Partnering to build education

Alltogether the institutional collaborations involved more than 90 organisations in the partner countries and in the Netherlands.

Collaboration between knowledge institutions in the Netherlands and organisations in developing countries is a sustainable way to strengthen education and exchange knowledge.

In some cases, former beneficiaries become collaboration partners with the Dutch in Orange Knowledge projects, to help strengthen others.

Funding for institutional collaboration projects is available in the 18 full-programme countries. These projects are always based on the country plan of implementation. Within the plan there is an analysis and selection of sectors, made with the input of local stakeholders and the Dutch embassy in the country.

Building on a previous project

The Orange Knowledge Programme team issued 16 calls for joint proposals, of which 13 were awarded in December 2018. Two calls were closed without awarding proposals because of lack of eligibility, and the call for Palestinian Territories took until 2019 to be awarded. Most projects were launched in Q1 2019, but to give an impression of the awarded projects, End Impunity of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (EIS) in Uganda serves as a good example, as it is a project moving forward from where a previous one stopped. That earlier project was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through Nuffic with NICHE.

The biggest project of 2018, launched in Q1 2019, is Ethiopian and focuses on the largest priority theme Food & Nutrition Security, for which the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector is strengthened. Two cases, both with great expectations.

Tackling a rampant problem

“Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) occurs not only during times of conflict but also during times of peace; this is the unfortunate reality in regions with prevailing patriarchal ideologies,” says Dr John Kamya, Commandant of the Police Senior Command and Staff College in Uganda. Project EIS well illustrates the benefits which these funding collaborations can offer, as Dr Kamya explains: “Uganda has already made great administrative progress in terms of drafting laws and provisions in court to deal with cases of SGBV. The implementation on the ground is just as important. Within Project EIS, around 500 police officers will be trained and that will continue after the project has ended. By working closely together with the judicial side, we hope to reach a faster and accurate process in punishing the perpetrators as well.”

The problem of sexual violence is rampant in Uganda. A 2016 national survey found that 56 % of ever-married women and 44 % of ever-married men had experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their current or most recent spouse or partner. Government reports also show that 3 in 4 young adults experienced some form of violence during childhood.

Clear focus

“Institutional collaboration projects are particularly good for helping organisations to focus deeply on a given subject such as SGBV,” says Armand Gaikema, country programme manager at Nuffic. “In these projects you can bring all the instruments together as part of a holistic organisation development process.” The Ugandan Project EIS is a case in point. This research and training project is a collaboration between the Maastricht School of Management, other academic partners and the police academy in the Netherlands, and the Ugandan National Police Academy and the Judicial Training Institute in Uganda.

The clear focus on subjects such as SGBV means the Ugandan police and judiciary gain technical assistance at all levels. From judges to the police officers on the front line who have to collect evidence. Rosemary Yvonne Nalubega is a police officer for the Uganda Police Force in Kampala. She says: “Here in Uganda, 62 % of the cases that the judiciary handles are related to sexual and gender-based violence. I realised that some police officers are not aware of the laws. Many cases are thrown out of court because of poor investigations. I now train our police officers on the Domestic Violence Act, and the Children's Act. Most of the time perpetrators beat justice because they manipulate the system. As an investigator, you should therefore have a passion to make sure that this impunity cannot continue. Criminals should face justice."

“I now train our police officers on the Domestic Violence Act, and the Children's Act.”