NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2016 · PAGE 1

IN THIS ISSUE

1: NewDFCRosteroffersOpportunitiesforDanishEmbassiesandPartners

2: DanidaAlumni:Bridgingcultures,connectingpeople

3: WhenPlasticisnotFantastic

4: PresentingtheAnnual

Report2015

5: NewFinancialandPersonnelOfficerjoinsDFC

By Maya Lindberg Brink, DFC Capacity Development Advisor

On June 10th 2016, Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC) launched its new Roster of

Capacity Development Support Providers. At the event, DFC’s Director, Anne Chris-

tensen, signed framework agreements with six consortia covering more than 120 skilled professionals, all of whom have longstand-ing experience in capacity development.

For many years, DFC has successfully offered courses targeting Danida partner

organisations and their employees. Since 2014, under the Danida Capacity De-velopment Support Programme (DCDSP), DFC now also supports more comprehen-sive organizational capacity development solutions.

FROM PLANNING TO EVALUATIONOptions for DFC support to Danish embas-sies and Danida partners under DCDSP cover all stages of the capacity develop-ment process - from the planning of capacity development initiatives, over their

New DFC Roster offers Opportunities for Danish Embassies and Partners

CONTACT DETAILS:Danida Fellowship CentreHostrupsvej 22, DK-1950 Frederiksberg C, DenmarkTel. +45 3536 1322, Fax +45 3536 2095E-mail: dfc@dfcentre.dk or newsletter@dfcentre.dkwww.dfcentre.com

Editors:Anne Christensen, DirectorLene Christina Mosegaard, Programme and Communication CoordinatorJan Kjær, Journalist

NEWSLETTER

Through the DFC Roster of Capacity Development Support Providers more than 120 skilled professionals from six different consortia are ready to assist embassies and partner organizations.

Daniel la Cour from COWI and DFC Director, Anne Christensen, shake hands after signing a Framework Agreement.

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JUNE 2016 · PAGE 2

“We hope the Roster will further strengthen DFC’s ability to contribute with prompt and solid solutions to support capacity develop-ment initiatives as part of Denmark’s devel-opment assistance now and in the future”, said DFC Capacity Development Advisor, Maya Lindberg Brink, at the launch.

With the combined expertise of more than 15 organizations, the Roster is also ex-pected to yield useful learnings and lead to new and improved ways of doing capacity development.

For more information visit http://dfcentre.com/courses-studies/a-tool-for-change/ n

implementation and management – to the evaluation of and continued learning from these.

Since the DCDSP was initiated, there has been an increased interest from both Em-bassies and partners to draw on the many opportunities for capacity development support through DFC.

One example is DFC’s ongoing collabo-ration with the Danish Embassy in Ghana and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). In 2015, DFC was asked to support the restructuring of GRA’s training and develop-ment department as part of an ongoing institutional reform process. DFC has since helped the partner pin down the exact needs and opportunities and matched these with expert support from its external network of providers. DFC has now been contracted by the Embassy to manage the related contract and quality assurance on their behalf.

PROMPT AND SOLID SOLUTIONSTo continue to respond quickly to requests, DFC began a comprehensive tendering process in 2015 to establish a formal list of experts in the field of capacity development to complement DFC’s own Capacity Devel-opment Advisors – and the DFC Roster is now a reality.

Focal points from the six consortia represented on the DFC Roster gather at DFC for the signing event on June 10th.

Lisbet Fich from Networking Consultants and DFC Director, Anne Christensen, sign one of six Framework Agreements.

COST OF SUPPORT

Preparatory work to identify CD needs and op-tions - ‘free of charge’ for the embassy/partner organization

Additional support - invoiced as agreed between DFC and the embassy/partner organization

Tailor-made learning programmes/study tours – actual activity costs, incl. 7% OH

Limited co-funding from DFC is available for CD activities of strategic importance

NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2016 · PAGE 3

By Vibeke Quaade

When Tove Degnbol was appointed Danish Ambassador to Ghana in September 2015, she promised to facilitate the estab-

lishment of a Danida Alumni in Ghana as a pilot project. “To set up a Danida Alumni network simply made sense,” Tove

Degnbol says over Skype from her office at the Danish embassy in Accra. “We have 2000 Master students and PhDs from all over the world,

who have received their education in Denmark. It is a group of highly skilled people. They are familiar with our country, our lang-uage and our culture. They know how we perceive things and they are able to communicate with us. There is a mutual understanding, trust and appreciation. Many of them occupy decision-making positions in both government organisations and in private compa-nies. To me, they are obvious ambassadors and facilitators between Danes and our international partners because they can bridge cultures and connect people. So I happily volunteered to pilot an alumni network in Ghana,” she elaborates.

