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Budget Justification
FY 2001
>> Return to Home Page >> Central Programs >> Global Programs >> Human Capacity
CENTER FOR HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
Human Capacity Developed Through Education and Training (G/HCD)
Land, labor and capital were once thought to be the key building blocks of economic growth. Expand production enough and development would occur, perhaps even to be sustained. Little thought was given to the quality of the building blocks, or changes that might be necessary over time.
The late 20th century illuminated the complexities of development. Many countries with abundant land, labor and even capital found themselves still mired in poverty, with little prospect of sustainable growth. A few - - even some with much less land and labor - - developed rapidly based on strong export performance. From these cases, it was possible to isolate factors contributing to development success or failure.
- It is the quality, not merely the quantity, of labor that matters.
- Investment in human capacity (skills) development is one of the prerequisites for growth and development.
- The highest returns flow from investments in basic education, i.e., literacy, numeracy and problem-solving capacity. These skills allow increased labor force participation and productivity, participation in civil society, and better environmental protection.
- Basic education for girls and women provides the highest returns of all, adding to the above list significantly lowered fertility rates and improved family health and nutrition.
- Returns to secondary and higher education and professional training are also considerable. Universal primary education, coupled with secondary education coverage approaching 50%, is highly correlated with rapid economic growth. Moreover, in today's increasingly global and technological marketplace, the value of focused workforce skills development and higher education is rising rapidly.
- As the Industrial Age gives way to the Information Age, many believe that the "Digital Divide", i.e., the opportunity gap between those who can and cannot use information technology effectively, will be one of the key development challenges of the 21st century.
It is in the mutual interest of the U.S. and of recipient nations that developing countries establish fully accessible, effective, and broadly participatory public and private education systems and training institutions that can provide their people with avenues for personal advancement and opportunities for prosperity. Strategic and flexible investments in basic and higher education, workforce development, professional training and information technology are required for national development -- and U.S. national security -- in the 21st century.
Through Global's Center for Human Capacity Development, central programs address these problems with four objectives that support USAID's third goal, "Human Capacity Development through Education and Training."
935-001. Improved and expanded basic education, especially for girls, women and other under-served populations.
U.S. Financing Table for 935-001 (Microsoft Excel Document - 28 kb)
Although many countries are making progress in expanding access to basic education, particularly for girls and women, progress is unacceptably slow in some regions, notably sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Even where access is expanding, quality often remains poor, and equity unachieved. Missed opportunities for improved early childhood development, poorly qualified teachers laboring for low pay amid deteriorated infrastructures, weak or irrelevant curricula, inadequate or skewed education financing and management systems, and lack of parental and community involvement in educational planning are key quality and equity issues. Moreover, in nations undergoing crisis and transition, educational systems often disintegrate first, despite the need for focused educational investments to break the cycle of violence and lay the foundation for broad-based growth. Millions of children are engaged in abusive child labor and require new opportunities for education. To address these concerns, central programs have: developed guidelines for supporting educational reform for Africa; documented and disseminated lessons learned from key education reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean; and developed new educational products, including software packages for data collection and analysis by ministries of education to enable more effective targeting of scarce resources. Additionally, with central program support, USAID is assisting policymakers in several countries in Africa and Latin America to conduct assessments, plan programs and apply classroom-level practices designed to improve the quality of basic education for children (particularly girls) and adults. A special new initiative, "School Works!", is targeting children in abusive child labor. Greater emphasis is also being placed on early childhood education, distance learning and the development of sustainable community learning centers. Beginning in FY 2000, central programs will target countries in crisis and transition to help prevent the collapse or deterioration of basic education systems in these countries.
935-002. Higher education strengthens the capacity of institutions, communities and individuals to meet local and national development needs.
U.S. Financing Table for 935-002 (Microsoft Excel Document - 28 kb)
USAID's programs employ a number of tools for the implementation of specific bilateral development objectives. Partnerships between U.S. and host country institutions of higher education are a key tool. USAID's central programs recognize that colleges and universities in many developing and transitional countries are underperforming in their proper roles and could, with assistance, be key players in training the next generation of political and professional leaders, conducting critical scientific and social research, and finding solutions to local and national development problems. Centrally supported higher education partnerships match strong American higher education institutions with sister institutions overseas to achieve mutual development goals through research, teaching and faculty development, often with U.S. or local private sector support. Special attention is being paid to achieving broader and more equitable access, diversifying funding, using distance learning tools, and linking higher education to key development problems. In addition, centrally developed workforce development partnerships support sectoral appraisals and market-driven, cost-effective education and training programs that meet the needs of employers and communities while building on the strengths of service-oriented training institutions, such as community colleges.
935-003. Training improves work performance of host country trainees and effectiveness of host country organizations.
U.S. Financing Table for 935-003 (Microsoft Excel Document - 28 kb)
Since USAID's creation, one of the Agency's most important investments in sustainable development has been the training, both in the United States and in host countries, of hundreds of thousands of public and private sector leaders and decision-makers from countries receiving U.S. assistance. Until very recently, the bulk of training funds was spent in bringing students to the United States for academic training. As local institutions developed (usually with USAID-financed, U.S.-trained faculty), bilateral assistance budgets declined, and the cost of academic programs skyrocketed, there has been a strong recent trend toward large-scale in-country training. The emphasis of in-country training has been on technical and managerial skills to support specific national and project objectives and institutional strengthening. Distance training has also become a new and revitalizing means of delivering training programs. Nevertheless, there remains a need for some continued financing of U.S.-based academic and other training to develop leadership and professional skills, e.g., in Africa and in parts of Europe and Eurasia. Central programs are facilitating the replication of the successful Africa model (ATLAS) for other regions, including a strong financial and managerial commitment by U.S. universities to bring costs down and enhance the value of the training experience. Despite these efforts, however, USAID anticipates that the bulk of the Agency's future training focus will be on upgrading and regulating the quality of host country training institutions. These activities will both protect earlier substantial USAID investments in U.S.-based training and ensure the longer-term sustainability of USAID's training effort. Central programs will also continue to fine-tune U.S. and host country training activities to improve policies and quality, lower costs, simplify administration, promulgate "best practices" to increase the skills of individuals and the effectiveness of key organizations, and ensure accountability while continuing to champion America's leadership position in international education and training. USAID coordinates its training programs with U.S. Information Agency and other U.S. federal agencies through the Inter-Agency Working Group on International Exchanges and Training.
935-004. Expanded access to and application of information and telecommunications services.
U.S. Financing Table for 935-004 (Microsoft Excel Document - 28 kb)
Issues pertaining to the "Digital Divide" will be a key part of the development agenda in the early 21st century, especially as nations compete for success in the global marketplace increasingly on the basis of their information technology capacity. Central programs promote open, market-based national communications systems and state-of-the-art applications, including distance learning, community-based information systems and multi-media training systems, as well as e-commerce in support of sustainable development objectives. Through innovative partnerships, USAID harnesses and delivers the expertise and entrepreneurship of American telecommunications and information technology industries on critical applications, and key agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission to help create the enabling environment for expanded telecommunications access, quality and affordability. Beginning in FY 2000, USAID central programs will seek to stimulate and channel an expanded portfolio of USAID-financed information technology efforts to ensure that U.S. development efforts take full advantage of evolving technologies and help aid-recipient nations to span the "Digital Divide."
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Last Updated on: September 18, 2000 |
