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Regional Multidisciplinary Centre of Excellence (RMCE) Feasibility Study

Location/Client: Mauritius/Regional, World Bank
Time frame: February - June 2007

Objective: Establish feasibility of a capacity-building centre for Southern and Eastern Africa to cope with challenges of globalisation

Activities: Assess:

• Capacity-building needs and delivery capacity
• Sectoral focus
• Geographic and institutional coverage
• Governance structures
• Staffing and infrastructural needs
• Funding arrangements

Africa contains many small, vulnerable countries with scarce natural resources, including island states and landlocked ones. Most countries have environmental, economic and political vulnerabilities; they often have scarce resources and, if middle income countries, may face phasing out of donor-funded capacity-building initiatives. In addition to poverty- and governance-related issues, a range of economic and trade issues confront many African economies, notably phasing out of preferential agricultural quotas and trade liberalization.

This continent-wide situation indicates a need for high-end training and capacity-building in a variety of aspects of macroeconomic management. The objective of the feasibility study currently being carried out by Educo is to assess the feasibility of establishing a Regional Multidisciplinary Center of Excellence in Mauritius to serve as a capacity-building hub for a sub-set of countries in Southern and Eastern Africa to deal with these needs.

The study has been required to assess several key issues, including:

• regional capacity-building needs over large parts of Africa
• regional delivery capacity
• the sectoral focus for a possible center
• geographical coverage
• possible governance arrangements
• and funding.

f a center is determined to be feasible, Educo will develop a project proposal with a detailed financial plan that can be submitted for European Union funding.