February 2010
Twenty Nigerian staff from SPARC (the DFID-supported State Partnership for Accountability, Responsiveness and Capability Programme) met for the second of three courses 8-12 February 2010 in Abuja. Working in five different states and the national office in Abuja, their role is to support state and federal governments in three key areas: public financial management, policy and strategy, and public sector reform.
The first course, in December 2009, covered general consultancy skills. This second course focused on skills and processes for operational planning. Based on the phases of the project cycle, the trainees worked through a set of learning activities from participatory stakeholder analysis, through the logical framework approach, to activity planning and budgeting, using issues within their own project setting as the focus for analysis and learning. As you might expect with a highly motivated group of experienced professionals, the atmosphere was lively and stimulating. They were set an assignment at the end of the course: to write an account and critical reflection on their use of what they have learned during the weeks following the training. They will present their reflections at a workshop in March, preceding a third and final course in the training programme.
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