables

Governance Guidelines containing clear, authoritative statements of principles and rules of good governance selected or formulated by expert panels. These will provide core curriculum content and a high level entry point for more detailed information.

Commentaries and Case Studies: The Governance Guidelines will be underpinned and explained by commentaries tailored to different audiences containing background information, case studies, lessons learned, authorities, further reading and so on. These will be prepared by research groups and approved by the relevant panels.

On-line discussion forums for expert and general views to be advanced and debated publicly.

Commissioned research to ensure even coverage of areas not represented by self-funding Partners.

Curriculum outlines setting out agreed learning objectives, leading to the production of learning materials for open distance learning as well as face-to-face learning, with approaches and content based on learning needs of of target groups.

Teaching materials in different languages and appropriate formats.

On-line documents and information library that will provide easy access to source documents and instruments, and links to selected sites.

Logistical, educational and project management systems

Outcomes

A more complete and balanced understanding of good governance demonstrated in all key sectors.

More active sharing of knowledge, experience and lessons learned.

Enhanced decision-making in beneficiary groups.

Greater attention to preservation and archiving of information to enhance access; less resources wasted on redundant research.

Greater coherence and effectiveness in programme design and implementation; fewer lost opportunities.

Long Term Impact

Better working relationships with development partners.

Strengthened intra-regional cooperation.

Enhanced realisation of Paris Declaration Principles.

An improved trajectory toward Millennium Development Goals.

Footnotes

The eight Millennium Development Goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce by two thirds mortality among children under five, improve maternal health and reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio, combat HIV/ AIDS and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development, with targets set for 2015. Good governance is recognised as an important means of achieving these goals. They are part of a wider commitment set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration which was adopted by the General Assembly in September 2000. For a recent overview of mixed progress toward MDGs, see the introductory statements by the President of the General Assembly and by the UN Secretary General at the opening on 1 April 2008 of the thematic debate entitled “Recognizing the achievements, addressing the challenges and getting back on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015”.