Afghan National Police Support for Democratic Elections
Global Affairs Canada
This project was designed to build knowledge and awareness within the senior ranks of the Afghan National Police (ANP) of the critical roles and responsibilities of police within a representative democracy, with a particular focus on the electoral process. The aim was to mitigate the negative actions and behaviours that have been demonstrated in previous elections, so that the Afghan National Security Forces are seen by the Afghan population as neutral and independent institutions. The project’s ultimate outcome was that the ANP now has the resources necessary to strengthen the role of leadership and officers in the electoral process.
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AFGHANISTAN
Weish Border and Customs Facility Feasibility Study and Pre-Construction Project
Global Affairs Canada
The objective of this two-part project was to determine the feasibility of, and conduct the planning for, building a border facility at Weish, the second largest border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The feasibility study included an assessment of security risks, and a description of: the local context, local population and analysis of their concerns, civil works, hydrology, an assessment of land use, ownership and tenancy. The pre-construction project includes the development and implementation of a resettlement plan, the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) pursuant to Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) standards and the establishment of local support for the project through an information and good works campaign.
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AFGHANISTAN
Kandahar University Support Project
Global Affairs Canada
This intervention strengthened the institutional capacity of Kandahar University (KU) and the Government of Afghanistan by establishing a soil and water laboratory facility and training key personnel from KU, the Kandahar Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) to manage and operate the laboratory and develop broader capacity in soil science and other agriculture-related science disciplines (hydrology, environmental and earth sciences, geography).
Alinea’s three-fold approach included providing technical training and ongoing professional development, developing information and communication technology support for distance education, and making critical improvements to laboratory facilities and equipment.
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AFGHANISTAN
Kandahar Village Stabilization Project (KVSP)
Global Affairs Canada
KVSP Phase II is an extension of the Pilot Afghan Village Development Project, Phase I which ended in September 2010. Phase II aimed to improve livelihoods in selected villages, enhance local governance and establish hope for affected communities through several initiatives, such as rehabilitation of irrigation structures; provision of drinking water; vocational training; strengthening of agricultural production techniques; creation of market opportunities from the processing of agricultural commodities (e.g. fruit juices); and meeting community demands for services, such as electric lighting in mosques. Alinea undertook initial environmental assessments and follow-up reviews to determine the sustainability and long-term environmental degradation associated with well-water drilling, irrigation and agricultural projects and incorporated Afghan-specific environmental considerations across all project activities. The project team provided water systems, irrigation and agricultural technical assistance to Afghan partners including training on environmental sustainability assessment best practices and effective methods of implementing social development plans premised on environmental stewardship as a principle of ensuring long-term socio-economic development.
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AFGHANISTAN
Kandahar Local Initiatives Program
Global Affairs Canada
The Kandahar Local Initiatives Program, under which Alinea was contracted to undertake a number of initiatives, was a peace-building intervention designed to address livelihood issues related to food security, subsistence agriculture, agricultural production, irrigation management; domestic water supply and income generation activities. It was also designed to build the capacity of the provincial and district government, as well as other institutions such as Kandahar University. Project implementation was focused in the Dand District which extends from the southern edge of Kandahar City up to and including both southern suburbs and villages which the city has grown to encompass as well as villages up to 25 km to the south.
Alinea’s activities were designed and implemented in conjunction with the provincial and district government, community and district development committees (CDC/DDCs), as well as Global Affairs Canada and the International Stabilization Assistance Force (ISAF). Project activities targeted food security and livelihood issues and included: irrigation rehabilitation; procurement and distribution of agricultural inputs (wheat seed, fertilizer and small ruminants) enhancement of agricultural extension services; domestic water supply through well drilling and hand pump installation, health and hygiene awareness for women, and vocational training in mechanics, masonry, carpentry or tailoring to create opportunities for young men, and also creating opportunities for women given the cultural context and the opportunities open to them.
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AFGHANISTAN
Panjwayi Drainage, Irrigation and Water Governance Systems Assessment
Global Affairs Canada
This assessment, through a process of review, consultation and surveying, identified potential opportunities to improve a partially built drainage system, an irrigation system and Mirab and water governance systems in Panjwayi District. The drainage canal design and construction had been hampered by the heavily salinized soils of the region. The assignment included baseline surveys and data collection, and resulted in an Assessment Report of Needed Drainage & Flood Control Elements as well as an Assessment Report of Needed Irrigation System Improvement & Rehabilitation Requirements.
