Inayet Hadi, MPA - Experience overview as a Graduate Fellows at the Kabul

University Institute of Public Policy and Administration with the Afghan eQuality
Alliances program during the summer of 2007.

Overall description of the AeQA program

The Afghan eQuality Alliances (AeQA) program is a cooperative agreement

between Washington State University (WSU) and the United States Agency for

International Development (USAID). The agreement is for five years (2006-2011) with

USAID funding estimated at twelve million dollars and about four million dollars of cost

sharing from alliance partners.

The AeQA program is aimed at building alliances with public and private

organizations to help achieve its primary goal of guaranteeing, “equal access to quality

education and e-educational resources” (Washington State University Center to Bridge

the Digital Divide (WSU CBDD, 2007a, para. 1). The AeQA program will work with 19

higher education institutions in Afghanistan to achieve its goal and implement its defined

four key objectives in partnership with alliances formed through memorandum of

agreements (MoA’s) .

The four key objectives of the AeQA program are (1) improving skills and

leadership of 19 higher education institutions to meet standards of excellence and quality

assurance, (2) improve skills to sustain services for the Afghans Next Generation

eLearning (ANGeL) Center for Teaching and Learning [ANGeL CTL], (3) improving

skills of lecturers to upgrade their curriculum and course syllabus in key academic areas,

and (4) to strengthen Kabul University and Civil Service Institute to build capacity in

public policy and administration (para. 1)

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 Under the forth objective, AeQA initiated and is managing the Kabul University

Institute of Public Policy and Administration (KU IPPA) on behalf of the KU Deputy

Chancellor for Academic Affairs, who is responsible for the IPPA project. The IPPA

project, from now on known as “the Institute,” is a collaborative effort involving

accredited universities from Japan, India, and the United States to send a professor each

month to Kabul University to teach an intensive course. The weeklong course lasts for six

days from 1pm to 6pm with the final exam being administered during the last day.

Afterwards, the students are required to use the Afghan Next Generation eLearning

(ANGeL) software to complete assignments online, participate in discussion forums, and

videoconference with their professors living in Japan, India, or the U.S.

This report details my involvement with and reflections on the Institute.

Structure & Functions of the Institute?

The Institute’s goal is to “foster a common commitment to public service aimed at

improving the lives of all Afghans” (WSU CBDD, 2007b, para. 2). To achieve this goal

requires a cadre of Afghan lecturers, trainers, and other civil servants who have the

knowledge and skills developed through a mix of short and long-term professional

educational programs. The following courses have already been taught at the Institute:

Public Administration: Theory and Practice; Public Policy Formulation: Planning and

Analysis; and Human Resources Management in the Public Sector. The second year of

the program will offer concentrations in the following areas: Policy and Regulation;

Development Studies; Urban, Regional, Environmental Planning; Peace Building and

Conflict Resolution; and International Relations and Diplomacy. A select group of

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students enrolled in the Institute will be sent to study abroad to complete their Master

program at partnering universities.

A traditional hierarchically administrative structure has not been established for

the Institute. There are many valid reasons as to why this has not happened. First, this is

the first year of the first Master program in public policy and administration in Afghan

history. As a consequence, there are no previous administrative structure models for the

Institute to use. The administrative structures of the foreign universities graduate program

will be studied in order localize them to Afghanistan’s experiences and realities.

The second reason for not having an established administrative structure at the

Institute is that Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education is currently going through

administrative structural reforms, through the Priority Reform and Restructuring (PRR)

process (I. R. of Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education, 2007, 12). The final reason

for the Institute not having an administrative structure is that the Institute is a

collaborative effort organized by the AeQA program in partnerships with foreign

accredited universities along with Afghan higher educational institutions and government

institutions. Besides, the Institute’s permanent administrative structure is impractical to

establish in this early stage because the Institute is built on alliances based in different

countries and time zones.

Based upon my conversation with the deputy chief of party and the chief of party

for the AeQA program, the formal head of the Institute is Dr Saifi, the Vice Chancellor of

Academic Affairs. The management of the Institute is organized, led, and funded by the

AeQA program. The student coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the Institute is in

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compliance with all KU’s policies and regulations applicable to the Institute. The student

coordinator is the only full time staff dedicated to the Institute.

