In preparation to the USAID/Morocco 50th anniversary celebration in April 2007, USAID carried out an assessment of its participant training activities since 1960, when the first Moroccan participants were trained in the United States or third countries.  The objective of this assessment was to highlight USAID’s 50 years of investment in Morocco’s human resources through various bi-lateral projects.  The assessment findings are based on data analysis, questionnaires and focus group discussions.  Some quantitative findings include:

• Between 1960 and 2005 well over 4000 short- and long-term trainees have been documented for the period (USAID’s training database);
• Between 1978 and 1998, 900 Moroccans “cadres” (18% female) from a wide range of Ministries and some from the private sector attended Master’s (some PhD) level and short-term technical training in the United States through three large-scale “umbrella” training projects

• The total funding of the three projects alone reached $42 million (supplemented by air fares and other contributions provided by the GOM);
• The average cost per US Master’s degree at the time was $40,000, $100,000 for a PhD.
• Candidates were chosen by a joint selection committee from amongst applicants who met basic criteria, demonstration of at least three years of professional experience and a minimum level of English.

• Between 1969 and 1997 the agriculture sector benefited from training to support dry land agriculture, agribusiness promotion, range management improvement, and others.
• 132 faculty received PhD degrees and 250 students received a Master’s through the institution building “Minnesota project”, with the Institute for Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (IAV) and the National Institute of Agriculture (ENA).
• The Health sector benefited from short-term training for the Ministry’s managerial and technical staff, in family planning and maternal and child health and for the future staff of the National Institute for Public Health (INAS).
• Towards the mid-nineties, much of the short-term training was implemented in Morocco, directly related to USAID technical assistance projects;
• Between 1999 and 2005 60 “cadres” of the National Agency for Telecommunications Reform (ANRT) attended a variety of two-week courses in the US.

The conclusions of the assessment go well beyond the rough numbers
The main points that consistently emerged from focus groups include:

• The long-term US experience had a significant personal impact, which has profoundly affected attitudes and consistently appeared as a major influence in both personal and professional life.
• Participants uniformly reported that the experience of living and learning in the US was a life-changing experience due at least as much to the different American cultural and educational attitudes they encountered and absorbed, as to specific skills and information they acquired.
• Mastery of English was an unanticipated benefit from the participants’ experience which has helped many of them to succeed in their careers and professions.
• Two different types of attitudinal changes were cited repeatedly; firstly, attitudes towards work, and secondly, social and cultural attitudes.
• The trainees speak with deep affection and admiration for American ways, of individual friends and colleagues, and of how the experience changed their lives for the better, not only professionally.
• Interviewees were unanimous in wanting to stay in touch with each other through a network, and with the US government institutions in Morocco.
• Participants unanimously request that USAID sponsor a Participants Network that will allow them to know one another and contact one another for support or assistance in their professions.
• Many US-trained professionals see themselves as a pool of excellent cultural ambassadors for the US located throughout numerous institutions

Personal story

Mr. Mohamed Tabyaoui, Director, Department of General Affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs relates that he was personally very influenced by American results- oriented decision making, the openness to new ideas and methods, the egalitarianism of the society, teamwork, hard work and self reliance in work and life. His US training bolstered his ability to develop and implement projects in his ministry, in particular collecting and applying data for improved decision making. While it took a long time and a struggle to get his ideas accepted and impose new practices in his Ministry, his own experience demonstrated that if you are determined it is possible, in particular when the leadership decides to make changes. He personally takes credit for the analyses that led to the government’s decision to enact the campaign for literacy.

Mrs. Raja Ghannam completed her MA in International Relations in the US after serving two years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While it was not easy to change mentalities upon her reintegration in the Ministry, it was possible, given supportive leadership. She has contributed to policy changes and productivity improvements in her own department but believes that the number of staff sent to the US from her Ministry was probably too limited to have a significant institutional impact and few trainees reached senior decision making positions. She, however, made a huge professional leap in her career thanks to her American training and language skills, and was assigned as a diplomat to the permanent mission of Morocco to the United Nations. She currently serves as Director of Multilateral Cooperation.