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AFGHANISTAN
Joint Electoral Management Body and Legal Counsel
United Nations
Alinea was appointed by the Special Representative of the United Nations’ Secretary General as one of four International Commissioners on the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) to oversee the parliamentary elections held on September 18, 2005, in Afghanistan. As legal counsel to the JEMB, Alinea was responsible for managing the legal staff at the JEMB, drafting the 2005 Elections Law that set in place policies and procedures for the nomination process and candidate selection leading to the establishment of the first elected National Parliament (Wolesi Jirga) and the Upper House (Meshrano Jirga) as well as 34 Provincial Councils. Highlights of the legislation included the entrenchment of one quarter of the seats for women and the creation of an Electoral Complaints Commission and a Media Complaints Commission. We were also responsible for establishing all regulations and procedures related to the conduct of the election, including candidate nomination, voter registration, polling day and counting procedures.
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AFGHANISTAN
Elections Briefing Paper
Privy Council of Canada
As Special Advisor to the Office of the Privy Council on Canada’s strategic policy options in Afghanistan, Alinea co-authored a national briefing paper for the security sub-committee providing an assessment of possible election outcomes and their impact on ongoing constitutional developments in the post-election environment.
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BANGLADESH
Strengthening the Teaching of English and Mathematics in Secondary Schools (STEMS)
Global Affairs Canada
Alinea worked collaboratively with the Ministry of Education’s Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education to develop and implement an innovative model for teacher professional development in Bangladesh. STEMS was implemented in 90 schools throughout Rangpur district, working with English and math teachers, head teachers, and school management committee representatives in each school. STEMS piloted an innovative Teacher Professional Development (TPD) model. The model consisted of three short training sessions, each followed by classroom practice and intensive support by the project’s School Support Team (SST). The activities of the SST helped to ensure transference and implementation of training contents, and allowed teachers to receive ongoing guidance as they refined their practice of student-centred instruction. Results of STEMS include improvements in the performance of teachers, leading to an 11% improvement in attendance and a 32% improvement in year-end test scores as compared to previous years (21% in English and 45% in math).
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BANGLADESH
Poultry Sector Development Project
Global Affairs Canada
This Alinea-managed project improved the profitability of the poultry industry and its contribution to poverty reduction and food security in rural areas of Bangladesh by working with poultry farms and feed mills to improve the manufacture, handling and use of quality feedstuffs, improve laboratory testing of feed products and ingredients, provide technical assistance, on-site training and demonstrations, and establish linkages with the Canadian poultry sector. Alinea further worked with the Directorate of Livestock Services (DLS) of the Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen government structures, policies and programs for the sector, and to establish appropriate regulations to control unsafe feed products and improve private sector capacity to manufacture, handle and utilize high quality feedstuffs.
Poultry farmers and feed mill operators were provided technical assistance via improved extension services, on-site training and demonstrations, and support from Canadian poultry sector specialists. These interventions were paired with infrastructure upgrades, national policy reform and new private-sector investment of approximately CAD $45 million.
A focus on women’s entrepreneurship ensured that women poultry farm owners shared equally in the economic prosperity generated by the growing poultry industry. To address gender inequality in the sector, seven women-owned poultry farms were piloted with linkages to market access.
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BANGLADESH
Health and Population Reform Program
Global Affairs Canada
The Population and Health Reform Program (HPRP), led by Alinea Canada with the University of Calgary, was part of a large-scale, multi-donor government-NGO collaborative program to improve family planning and health service delivery throughout Bangladesh. Using a sector-wide, integrated approach to service delivery, the project worked directly with the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), as well as more than 50 local and international NGOs, academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies. This included building capacity in human resource development, government-NGO collaboration, procurement of contraceptive commodities, community capacity building/participatory methods, development of reproductive health-related behaviour change communication (for example, produced birth planning cards on a large scale for wide distribution throughout the country). The project–Canada’s largest single health project and the overall project was the largest project of its kind in the world at the time– resulted in lower average number of births per woman, increased use of contraceptives, lower infant and child death rates, increased levels of full immunization for polio, TB, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and measles, lower maternal deaths at birth, and higher average age at marriage.