WHERE DID YOU HIDE THESE PEOPLE! Upon arrival in Ghana, Tove Degnbol soon put her promise into

Danida Alumni:

Bridging Cultures, Connecting PeopleTove Degnbol, Danish Ambassador in Ghana, supported the Danida Alumni network right from the beginning. The alumni are obvious ambassadors and facilitators between Danes and our business and development cooperation partners, she says.

action. By January 2016, the Danida Ghana Alumni was established with a council board of five former Danida Fellows. Shortly after, they were introduced to the Danish business community in Accra.

The reception was overwhelmingly positive. Each of the partici-pating alumni introduced themselves and talked about their profes-sional skills and background.

Tove Degnbol raises her voice with enthusiasm when she recalls the event. She recalls the words from a representative of one of the Danish companies: Where did you hide these people this long?

She explains how this positive reaction illustrates the generally encouraging feedback from the Danish business community in Ghana towards the Alumni network.

“The Danish business community in Ghana knows first hand that cultural challenges are inevitable when entering or operating in a new or foreign market. They welcome the alumni because they see obvious advantages in collaborating with technically competent people, who have a strong national network and who can bridge between the two cultures,” says Tove Degnbol, who in her previous position as Head of the Technical Advisory Service at Danish Minis-try of Foreign Affairs endorsed the Danida Alumni initiative from its very beginning.

Ambassador Tove Degnbol sur-rounded by Vice Chairperson Margaret Owusu, Organiser John Ekow Otoo and Chairperson Enoch Yeboah Agyepong from the Danida Alumni in Ghana.

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JUNE 2016 · PAGE 4

GHANA GAINSFor Ghana, the alumni network equally has its advantages, accord-ing to the Ambassador.

Ghana has a clear policy of attracting foreign investments. Whenever an alumnus assists a Danish company to overcome the hurdles of en-tering a new market and to invest in Ghana, it benefits both countries.

“If the alumni inspire trust in Danish companies thus making it easier for them to invest in Ghana, then it is obviously of interest to Ghana. In that respect the Danida Alumni has a double role repre-senting the interests of both countries,” she says.

CUTTING EDGE HEART HOSPITAL IN ACCRATove Degnbol refers to a new heart hospital project in Accra as a specific example of how one of the previous Master student of International Health educated in Denmark facilitated common interests between Ghana and Denmark.

Heart diseases are markedly increasing in Ghana, and Ghanaian health facilities do not have the capacity to deliver effective treatment of the highest international standards to all patients. As a result, more people suffer from these diseases and an increasing number of wealthy Ghanaians travel to India, Dubai and elsewhere to get treatment.

On that background a group of Danish investors and heart surgeons are exploring the possibilities of setting up a cutting edge private heart hospital with 300 beds in Accra. The idea is that well-off Ghanaians will get access to treatment for cardiac diseases in Ghana rather than having to travel abroad. At the same time, it will provide services for the less fortunate Ghanaians with heart issues.

To do the initial feasibility study of the project, the international consultancy company Niras was hired. Niras employed Ghanaian Julian Adinkrah, one of the 200 Ghanaians who have completed a Master in International/Global Health at University of Copenhagen since 2000.

“Julian Adinkrah’s extensive network in the Ghanaian health sec-tor and his relatively easy access to relevant government authorities combined with his technical background in medical science played an important role for the feasibility study,” Tove Degnbol says, obvi-ously pleased with the new project plans.

FROM AID TO TRADEShe explains that Denmark’s development cooperation with Ghana is being phased out and ends by 2020. By then it will give way for a more commercial and political-oriented collaboration between the two countries.

As part of the transition from aid to trade, Denmark will conclude its 22 years longstanding development support to the Ghanaian Health Sector by the end of 2016. In that light, Tove Degnbol sees the private heart hospital project and other Danish private interests as a continua-tion of the Danish involvement in the health sector, but on new terms.

“It is exciting and encouraging that even when we close the health sector chapter of our development cooperation with Ghana, we can still draw on our network and our contacts. We can still influ-ence the development in the health sector through dialogue, but now based on commercial activities,” she says.

