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EDUCO: GOVERNANCE,
LAW AND JUSTICE
From 1997 to 2002, Educo managed an Institutional Strenthening
Project for the Papua New Guinea Ombudsman Commission, funded by
the Australian Government through AusAID.
Educo, in association with the Queensland Ombudsman Office and
the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption, won
the right to design and implement this project through competitive
tender. As it was the company’s first bid for an AusAID project,
at that time Educo had an enviable 100% success rate in tendering
for AusAID projects. Regrettably, it didn’t last long!
Educo’s design for the project, developed in close cooperation
with the Ombudsman Commission, was very innovative. It was the first
AusAID “design and implement” project to reach implementation,
and avoided the usual delay between design and implementation.
 
Through the leadership of the Chief Ombudsmen, Simon Pentanu and
later Ila Geno, supported by the late Sir John Robertson, KCMG CBE,
Educo’s Project Director, the Commission reinvented itself
as an organisation. It now works to a strategic plan, budgets via
annual plans and reports against its own performance criteria. Although
it’s public awareness campaign resulted in vastly increased
demand for its services, the Commission’s productivity increased
by more than 50% over the life of the project. The project provided
$A750,000 of computer equipment, software and support. All Commission
staff were trained to be computer literate and a gender equity policy
and career paths for women were introduced to the Commission.
By any measure and according to subsequent evaluations, the project
was highly successful and the changes have been sustained.
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