The proposed role of the Association of African Universities (AAU) : Enabling access to more bandwidth at lower cost.

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The proposed role of the Association of African
Universities (AAU) Enabling access to more
bandwidth at lower cost.

• African Research Education Networking Workshop,
  CERN
• 25 27 Sept 2005
• F F Tusubira and Nora K Mulira
• tusu_at_dicts.mak.ac.ug nora_at_dicts.mak.ac.ug

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Contents ..

• The Starting Point..
• Issues
• Gaps, Lessons, and Emerging Direction

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Key references that guided report

• BAND-ITs, and AVU follow-on Reports
• ATICS Report- ICT infrastructure survey
• PAREN Report- Research instn networking
• AUBC Discussion List-
• Discussions IDRC Sida, Connectivity Africa
  Partnership for Higher Education in Africa
  Association of African Universities
• (T Blair) Commission for Africa Report
• Best Practice (KENET, TENET) our experience.

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Issues Examined

• The Need for Bandwidth?
• Pre-conditions for Efficient Exploitation
• Capacity for efficient utilisation
• Access to Internet vs Intra-African BW detrench
  airline syndrome
• Supply level management issues
• Procurement issues
• Consumer Consortia Development Partner
  Consortia Suppliers Consortia.
• Different policy, regulatory, and technology
  environments

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The Challenge.
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• Lessons, Gaps and Emerging Directions

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Cost and required intervention..

• Put cost in Perspective 50 times more or de
  facto 5,000 time more? There are generic drugs
  but no generic bandwidth.
• Relates to level and duration of financial
  intervention
• No quick fix solution - Development partners will
  have to take the courageous and correct decision
  if the intention is to create some measure of
  equity, sufficient resources must be invested,
  including recurrent support (on a phasing out
  basis), for some time

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Consumer Consortia Leadership

• Identification of acceptable and relevant high
  level home a major challenge in any consortium
• Key Requirements Ownership and Trust
• Association of African Universities is a widely
  accepted forum legitimate home
• AAU members formally decided to take on this
  initiative
• Where/If there is lack of capacity, the
  sustainable approach is to build it, not to
  create parallel institutions

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Governance and Operations

• Executive Council of 7 Policy direction and
  monitoring
• Chair from AAU (Secretary General)
• Representing AAU Members 2
• Representing Continental policy level 1 from
  either AU or NEPAD
• Representing Development Partners 2
• Representing multinational learning or research
  networks in Africa 1
• Secretariat (2)whose capacity has to be built
• Short term engage/contract an external party as
  Agent answerable to AAU.

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Combine Bottom up and Top Down (1)

• Bottom Up
• Support the start or the strengthening of
  national level consortia/ integration, the basic
  building block
• Support start or strengthening multi-national
  level integration through associations of
  institutions in politico-economic groupings (eg
  the Inter-University for East Africa in the EAC).
• At the continental level, it is likely to be a
  marriage of common approaches rather than common
  solutions.

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Combine Bottom up and Top Down (2)

• Top Down (AAU)
• Spearhead a Master Plan that will provide both
  African Institutions and Development Partners
  with a coordinated and coherent implementation
  framework
• Document and give guidance of best practice
  approaches
• Mobilise funding
• Be the continental implementing organisation

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Combine Bottom up and Top Down (3)

• Top Down (AAU) - ctd
• Lobby at the regional and continental level to
  promote favourable policy and regulatory
  frameworks
• Work with consortia to increasingly add value
  until the main focus of consortia is the higher
  level motivation of networked learning, research
  and community outreach
• Monitoring and evaluation

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Development Partners

• Is it realistic to expect development partners to
  put funds into a common pot in the short term?
  No, but
• .. they will fund different elements of a
  coordinated master plan, with entry points at the
  institutional, national, or multi-national level
• Should come out clearly with their positions to
  avoid false starts..
• Should cede, and be seen to cede direction and
  control to the African institutions (within an
  agreed framework)

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Getting started ..(1)

• Acceptance by the stakeholders of AAU as the home
  of the initiative
• Defining and establishment of the Executive
  Council under the auspices of the AAU. (Put in
  place an Interim Executive Council chaired by the
  Secretary General of the AAU)
• Establishment of a lean secretariat
• Definition of the Master Plan

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Getting started ..(2)

• Discussion and Adoption of the Master Plan by
  Stakeholders (Through Executive Council and a
  formal meeting of stakeholders)
• Mobilisation of funding
• Engagement of an Agent if that is an option
  agreed by the Executive Council
• Rolling out the Master Plan
• Short work plan and indicative budget..
• THANK YOU!