. The Institute is the result of collaboration among foreign and national

universities, AeQA, and the Afghan government’s Independent Administrative Reform

Civil Service Commission (IARCSC).

Kabul University (KU) has recognized the Institute, but it has not been

permanently housed or staffed by national lecturers. The MPPA degree is KU’s first new

Master degree program since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001.

Where I fit in within the Institute structure?

I was offered a Fellowship from the Afghan eQuality Alliances program to

research public administration reference materials for three courses being taught at the

Institute. In addition to researching reference materials, I also helped the first cohort,

primarily from government and non-governmental organizations, with their research

papers: providing information on the basic structure of a research paper, trained them

how to use APA in-text citation, and how to create a list of references.

I also discussed with the first cohort to identify their role and their organization

role in overcome challenges facing Afghanistan in their research paper. I also provided

assistance to the visiting professors.

CRITICAL THOUGHTS

Institute’s efficiency?

Decision Making

The New Public Management (NPM) theory promotes the use of “free market”

principles in the operations of government organization. For-profit businesses usually

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make decisions that will ensure a positive cash flow, which is easily measurable.

Similarly, the NPM theory encourages that decision-making in public organizations

should be concerned with achieving the primary goal(s) of the organization, and

implementing its defined objectives with the least amount of input per output

(Rosenbloom & Kravchuck, 2005, p. 323). Generally, decision-making in public

organization, according to Rosenbloom and Kravchuck (2005) is when goods and

services are allocated “…in terms of matching production to consumer demand” in a

timely manner (p. 323). In Afghanistan, people are demanding good governance, which is

vital for democratic rule to be entrenched.

The AeQA program has operationalized the Institute project under its fourth

objective to help meet the demands of good governance. It is planned for the Institute to

eventually become self-sustaining. Afterwards, the Institute will then be integrated into

the normal budget of Kabul University. The decisions made by the collaborating parties

to establish the Institute in order to address the shortcomings in public administration

were thinking of the future. Foresight is a key element in making efficient decisions from

the new public management perspective.

Division of labor

Starling (2005) defines “division of labor”, as separating the work of the

organization into specialized tasks that will be performed by authorized departments

(p.318). The Institute does not have specialized departments set up to implement its

objectives. However, individual professor are assigned by the collaborating universities

to teach a particular course at Kabul University for a one-week intensive module. The

Institute is managed, guided and administered by the AeQA program. The temporary site

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and overall guidance is offered by Kabul University. However, although technically

responsible for the functions of the institute, the Deputy Chancellor is not actively

involved in its function.

Ability of the Institute to Accomplish its Mission?

There are four key objectives that have been identified for the Institute, and if

successfully implemented will make the goal of the Institute a reality. The four key

objectives are: (1) to prepare Afghans for leadership positions in public service and the

private and nonprofit sectors (2) to research and promote effective public policy,

administration and management, (3) to provide continuing education and training for civil

service professionals and (4) to engage the broader community through discussion and

debate on issue of public concern.

The intensive course modules being taught by visiting professor will contribute to

the first and second objective of helping the Afghans foster a common spirit to lead

Afghan institutions. The first cohort of students enrolled in the Master of Public Policy

and Administration (MPPA) program were mainly employees of the Independent

Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), which is fulfilling the

third objective. I did not witness the fourth objective.

There are four questions that need to be answered in order to figure out if the

Institute’s objectives can become self-sustaining. Can the AeQA program sustain the

interests of the partnering universities/organizations including Kabul University? Are

there enough qualified Afghan lecturers to teach the various courses necessary for public

policy and administration graduate program? Can the Institute acquire enough financial

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support from the Afghan government, and Afghan private sources to continue to operate

after the end of the AeQA program?

Answers to some of the questions are provided at the end of the “Advantages and

pressing issues faced by the Institute?” subheading. Answers to the above questions will

determine if the Institute is accomplishing its mission.

Advantages and pressing issues faced by the Institute?

