COL in the Commonwealth

Abstract

COL in the Commonwealth: 2012-2015 Country Reports summarises COL’s activities over the last three years (2012-2015) and captures what we have achieved in each Member State and across the Commonwealth. This volume is the result of a collaborative process that began in 2011 with extensive partner consultations. Following these consultations, a Country Action Plan was developed to guide COL’s work in each country. The reports contained in this volume describe the implementation of these plans and highlight COL’s achievements during this three year plan. The reports cover all Member States of the Commonwealth, showing not only what COL has done in developing countries but also how its work aligns with the international development priorities of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The reports are grouped under four regions: Africa and the Mediterranean, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Each regional section contains a brief regional report as well as the reports for each country within that region. The Pan-Commonwealth section describes COL’s Initiatives, under the two sectors: ‘Education’ and ‘Livelihoods and Health’. The reports for this triennium categorise COL activities according to our five core strategies: partnerships, capacity, materials, models and policy, in order to better present how our work contributes to outcomes. ‘COL in Action’ highlights real life examples to illustrate how COL’s work impacts on people, groups and institutions in developing countries. Most of the initiatives that COL pursued during this triennium are showing demonstrable results in expanding and improving opportunities for education and training, building healthier communities, helping rural communities achieve greater prosperity, and contributing to skills development. As the external Impact Evaluation report states: ‘COL has had a major impact on individuals including farmers…faculty members, institutional leaders in formal and non-formal learning, selected policy makers and educational administrators’(S. Murgatroyd with J. Tully, 2015). The external Outcome Evaluation concludes that ‘all the Initiatives moved successfully forward, on time and within budget’ (N. Kemp and G. Farrell, 2015). Both evaluations confirm that COL is highly respected and well regarded in the field. The production of COL in the Commonwealth: 2012-2015 Country Reports was made possible through collective effort and collaboration. Partners on the ground have diligently provided updates to COL. COL staff have tracked and assessed results obtained from partners through a thorough monitoring and evaluation process. COL’s advanced knowledge management systems have enabled us to capture information from numerous sources and synthesise this into the reports that make up this volume. I must particularly commend Alexis Carr for her diligent work in filtering the masses of raw data and converting them into a coherent and meaningful narrative.