The secret of COL's success is to empower governments, institutions and individuals to develop learning systems themselves without always relying on donors. This plan extends that process of empowerment.
COL has recently completed a new Three-year Plan for 2006-2009, which outlines how we will fulfil our mission and mandate. We have aligned ourselves with the international development agenda and have a solid plan for building on our experience and expertise in open, distance and technology-enhanced learning (ODL) to expand the scope and scale of learning for development.
Seeking External Inputs
COL conducted the most comprehensive planning exercise in our history in developing our new Three-year Plan for 2006-2009. This included 14 regional consultations involving more than 350 people, environmental scans from all parts of the Commonwealth and reviews by COL's Board of Governors.
These inputs indicated that COL should:
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continue to focus on the global development agenda and "south-south" cooperation, taking a long-term view,
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pursue fewer activities but for longer periods and improve the monitoring and evaluation of its work,
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intensify its links with governments and strengthen partnerships with multilateral bodies,
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maintain a balance between policy advice and implementation,
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foster the responsible autonomy of staff but strengthen teamwork, and
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maintain intellectual and technical leadership and sharpen its brand image.
Next, we undertook a review of COL's activities and impact since its creation almost 20 years ago at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 1987. COL's initial mandate was to foster the application of technology to learning, helping countries to apply educational technology to their own needs.
Looking at four specific areas - higher education, teacher training, schooling and non-formal learning - we concluded that COL has indeed made a contribution to the effective use of distance learning and information and communications technologies (ICTs) at all levels in many Commonwealth countries. Whereas advocacy and policy development for ODL was a demanding task in the early days, more governments now realise the importance of distance education. COL's role has evolved to helping governments to implement and maintain ODL systems.
Moving Forward: Focus on Development
Learning for Development is the theme of COL's 2006-2009 Plan. It addresses an agenda that includes the UN's Millennium Development Goals, the goals of Education for All (Dakar) and the Commonwealth's objectives of peace, democracy, equality and good governance. The Plan is based on the belief that increasing and improving human learning is the key to fulfilling most aspects of the global development agenda.
The 2006-2009 Plan groups COL's work into three sectors of activity:
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Education
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Learning for Livelihoods
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Human Environment
The Plan outlines initiatives, outputs and expected impacts, together with performance indicators, for each sector, showing where COL can best help governments, institutions and potential partners to achieve their own objectives. COL is using this as the basis for discussions with each Commonwealth government to match national priorities to particular COL initiatives, in order to create country action proposals. The complete set of country action proposals will form the basis of action for COL.
COL will present its plans at the 16th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in December 2006 and will request pledges of financial support from each government in order to carry out this work over the next three years.
Education Sector
COL helps countries increase access to education of quality at all levels by focusing on quality assurance, teacher development, alternative forms of schooling, new approaches to higher education and the creation of expertise in eLearning.
Initiatives
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Quality Assurance
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Teacher Development
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Open/Alternative Schooling
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Higher Education
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eLearning for Education Sector Development
Impact: Universal access to primary education and increased and equitable participation in secondary and higher education with a concern for quality.
Case Study:
Developing capacity in higher education
In August 2006, COL supported a management workshop for vice-chancellors and other senior university administrators from Commonwealth countries in Dundee, Scotland. "Managing Change in a Global Knowledge Economy" was a pan-Commonwealth event with a focus on science. Designed to help delegates develop an understanding of the changing requirements of university leadership in a global knowledge economy, the conference attracted university leaders from Cameroon, Ghana, Guyana, India, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Through presentations from a variety of experts, the meeting explored management tools and strategies that will help universities to manage change in the most effective way.
COL has organised this senior university management workshop for a number of years; in the past it focused on renewal of African universities. This initiative is an example of how COL builds capacity in higher education. In addition to supporting the development of open universities and dual-mode institutions that combine distance teaching with campus instruction, COL also facilitates training in specific areas such as instructional design, training staff working in ODL, quality assurance and research methodology in distance education.
Learning for Livelihoods Sector
COL helps countries to identify where livelihoods can be improved and to create matching learning opportunities. Successful approaches to improving rural and peri-urban economies draw on COL's close relationship with international agricultural bodies. The Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth is a collaborative network for creating open educational resources for work-related learning.
Initiatives
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Learning and Skills for Livelihoods
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Rural and Peri-urban Community Development
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National/International Community Development
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Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth
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Transnational Programmes
Impact: Sustainable socio-economic advancement and improved livelihoods, particularly among disadvantaged communities.
Case Study:
ODL for Agricultural Education in India
Distance education in agricultural and veterinary sciences is very necessary to meet the training and capacity building needs of a large number of farmers and extension workers in India. COL is working with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in partnership with leading state agriculture/veterinary universities in India to promote technology-mediated open and distance learning processes.
COL has supported several workshops and roundtable meetings that have brought together agriculture/veterinary universities, technology resource institutions and distance education experts to explore how to best use technology resources to support agricultural education. The participants have formed a consortium that is creating an online grid of agricultural extension and education materials known as AGRID, as well as working groups focused on education, extension and grid technology. This initiative promises to make a significant impact by facilitating learning that will improve rural livelihoods.
Human Environment Sector
Sustainable development occurs when people can live peaceably and equitably under democratic government in healthy environments. COL helps countries use learning technologies to make a difference in the areas of gender, health, environment and governance, and can advise on the educational use of media and ICTs.
Initiatives
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Gender and Development
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Health, Welfare and Community Development
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Environmental Education
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Good Governance
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Educational Use of Mass Media and ICTs
Impact: Sustainable development occurring through people living peaceably and equitably under democratic government in healthy environments.
Case Study: Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit
COL partnered with the Commonwealth Secretariat to develop a Gender Management System (GMS) Toolkit designed to assist Commonwealth governments in ensuring that an awareness of gender issues informs their decision-making in all areas and at all levels. The GMS Toolkit uses ODL principles to enhance access to and use of the Secretariat's GMS manuals. These manuals focus on gender mainstreaming in key areas such as finance, development planning and the public service, as well as cross-cutting development issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty eradication and the Millennium Development Goals.
The Toolkit transforms the GMS manuals into a user-friendly, learner-centered, trainer-oriented package. It includes a study guide for individuals, a trainer's manual, a change management briefing and a CD-ROM that contains the contents of the Toolkit and all the original GMS manuals.
Since the GMS Toolkit was released in early 2004, many institutions and governments in the Commonwealth have used it. The Toolkit is an important initiative for COL because it expands the use of ODL in areas beyond education and it helps address gender inequality, which is essential to advance the development agenda.