One of the advantages of the Institute is its ability to form alliances with a wide

variety of actors currently present and not present in Afghanistan in order to accomplish

its goal and to implement its key objectives. There are two pressing issues currently faced

by the Institute. The first pressing issue is the lack of a building or an office to house the

Institute. There has been no previous history of academic study of public policy and

administration in Afghanistan at the university level. Without a physical space to house

the Institute, the concepts enshrined in the study of public policy and administration will

remain elusive. The second issue is the absence of key staff and lecturers independent of

the AeQA program. The Institute will have difficulty becoming self-sustaining in the

long term without employing national staff and lecturers to sustain the Institute.

According to Rosenbloom and Kravchuck (2005) efficiency in decision-making is

deploying resources to match consumer demands in a timely manner. The demand for the

Institute is amazing, with over 100 applicants asking to be admitted into the program for

the next semester. The resources are being deployed to meet that demand. From my

conversation with the AeQA Deputy Chief of Party, they are aware of these two issues

and are in the process of addressing them. First, the AeQA program will apply to Japan

International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide funding in order to build a building

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for the Institute. Offering former students who have successfully completed the MPPA

program to teach various courses part time at the Institute will solve the second issue.

The office environment & morale?

The courses were held at the English Resource Centre (ERC) of Kabul University.

There is no permanent structure currently in place for the Institute. The visiting

professors from foreign universities teach their courses at the ERC for six days from 1pm

to 6pm and then leave back to their home countries. The Institute is managed and

administered by the AeQA program, which operates its many projects from a one-room

office with one meeting desk, which is also used by the national staff to complete their

work assignments. In the same room there are three working desks that are used by the

international staff.

Based upon my observations and conversations, the morale of the graduate

students and the visiting professors was not affected by the fact that the Institute did not

have a permanent home, or that the AeQA program was managing the Institute from a

one-room office. The graduate students and the visiting professors realized that the

Institute was the first of its kind in Afghan history. As a result, the graduate students were

excited to have the opportunity to be enrolled at the Institute.

Reflections

Implementation

Implementing a program or a project seems simple in the briefing room according

to “the complexity of joint action” perspective (Starling, 2005, p.405). But the real

difficulty lies on the outside where the program is in action. The basic premise of this

theory, as developed by Jeffrey L. Pressman and Aaron Wildavsky, is that because of

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many different actors involved with implementing a project or program “[c]ountless

minor incidents – the kind one can seldom foresee” “…stifle—administrative efforts to

secure the joint action required in program implementation” (p.405-6). The joint

complexity perspective has been observed with regards to sustaining the Institute because

of the many different partner involved with making the Institute a reality.

Alliances

Opposed to the “complexity of joint action” theory is the concept of alliances. An

alliance refers to two or more actors providing and sharing resources with each other in

order to accomplish a specific objective or work towards a similar goal. The Institute is

being managed through cost-sharing partnerships with public and private institutions led

by the AeQA program. Starling (2005), a scholar who has written extensively on

managing public organizations defines partnerships as “…both sectors share risks and

responsibilities in order to meet critical community needs as defined by the partners” (p.

416). The Institute is built using Global Development Alliances (GDA) concepts to share

expertise and resources of different organizations to ensure that the Institute meets

standards recognized internationally.

Ensuring high quality standards depends upon how each partner develops and

teaches their course materials. There is no one authority to ensure that quality of teaching

is consistent with set standards, if there is a set standard or a single authority to judge the

quality of teaching, the implementation was absent or was not witnessed by me.

However, there have been two previous alliances partners meeting “…to build on the best

academic traditions and innovations, content and teaching and learning process that

established institutions from India, Japan and the U.S. have to offer.” In addition, the

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AeQA program is in discussion with Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) to establish a

framework to accredit higher educational institutions in Afghanistan. Once an

accreditation framework has been established the Institute will then go through the

process of becoming accredited.

The AeQA program on behalf of the KU Deputy Chancellor of Academic Affairs

(KU DCoAA) manages the Institute through partnerships with accredited universities in

India, Japan and the U.S. The various actors: AeQA, KU DCoAA, and partner

universities have agreed to support the first Master in public policy and administration

program in Afghanistan’s history through an MoA.