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BANGLADESH
Urban Services and Advocacy for Gender Equality (USAGE)
Global Affairs Canada
The goal of the USAGE project was to improve the social environment and working conditions for women and adolescent girls in Bangladesh’s garment sector. In partnership with the North-South Institute, Alinea worked with Nari Uddug Kendra (NUK), a local NGO managed and governed by women to enhance and manage its programming for garment workers, of which 90% are female migrants from rural areas of Bangladesh. The focus of USAGE was on policy, advocacy and networking with government, the private sector, NGOs and workers’ federations and trade unions on economic and social issues related to labour rights in the garment sector, with an emphasis on building capacity for gender equality in the sector. Alinea’s role was to assist NUK with organizational development by providing management, technical and professional expertise to improve staff skills, management and financial systems, and to strengthen advocacy and research capacity.
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BANGLADESH
Bangladesh Crop Diversification Program
Global Affairs Canada
In partnership with Agrodev Canada Inc. and Prince Edward International Ltd, Alinea implemented this wide-scale project which targeted Bangladesh’s poorest marginal farmers – those with less than one acre of land, low literacy levels and little or no access to extension, credit and marketing services – in 125 thanas (counties) throughout remote areas of the country. The project area encompassed more than one million farm families. The project’s goal was to improve the diet and nutrition of the Bangladeshi population by introducing the production and consumption of potatoes, pulses and oilseeds. The project developed and delivered a comprehensive crop production program integrating all elements of the production chain from basic and applied research to extension, post-harvest and marketing services. Crop production activities were based on sustainable intensification of seasonal land use using a farming systems approach. Income-generating projects were also introduced as a means for the rural poor to increase their capacity for poverty reduction and their household incomes.
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INDIA
Private Sector Development Project
Global Affairs Canada
The Private Sector Development Project worked nationwide in India, addressing public sector bottlenecks to private sector development in the areas of electric power, oil and gas, telecommunications, and financial services. As manager of the initiative, Alinea supported the delivery of 33 short-term sub-projects by soliciting proposals for the sub-projects from Indian public and private sector organizations, providing technical assistance, monitoring the successful implementation of the sub-projects, and by facilitating collaboration between Canadian and Indian public and private sector partners. Sub-projects ranged from small-scale microenterprise support, such as the provision of mobile phones and housing loans to rural women entrepreneurs, to large-scale policy reform and business training, such as the development of a training workshop on raising foreign capital with TransCanada Pipelines, Bank of Montreal, and the Indian Oil & Gas Crown Corp.
Key success factors of the project were the establishment of a coordinating agency to ensure proposed initiatives were implemented, and the pairing of Canadian and Indian companies to generate action plans and build the capacity of participants, leading to strengthened commercial linkages between the two countries. Overall results included an increased capacity of the private sector to operate in key industries and financial markets in the Indian economy, and a stronger national government with improved policy, capacity, and commitment to engaging with the private sector.
Partners
Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economics
JPS Associates
Numerous private sector representatives, several NGOs, and academic institutions
More than 20 expert Canadian implementing partners
The India/Canada Business Council
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INDIA
Mid-Term Operational Review, India Biogas Extension Project
Global Affairs Canada
Alinea conducted an operational review of the India Biogas II Project, implemented by the Canadian Hunger Foundation, to assess the achievements and economic and social benefits of a biogas project at its mid-way point and to summarize the lessons learned thus far in Phase II. The review team provided feedback as part of an iterative process of project management, in order to ensure that the project continued to meet the needs of stakeholders. One aspect of the project was to study the economic and social factors that determined energy choices between biogas and liquid petroleum, including household income, family size and access to alternative energy sources. Attention was also paid to the project’s impact on women and women’s health issues and impact of the project on the environment, with respect to agricultural productivity and land/forest management. The review team also assessed the extent to which the project had succeeded in strengthening indigenous Indian non-governmental organizations which form the Biogas Network which was supported by the project.
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INDIA & NEPAL
Improving Education Quality and Learning for Tibetan Children in India and Nepal (IEQL)
Global Affairs Canada
Alinea Canada worked with the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to improve the quality of education and learning for more than 22,000 Tibetan children at 68 schools in India and Nepal. IEQL supported the Department of Education (DoE) by providing training and other professional development activities for teachers and educators; supported the development and provision of improved curricula and teaching and learning materials in the Tibetan language; implemented activities that strengthen science education, increased parental involvement in child learning and improved student test preparation skills; and invested in critical facility improvements and basic operations support for targeted vulnerable schools. The project provided in-service and pre-service training for over 1,000 teachers and school principals in modern pedagogy and Tibetan language, and developed the capacity of DoE staff in results-based management. The project supported the translation of textbooks and teaching materials into Tibetan language, established student-led mobile science exhibitions, provided coaching to help students prepare for exams and certification, developed draft guidelines for Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), and provided operational support to the most vulnerable schools while they explore options for stable long-term funding.