ADVISORS IN GREEN ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGEDenmark’s development cooperation to support private sector development in Ghana will continue to the end of 2020. The Ambas-sador sees the skills of the alumni coming into play as advisors in the areas of green energy, climate change and energy efficiency.

But it is clear that she believes that the gain of the alumni primarily lies in the business and trade collaboration between the two countries.

She stresses that Denmark shouldn’t be blind to the added tech-nical value that students and researchers from abroad bring into play from the Danish universities and thereby to the private sector.

BETTER CHOCOLATETove Degnbol mentions Margaret Owesu as an example of a bril-liant Ghanaian researcher. Margaret Owesu did her PhD in Food Science at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen and in cooperation with the Danish chocolate company Toms.

“Margaret Owesu investigated different methods of cocoa fer-mentation. She found a way to improve the taste of chocolate by spreading the cocoa out on wooden trays. It gave a more even fer-mentation and better tasting result. Today, Toms uses her methods,” says Ambassador Tove Degnbol, who admits that her expectations to Danida Ghana alumni are high.

So far, 60 Danida fellows have joined the Ghanaian Alumni network. When a critical mass of more than 100 have followed suit, hopefully by September 2016, the Council Board of the Alumni will present its activity plans of how to bridge cultures and connect peo-ple for the years to come.

Visit the new Danida Alumni portal launched in May 2016 https://alumni.dfcentre.com. n

Niras consultants Julian Adinkrah, Master of International Health, and Carsten Dollerup, Biomedical Engineer, are doing a feasibility study of a heart hospital project in Accra.

Margaret Owesu, who did her PhD in Food Science at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, has found a way to improve the taste of chocolate.

NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2016 · PAGE 5

Plastic in lakes and the sea is an increasing, big problem.

Text and photo: Jan Kjær, Better-World.dk

Eating plastic? Not a nice feeling. Neither for human beings, nor fish.

As part of the BSU Master programme, 33 year old Bahati Sosthenes Mayoma from Tanzania has studied plastic pollution in lakes and seas.

He graduated in 2010 and studied BSc. Aquatic Environmental Sciences and Con-servation, from Univeristy of Dar es Salaam with honors. While finalizing his Master’s first year at Roskilde University in Denmark, he was made aware of the Danish NGO ‘Plastic Change’ that encourages students to do research in this field.

He applied and was selected.

PLASTIC EVERYWHEREFrom 2013-15 he studied Master in Envi-ronmental Risk at Roskilde University in

Denmark. To do research for his Master thesis, Bahati went to Mediterranean Sea near Almeria in Spain and near the Italian Island of Sicily.

“We found plastic everywhere!” he says pointing his finger in all directions.

Generally, the smaller the size, the higher the abundance. He explains: “It is very problematic when it comes to the eco-system. Even small fish like sardines can consume small pieces of plastic.”

The plastic gets stuck in the stomachs of the fish – or gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) - in the language of science, and ends up in hu-man beings eating the fruits of the sea.

The tendency was clear; The further away from the coast of Italy, the less plastic in the water, and the closer you got to the Straits of Gibraltar from the Eastern part of the Medi-terranean basin, the less plastic, because of water coming from the huge Atlantic Ocean.

LAKE VICTORIA ALSO AFFECTEDIn 2015, upon his return to Tanzania, Bahati

When Plastic is not Fantastic

used his newly acquired skills and know-ledge.

He took up a post as Fisheries and Envi-ronmental Officer at Mtwara District Council at the Indian Ocean coastline in the south of Tanzania. But this is not where he started his research. In collaboration with Roskilde University and the National Museum of Denmark, Bahati approached the largest lake in Africa: Lake Victoria.

Close to Mwanza, the second biggest town in Tanzania, the team carried out a smaller study based on the same methodo-logy learnt in Denmark and used in Italy and Spain.

“We found that 20 per cent of the fish had plastic in their gastrointestinal tracts. We were the first to show the world and Tanza-nia that we have a problem in our waters,” says Bahati.

Since the research only took place around Mwanza, the findings are only circulating among researchers – not in the Tanzanian media. A study covering a big portion of the

A study shows that 20 per cent of fish near Tanzania’s second biggest town Mwanza have plastic in their stomachs.

NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2016 · PAGE 6

BSU MASTER PROGRAMME

In Denmark, Bahati Sosthenes Mayoma took part in BSU Master Programme, a part of the ‘Building Stronger Universities’ programme.In 2013, Danida initiated a two-year Master scholarship programme to be run by Danida Fellowship Centre as a supplement to the existing fellowship programme. The aim was – and is – to provide talented students from South partner universities with the op-portunity to obtain a Master’s degree from a Danish university in order to contribute to the development of their countries.From the 2013 intake, 37 out of 38 candidates have completed their Master programme, the vast majority with very good results.

lake is needed to see whether it is a general problem or confined to the urbanized area.

If a new study concludes that a high per-centage of Tilapia and Nile Perch from the Lake Victoria contain plastic, it could affect long term sustainability of the fish which are already under pressure from overfishing and nutrient loading from both agriculture and municipal wastes, Bahati reckons.

FREEDOM OF CHOICEStudying in Denmark has had a big impact on Bahati, both professionally and person-ally.

“The subjects taught were global, so I have got a much more international per-spective,” he says.

Bahati liked that the students originated from many different countries around the globe. He also appreciated the way the Danish teachers gave the students the freedom of choice.

“In Tanzania you simply follow what the teacher dictates,” he sighs.

He also learnt to me more extrovert.“I have really improved my capacity to

express myself in front of a bigger audi-ence,” he says.

What he did not like, however, is the way the Danish students isolate themselves showing little interest in foreigners.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLYBahati is now winding up his job as Fisher-ies and Environmental Officer in Mtwara

The interview is over. Bahati will go to the hotel. The next morning, he will bring a group of delegates from foreign environmental con-sultancy firms to his work station in Mtwara to show them how the Tanzanian authorities deal with environmental issues with ultimate goal of forming a joint venture in this field.

And when paper work is over, his next stop will be Dodoma where he has just secured a job at the university as an assistant lecturer in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics.

“What I learnt in Denmark has certainly been a contributing factor in getting the new job,” Bahati smiles.

He also owns the private company ‘BM Ecological Consultants’ offering consultan-cies to private enterprises, organizations or government.

Environment is the key word for Bahati and he is concerned about the develop-ments in his home country slowly moving

from low to middle income status.“Tanzania has seen many investments in

mining, Oil and gas industry and construc-tion over the last years. Some of them are damaging. “We should not stop investment, but we should encourage them to do it in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way,” he concludes. n

Bahati Sosthenes Mayoma is back in Tanzania after studying a Master in Environmental Risk at Roskilde University in Denmark from 2013-15.

NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2016 · PAGE 7

PHO

TO: J

AN

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In 2015, Danida Fellowship Centre implemented more than 1,000 fel-lowships and administered research activities for DKK 237 million, but big challenges lie ahead due to budget cuts and relocation of the office.

By Jan Kjær

“The most important achievements in 2015 have been to further position

ourselves as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for quality capacity development support as well as implementing more than 1,000 fellowships,“ says Anne Christensen, director of Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC).

Capacity development support is a DFC cornerstone. Throughout 2015, DFC continued to pilot new initiatives to put the ideas behind pedagogical buzzwords into practice with the aim of establishing DFC as a hub for the promotion of innovative learning modalities and iterative learning processes.

DFC offered 37 courses in 2015, 19 in the South and 18 in Denmark. Due to the high number of applicants, the ‘Public Sector Leadership’, ‘Financial Management and Good Governance’ and ‘A Human Rights Based approach to Development Program-ming’ courses were held twice.

In Denmark the number of course partici-pants was 415, in the South 428. 871 of the participants came from Africa.

A TRUSTED PARTNERIn 2015, DFC undertook a wide range of activities to become a trusted and acknow-ledged partner in effective support to ca-pacity development by Danish embassies, Danida and its partners.

See examples from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Kenya, Ghana and Benin in the Annual Report.