Professors & Students

I had the pleasure to assist Dr. Azizi, an Afghan economics lecturer at Okayama

University, Japan. Dr. Azizi taught Public Economics in June 2007 and Public Finance

and Budgeting in July 2007 at the Institute. Based upon my personal experience as a

graduate student in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver

Health Sciences Center (SPA UCDHSC), I can say without a doubt that Dr. Azizi as a

lecturer was equivalent in teaching proficiency as professors in the SPA UCDHSC.

Based upon my conversations with the graduate students enrolled in the Institute,

the key assumption that needed to be challenged was that “foreigners will provide for

us.” I challenged them to think critically why it was not sustainable for foreigners to

continuously give aid to Afghanistan. One solution that came up frequently as a result of

our discussion was that trade with foreigners is better then receiving conditional aid. The

basis for the solution was that trade will help Afghanistan become developed and

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reconstructed on a sustainable basis. We also discussed the importance of keeping the

public in mind when creating or implementing governmental policies.

SUMMARY

I have learned to work in an environment, where the toilets at the university are

worse then the outhouses I have seen in the States. The constant threat of possible harm

coming your way is a real reality. Where it is no longer considered “special” that I have a

driver who takes me to and from Kabul University. Where my standard of living at a

hotel is considered by the vast majority of the Afghan people as that of royalty, paying 55

dollars a day. The hotel I am staying in is comparable to a Motel 6 found in the States.

I have realized that I must endure the toilets, the threats, the hotel, the personal

driver, and everything else to somehow meaningfully contribute to the prosperity of

Afghanistan. There are two ways that I firmly believe this can be achieved. First, creating

alliances to exchange ideas and resources between American and Afghan civil society,

academia, and through government partnerships. The exchange will enable both the

Afghan and the American people to learn and share the best that each has to offer to the

other.

The relationship currently being developed between Afghan and American

societies will benefit both people in the unforeseen future. For example, the American

people helped out the Germans and the Japanese people after World War II, and now the

Germans and the Japanese are assisting the American people to bring stability and

security to Afghanistan. Hopefully, Afghans will be able to assist the American people in

their time of need, as they have done for Afghanistan.

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 Three students in the MPPA program out of 25 were staff members for the

National Assembly. I discussed with them the challenges facing Afghanistan, and the role

that Parliament can play in overcoming challenges facing Afghanistan. As a result, the

second way that I can contribute to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan is

to be involved with the newly established Wolisi Jirga (House of Representatives) and

Meshrano Jirga (Senate). It is the through this institution, Wolisi Jirga, that Afghanistan

will either succeed in creating an Afghanistan that Afghans can be proud of, or an

Afghanistan that will never know peace through its own means.

If I had more free time and the possibility to participate in the reconstruction of

Afghanistan, I would have liked to become involved with the Wolisi Jirga and the

Meshrano Jirga International Relation’s Department. I firmly believe that in order for the

new Parliament to become effective in serving the Afghan people, it must engage in

dialogue, exchange of ideas and resources with established legislative bodies around the

world.

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Works Cited

I. R. of Afghanistan Ministry of Higher Education. (2007). Ministry of Higher

Educations Strategy for Afghanistan National Development Strategy (With Focus

on Prioritization) (Draft). Kabul: Author. Retrieved July 29, 2007 from

Afghanistan National Development Strategy Web Site:

http://www.ands.gov.af/strategies

/src/Education/MoHE%20-%20English.pdf

Rosenbloom, D. H., Kravchuk, R. S. (2005). Public Administration: Understanding

Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector (6th ed). Boston: McGraw

Hill

Starling, G. (2005). Managing the Public Sector (7th ed). Australia: Thomson Wadsworth

Washington State University Center to Bridge the Digital Divide. (2007a). Goals and

Outcomes. Retrieved July 16, 2007, from Afghan eQuality Alliances Web Site:

http://www.afghanequalityalliances.net/index.php?module=

cms&action=page&id=gen12Srv35Nme0_29

Washington State University Center to Bridge the Digital Divide. (2007b). Kabul

University (KU) Launches Institute of Public Policy and Administration.

Retrieved July 19, 2007, from Afghan eQuality Alliances Web

Site:http://www.afghanequalityalliances.net/index.php?module=cms&action=

page&id=gen12Srv35Nme0_40

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