Community Colleges of Colorado/National Confederation of Industry

Community Colleges of Colorado and the National Confederation of Industry in Brazil are partners in a training project that seeks to upgrade the technical skills of industry workers emphasizing e-commerce and provide access to new technologies. Following an extensive needs assessment, the partners conducted training workshops in Brazil on workforce development policies for career advancement, e-commerce, partnering opportunities, and distance learning policy and programs. The partners established strong links with the Federation of Industries for the State of Minas Gerias (FEIMG), which is identifying priority workforce development issues and opportunities, the U.S. Department of Education’s Community College Liaison Office, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. They also linked FEIMG with the National Association of Manufacturers, the largest multi-industry trade association in the U.S.

Award Date: 1999
Award Amount: $49,972
Proposed Cost Share: $31,318
Other Funds Leveraged: $14,000
Other Partners: National Association of Manufacturers (U.S.), Partners of the Americas

American University/Universidad de los Andes/Universidad Nacional de Colombia

American University’s Washington College of Law, Universidad de los Andes, and Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNC) collaborated to strengthen the capacity of academic institutions throughout Colombia to provide human rights education by training faculty in interpreting human rights standards and laws at both the domestic and international level. Partnership activities resulted in the development of human rights courses at several Colombian law schools. UNC is currently establishing a human rights center. In 2000, human rights professors participated as trainers in a USAID-organized workshop for more than 800 public defenders of the Human Rights Ombudsman in Colombia. The partners convened workshops in Washington, D.C., and Bogotá, where they trained approximately 80 human rights professors. They agreed to develop a basic human rights curriculum and to urge the government to require a human rights course within the basic law curriculum. They also produced training materials in international and comparative law and extensive diagnostic reports on the status of human rights education in Colombia. In order to ensure continued collaboration and sharing of resources, the partners established an Academic Human Rights Network through the Internet.

Award Date: 1999
Award Amount: $100,000
Final Cost Share: $80,941
Other Partners: International Committee of the Red Cross, Presidential Program for Human Rights, Universidad Nacional de Lanus (Argentina), Universidad Católica (Ecuador)

Metropolitan Community College/Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” ~ Special Initiative

This USAID/El Salvador-funded “special initiative” partnership between Metropolitan Community College (MCC) and Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” (UCA) seeks to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of rural Salvadorans by addressing the developmental needs of at-risk children between 0 and 6 years of age through Early Education through the Family (EDIFAM) , a USAID-funded early childhood education (ECE) activity. An ECE specialist from MCC is based in El Salvador to facilitate curriculum development, training, and communication between the many stakeholders. The partners have conducted train-the-trainer workshops for more than 60 professionals (nutritionists, psychologists, educators, social workers) and trained hundreds of madres cuidadoras (mother caregivers) at rudimentary child care centers throughout El Salvador. Many of the newly trained personnel already have been placed and are training other child care center personnel, achieving a multiplier effect. The partners also have designed and distributed training manuals and kits in psychomotor, language, cognitive, and socioaffective development. At the first Madres Cuidadoras Congress, held in December 2001, the partners trained 50 facilitators and 800 madres to use the cognitive development manuals and kits. A second Congress was held in 2002.

Award Date: 1999
Award Amount: $1,099,791
Proposed Cost Share: $358,330
Other Funds Leveraged: $150,159
Other Partners: USAID/El Salvador, Instituto Salvadoreño de Protección al Menor, Ministry of Education, UNICEF, Ministry of Public Health, CALMA (Center for the Support of Breastfeeding), Save the Children, Secretariat for External Financing, Creighton University, Gallup Organization, more than 30 other host country institutions, and 14 other U.S. institutions

Furman University/University of the West Indies

Furman University and the University of the West Indies (UWI) have trained a critical mass of software developers to create a sustainable software development industry in Jamaica. In 1999, the Caribbean Institute of Technology (CIT), founded as a result of this partnership, graduated its first class of 41 students trained in computer programming. Indusa Global, a U.S. private sector partner with a branch in Montego Bay, hired all of the graduates, each of whom had completed a 10-month training program. In response to this initial success, subsequent enrollment increased and the second and third classes produced 81 and 95 graduates, respectively. More than 80 percent of the 122 graduates from the first two classes currently work with Indusa and 11 other information technology companies in Jamaica. Of the 217 total graduates, 100 are women. The partners trained seven instructors and three assistants, allowing them to open two satellite centers in Kingston, each serving 50 students. Due to the enthusiastic support of the Jamaican government, the partners were able to expand their activities much quicker than originally anticipated, and they expect to open six to 10 more satellite centers in 2002.

National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration/Latin American Universities in 11 Countries

This partnership seeks to create a network of colleges and universities in the United States and Latin America to strengthen public administration curricula. The result of the project will be the creation of a vast network of government officials, nongovernmental organization leaders, and academics interested in development and closer links between higher education and government. At the first annual workshop of the Inter-American Network for Public Administration Education (INPAE) in Caracas, sponsored by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), 16 authors presented their works on decentralization and intergovernmental relations in Latin America. Seven of the papers presented were selected for inclusion in a new textbook on public administration to be published in summer 2002. Based on the recommendations of the project steering committee, the partners have released calls for proposals for chapters in a second textbook. They are currently receiving proposals for technical and policy research projects. During two additional workshops scheduled for 2002 in Chile and Brazil, the partners and INPAE members will seek to advance their publication efforts, improve their marketing strategy, and strategize on broadening the network.

University of California-Davis/Universidad Nacional Agraria de Nicaragua/Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuaria

The University of California–Davis (UC–Davis), Universidad Nacional Agraria de Nicaragua, and Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuaria are collaborating to enhance postharvest agriculture programs at educational institutions in Nicaragua. The aim is to provide students with specialized training in postharvest science, educate scientists and teachers, and disseminate scientific and technological information about perishable crops at the regional level in Nicaragua. Seven Nicaraguan students and faculty members have thus far received certificate level and short-course training in applied postharvest technology with four more individuals slated to begin their studies at UC–Davis in 2002 and 2003. The partners recently formed a Postharvest Team consisting primarily of national postharvest experts trained or being trained at UC–Davis to ensure collaboration and sustainability efforts in Nicaragua. They also are completing an online postharvest web site in Nicaragua.