To ensure that Danish embassies and Danida partners are aware of the new

Presenting the Annual Report 2015

DANIDA FELLOWSHIP CENTREAnnual Report 2015

In 2015 Danida Fellowship Centre

further positioned itself as a one-stop-shop for quality capacity development support

implemented more than 1,000 fellowships

reviewed all existing plans to adapt to dramatic cutbacks in the Danish aid budget

administered research activities for more than DKK 200 million

helped building stronger universities

initiated the start of a Danida alumni with Ghana and Vietnam as pilot countries

planned for the 2017 move of its headquarters, decided by the Danish government

DFC in short:• DFC is a self-governing institution under the Danish

Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Danida • DFC was founded in 1990 to manage and implement

the Danida supported Fellowship Programme• DFC in 2008 took over the administration of

Danida’s development research grants• DFC in 2014 increased and strengthened the

focus on Danida partners’ organisational capacity development rather than individual capacity development

• DFC’s two main tasks are:• To support capacity development• To support development research

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The Annual Report 2015 is produced in both a short and a long version.

mandate of DFC under Danida Capacity Development Support Programme and the opportunities for support, DFC produced ‘A Tool for Change’. http://dfcentre.com/courses-studies/a-tool-for-change/

BUILDING STRONGER UNIVERSITIESDanida’s Building Stronger Universities programme supports partnerships between research/higher education institutions in developing countries and universities in Denmark.

In addition in 2015, 38 BSU master students graduated. Some returned to jobs at the BSU partner universities, or in other governmental institutions. Some continued their studies doing PhDs or the like. Others returned to their home country with their new acquired skills to look for a new job.

DKK 237 MILLION FOR DANIDA RESEARCH GRANTSDFC takes care of the administration and quality assurance of development research projects.

Research projects granted through the competitive process (FFU projects) are either administered by Danish universities/871 of the course participants in 2015 came from Africa.

NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2016 · PAGE 8

research institutions, termed ‘North driven projects’ or by universities/research institu-tions in Vietnam, Nepal, Ghana, or Tanzania, termed ‘South driven projects’.

In 2015 there were 63 on-going North driven projects and 22 South driven pro-jects. The budget was 237 mio. DKK.

THE DANIDA ALUMNI INITIATEDIn 2015, steps towards establishing a Danida Alumni were taken and local alumni in Ghana and Vietnam were established as pilot countries. The plan is to draw on the experiences from the pilot countries with a view to develop a sustainable network concept for potential replication by other interested partner countries.

Funding for this phase has been secured via the BSU Master Programme 2015-17, but in the long run funds have to be secured from other sources as well.

New Financial and Personnel Officer joins DFC

On July 1st, Lene Due Kruse-Nielsen takes up the position as Financial and Personnel Officer in the Secretariat (Financial Department).

Lene is 56 years old and lives in Holbæk, the town to which DFC will move in 2017. She has also been living in the Philippines and in Poland.

Lene is educated in financial management and general administration and has been working in various financial, pay & benefits, and administration positions for more than 25 years, latest in Danish Gymnastics and Sports Associations (DGI).

She has been employed in the private sector as well as the public sector.Lene replaces Ilselil Halby who is retiring later this year. n

The Danida Alumni was officially launched in May 2016.

CHALLENGES AHEADDespite the many achievements in 2015, there are some serious setbacks.

“The biggest challenges in 2015 has been adapting the activities to the cuts in Da-nida’s budget, and accepting the Govern-ment’s decision to move DFC to Holbæk,” says director Anne Christensen.

The annual grant for the Danida Develop-ment Capacity Support Programme has for the last ten years been between DKK 40 and 50 million. In 2015, the new Danish govern-ment decided to reduce the 2016 grant by 33 per cent. This will, of course, affect the activities and services provided by DFC. And efforts to adjust to the new situation took up a lot of resources and attention during the second half of 2015.

DFC has reviewed all existing plans to adapt to the dramatic budget cuts.

DFC SPLIT IN TWODFC’s buildings at Frederiksberg/Copen-hagen house the secretariat, study centre, and the student hostel. The fact that DFC is located on one address not only makes management and administration more ef-ficient, it is also highly appreciated by users and partners.

This ideal set up is coming to an end with The Danish government’s decision in 2015 to move governmental offices, including DFC, out of the Danish capital. DFC will move to Holbæk, app. 65 kilometres from DFC’s present location.

The DFC hostel will remain in Frederiks-berg and serve Danida fellows. DFC will be split in two, and between 10 to 14 staff members will be relocated to Holbæk by mid 2017.

You find both the short, popular and the more comprehensive, long version of the Annual Report 2015 here http://dfcentre.com/about-us/annual-reports n

FACTS ABOUT ADMINISTRATION

DFC constantly focuses on optimising and streamlining its activities. From 2014 to 2015 DFC managed to reduce expenditure for its core administration by 10.4 per cent, in addition to the previous year’s reduction of 4.8 per cent.

Lene Due Kruse-Nielsen.