Collaborative Program Management: The Case of Northern Education Initiative Plus

The Initiative was aimed at strengthening Nigerian governmental and non-governmental systems to deliver quality basic education. The project was thus designed to create sustainable education policies, strengthen planning, management, and assessment systems, and build capacity in Bauchi and Sokoto States to deliver and support education systems, with the end goal of increasing access to education and improving learning outcomes.

Implementing a complex program of this nature required approaches that would embrace the concept of “partnership-in-development”. This necessitated the need for buy-in and ownership of host governments and communities at large. It had to be grounded on a shared vision articulated by all partners and anchored on common goals and objectives. It necessitated a long and tedious process of building mutual trust and respect. It demanded communicating in the spirit of transparency and equality. It had to be mutually beneficial. It also required defining clear roles and responsibilities for all parties involved.

Given the challenges the situation posed to the program, CLA was not an option but a necessity. Pause and Reflect was widely used along with Continuous Learning and Improvement. Technical Evidence Base and M&E for Learning was the foundation for all policy reforms. Openness characterized the way we communicated with all our partners. Our management approach was characterized by agility and responsiveness to the ever-evolving situation.

The Initiative was effective in strengthening government systems – data management, planning, decision-making, increasing budget, introducing policy reform - to deliver quality education by increasing learning outcomes, and expanding enrolment in non-formal education.