Oral Presentations - Session 2E: UC 332
AFRICA-U.S. PROJECT DIRECTORS IN HED PARTNERSHIP AWARDS
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Peter Koehn
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Political Science
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Finding solutions to help Africa prosper and grow in this globalizing world has long been sought after. One area that has received increased support is developing higher education opportunities in Africa. In 2008, USAID announced it would provide one million dollars for planning grants for U.S. higher education institutions and their sub-Saharan African institution partners. 300 applicants applied and 33 partnerships received awards. These partnerships require dedicated individuals leading the projects, making the role of project directors crucial. My research focuses on these individuals involved in the partnerships. Each project is led by a U.S. project director and an African project director. Working with Professor Peter Koehn, we tracked down the names and emails of 46 of the 66 co-project directors, with all U.S. project directors being found. Next we created a survey that asked the project directors about their objectives for the partnership, prior relations with their partner project director, the principal initiator of each one, and other similar questions. Twenty-four project directors responded to the survey. Analysis of this data provides insight into the key roles the project directors have in the initiation of the partnership projects. Understanding their involvement may help in determining characteristics that are important for future higher education partnerships.
Category
Social Sciences
AFRICA-U.S. PROJECT DIRECTORS IN HED PARTNERSHIP AWARDS
UC 332
Finding solutions to help Africa prosper and grow in this globalizing world has long been sought after. One area that has received increased support is developing higher education opportunities in Africa. In 2008, USAID announced it would provide one million dollars for planning grants for U.S. higher education institutions and their sub-Saharan African institution partners. 300 applicants applied and 33 partnerships received awards. These partnerships require dedicated individuals leading the projects, making the role of project directors crucial. My research focuses on these individuals involved in the partnerships. Each project is led by a U.S. project director and an African project director. Working with Professor Peter Koehn, we tracked down the names and emails of 46 of the 66 co-project directors, with all U.S. project directors being found. Next we created a survey that asked the project directors about their objectives for the partnership, prior relations with their partner project director, the principal initiator of each one, and other similar questions. Twenty-four project directors responded to the survey. Analysis of this data provides insight into the key roles the project directors have in the initiation of the partnership projects. Understanding their involvement may help in determining characteristics that are important for future higher education partnerships.