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INDIA & NEPAL
Enhancing Education for Tibetan Youth (EETY)
Global Affairs Canada – $5.4M CAD
The Enhancing Education for Tibetan Youth Project – EETY – is building the capacity of the Tibetan refugee education system in India and Nepal, which includes 68 schools and an enrollment of approximately 19,000 students. Implemented by Alinea, and in cooperation with the Central Tibetan Administration, this project builds on the achievements of the Improving Education Quality and Learning for Tibetan Children Project in India and Nepal, which ran between 2015 and 2017. EETY addresses the need to improve academic achievement and student preparedness through building a supportive home and school climate. The project is working to enhance the capacities of school leaders, teachers, counsellors, parent-teacher association members and parents to support female and male students’ all-round development. In line with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, the project works toward adoption of gender-responsive and inclusive teaching practices, and improving planning and management practices that promote cultural and linguistic preservation and better prepare Tibetan youth for the transition to work and post-secondary education.
More on EETY:
Alinea Launches New Education for Tibetan Youth Project.
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PAKISTAN
Canada-Pakistan HIV/AIDS Surveillance Project (HASP)
Global Affairs Canada
The HIV/AIDS Surveillance Project (HASP) developed a sustainable, scientifically-sound surveillance system for HIV/AIDS among the most at-risk populations in Pakistan. The goal of the project was to improve the quality and delivery of social services provided by the Government of Pakistan, and to increase public access to those services, especially for vulnerable women and men. HASP took a systems-oriented approach by working at different levels of the health sector in 14 cities and integrating mapping as well as behavioural and biological surveillance approaches. By improving the evidence base for planning HIV prevention and care services, HASP built the capacity of Pakistan’s Ministry of Health in procurement and management of HIV surveillance expertise, operational risk assessment, the use of surveillance information to plan and improve HIV/AIDS policies and programs for vulnerable women and men, and the quality and efficiency of health systems overall. HASP also worked on improving both the use of and demand for surveillance information from health care providers and service-delivery NGOs. Surveillance data generated by HASP has been used for national and provincial reporting, strategy development and program planning, as well as by donors including World Bank and UNAIDS for planning and monitoring.
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PAKISTAN
Systems-Oriented Health Investment Program (SOHIP)
Global Affairs Canada
The goal of Systems-Oriented Health Investment Program (SOHIP) was to improve the quality and delivery of primary health care, especially for the female population, and to increase access to health services by poor women, children and men in Punjab province, Pakistan. The purpose of the project was to support the implementation of decentralized health services with particular attention to women’s health, through systems strengthening. SOHIP focused in three thematic areas: building health promotion capacity and systems; strengthening district-based planning and management systems; and increasing attention to gender and equity issues in the health sector.
Alinea adopted a holistic approach, working to address different domains of the health sector, such as the structure of service delivery, demand generation, resource management, financing and stewardship. Direct results of SOHIP include: increased use of Primary Health Care services by clients due to improved quality of basic health services; strengthened, women-friendly health systems at the provincial and district levels; and strengthened capacity of the federal and provincial health departments, district-level governments and civil society groups to respond to the health needs of the poor through improved policy formulation, planning, human resource development, management and supervision.
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REGIONAL ASIA/AFRICA
M&E System Design and Baseline Survey Implementation for the Program for Advancing Human Development in Asia and Africa (PAHDAA)
Global Affairs Canada
The Program for Advancing Human Development in Asia and Africa (PAHDAA) is a USD $99M project funded by the Canadian Government, and implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada and its country partners within the Aga Khan Development Network. PAHDAA encompassed six separate sub-projects across Asia and Africa (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) including initiatives in education, health, civil society strengthening, and public engagement on international development issues with Canadians. Alinea designed the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) system for PAHDAA and its sub-projects, including all logic models, Performance Measurement Frameworks, work plans, data collection tools, manuals and databases. Alinea also implemented the baseline surveys for four of the PAHDAA sub-projects (education, health, civil society and institutional partnerships).
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SOUTH ASIA REGIONAL
Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Nepal)
Asian Development Bank
The purpose of this project was to support efforts to combat trafficking of women and children in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal and to identify how future ADB programming and policy dialogue can support anti-trafficking activities. Alinea carried out a comprehensive analysis of the factors that facilitate the demand and supply of trafficking and of the potential for addressing vulnerabilities in the context of ADB’s policies and ADB-assisted projects. Alinea evaluated how different types of anti-trafficking activities already underway could be used in ADB poverty reduction programming to combat trafficking of women and children, and provided an overview of the trends and scope of trafficking in order to encourage targeted ADB poverty reduction programming in areas where communities are particularly vulnerable to trafficking.
Through the project, Alinea facilitated two exchange programs to strengthen regional anti-trafficking commitments and to integrate trafficking prevention initiatives into poverty reduction programming, and sponsored a regional workshop at ADB Headquarters in Manila at the end of the project. The project developed several tools to assist in mainstreaming, including individual country papers as well as a report on regional findings and legal frameworks that identified a number of key opportunities for ADB to more effectively mainstream trafficking concerns into all levels of ADB operations.
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SRI LANKA
National Languages Equality Advancement Project (NLEAP)
Global Affairs Canada – $10M CAD
The National Languages Equality Advancement Project – NLEAP – builds on the success of the National Languages Project, implemented by Alinea between 2010 and 2015. This project works to reduce poverty and improve economic and social equality of Tamil- and Sinhala-speaking women and men throughout Sri Lanka by strengthening the implementation of the Sri Lankan Official Languages Policy and enhancing acceptance by Sri Lankan women and men of the cultural diversity and bilingual nature of their country.
Working with government and civil society organizations, the project team works to strengthen gender-sensitive bilingual communication skills of public servants; improve the capacity of key ministries (national and provincial) to deliver public services in both official languages (Sinhala and Tamil), especially in bilingual communities; increase the effectiveness of the Official Languages Commission; increase awareness of language diversity and language rights; and increase the ability of citizens to communicate in the official languages. This project includes the development and implementation of a gender strategy and integration of governance considerations through a variety of measures.
More on NLEAP:
Alinea Awarded National Languages Equality Advancement Project in Sri Lanka
SRI LANKA
Institutional Strengthening for Comprehensive Water Resources Management
Asian Development Bank
Alinea provided support to the Government of Sri Lanka to establish an improved institutional framework for water sector operations. The project goal was to improve water resources management for all subsector uses throughout the country in support of sustainable socio-economic development. The project’s Action Plan involved five major sub-components: development of a national water resource policy; development of a National Water Act and regulations; strengthening of water sector institutions, including development of a long-term sector coordination mechanism, sector organization recommendations, and strengthening of water agency management; development of a sector information management strategy; and development of a national procedure for comprehensive river basin planning. Alinea’s Technical Advisor provided ongoing technical advice, which included: monitoring Action Plan implementation; establishing and supporting the national Water Resources Council and Water Resources Secretariat; providing support in all areas of the Action Plan; preparing the project’s training and capacity building program; assisting in the preparation of terms of reference and in the selection of project short-term consultants; and developing linkages with other water sector projects and relevant institutions in Sri Lanka.
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SRI LANKA
National Languages Project
Global Affairs Canada
The National Languages Project responded to Sri Lanka’s need to enhance relations between Sinhala and Tamil speaking citizens through increasing access to government services in both official languages, while fostering respect for language rights, linguistic diversity and post-conflict social cohesion. Alinea provided technical assistance to the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration (MNLSI) to support the gender-sensitive implementation of the Official Languages Policy by co- developing strategic plans and piloting innovative practices for OLP integration across all government institutions, improving bilingual public services, establishing a Translation Centre with an in-service training program for translators, mainstreaming gender sensitivity in the MNLSI, and establishing institutional linkages with official language institutions of the Canadian government. NLP also worked with the University of Ottawa and the University of Colombo to launch a translation degree program, and managed a Public Engagement Fund that provided funding to civil society organizations and community groups to develop projects in local language rights and bilingualism. End of project results included increased opportunities for citizens to be served in the official language of their choice, increased respect and appreciation for language rights in Sri Lanka, and improved social cohesion and stability.