Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) AFRICA | Western Africa | Education Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Specific Investment Loan | FY 2014 | Seq No: 5 | ARCHIVED on 23-Jun-2016 | ISR24180 | Implementing Agencies: National University Commision, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministery of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education, Association of African Universities, Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Ministry of Higher Education, Cameroon, National Commission for Tertiary Education, NCTE, Ghana, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date:15-Apr-2014 Effectiveness Date:16-May-2014 Planned Mid Term Review Date:01-Jun-2016 Actual Mid-Term Review Date:17-Nov-2014 Original Closing Date:31-Dec-2018 Revised Closing Date:31-Dec-2019 Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The Project Development Objective is to support the Recipients to promote regional specialization among participating universitiesin areas that address regional challenges by strengthening the capacities of these universities to deliver quality training andapplied research. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No PHRPDODEL Components Name Component 1: Strengthening Africa Centers of Excellence:(Cost $155.80 M) Component 2: Enhancing Regional Capacity; Evaluation and Collaboration:(Cost $9.20 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO  Satisfactory  Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP)  Moderately Satisfactory  Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating  Moderate  Moderate 6/23/2016 Page 1 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) Implementation Status and Key Decisions Status The project has continued strong implementation with many hard-won gains and individual ACEs showing signs of true excellence in their specific areas of strength. These include publication in high-impact journals, new partnerships with industry, movement of teachers and students across international borders[LSM1] through exchange and study programs, external revenue generation, and new student intake. Perhaps most importantly, most ACEs benefit from smart, dynamic students as well as strong and coherent teams. Efforts to accelerate progress towards international evaluation and accreditation is also paying off. Status The project has continued strong implementation with many hard-won gains and individual ACEs showing signs of true excellence in their specific areas of strength. These include publication in high-impact journals, new partnerships with industry, movement of teachers and students across international borders[LSM1] through exchange and study programs, external revenue generation, and new student intake. Perhaps most importantly, most ACEs benefit from smart, dynamic students as well as strong and coherent teams. Efforts to accelerate progress towards international evaluation and accreditation is also paying off. Progress to date on each of the PDO-level indicators is as follows: (i and ii) 5,258 students are enrolled in new specialized short-term courses, Master and PhD programs of which 1,711 students are regional students; (iii) 1,020 students have undergone an internship/placement of at least one month; (iv) the ACEs generated external revenue in the amount of US$15.8 million; and (v) the number of internationally accredited programs is one (2iE in Burkina Faso). These figures were provided by the ACEs themselves. Verification of the figures for disbursement purposes (as they are DLIs) is taking place with the third-party verification (TPV) agency having completing the verification of 5 pilot ACEs [LSM1] and the remaining 14 expected to be completed by September. This is likely to lead to downward adjustments to these figures. That being said, progress on the indicators has improved since the last supervision mission in November 2015 with achievement observed on all the PDO-level indicators and being on track for year 1 targets. Therefore, progress towards achievement of the PDO continues to be rated Satisfactory. Operational progress A key challenge was the disbursement delay and shortage of dollars for Nigerian ACEs due to the country’s exchange rate and the single treasury account[LSM1] . The project finally resolved this challenge in June 2016 and now all centers have received advances including the 10 centers in Nigeria. The operationalization of the results-based financing is also settling in with verification on-going and better shared understanding of the definition of the results. The M&E framework has been strengthened through the regular process of presenting the performance on key indicators in a timely and reliable manner as this then leads to joint identification of strengths and weaknesses and, in turn, informs decision making in key areas. Government supervision and facilitation is taking shape in most countries, and regional supervision through the Association of African Universities (AAU), the academic experts and the World Bank is more regular and effective. ACEs’ understanding of fiduciary rules and reporting for the project is improving. Further, university-ACE integration is improving. . Challenges The ACEs need to accelerate the use of funds, notably in the purchase of major equipment and funding of civil works activities. Further, the (expected) longer term challenges closely linked to the project’s objective remain: promoting stronger link between education and research on one side with Industry and development needs on the other side; recruiting regional students; raising learning outcomes of graduates and overall quality of programs to international levels; and generating adequate revenue. Also, around half of the ACEs needs to increase funds utilization[LSM1] of the funds that have been disbursed to them so far. This relates to the continued need to improve operational aspect of the project, notably information sharing, M&E reporting and usage, communication, financial management, and procurement at all levels (the Bank, regional facilitation, government, university and at the ACE level).[LSM2] If these challenges significantly improve in the next six months, and the first education results-based disbursements are released as expected as a result of achievements on DLIs, then it is anticipated that the implementation progress rating will be upgraded to Satisfactory The full functioning of the RFU has room for improvement. The main functions of the RFU include overall facilitation and aggregated monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Thus far, the RFU has implemented a number of activities with strong support from the Bank task team. However, there have been several challenges in the RFU’s performance on some of its tasks including delays in responses to ACEs and the hiring of the consultants for the verification of results, cost-effectiveness as well as team-cohesion. Budget reporting, cost-effectiveness and timely replies are improving. The Bank task team continues to proactively review these challenges with the AAU. Following several discussion between the Bank team and AAU and most recently the steering committee meeting in Accra , revisions to the AAU staffing terms of reference (TORs) are currently being undertaken with the RFU staffing structure keeping to the AAU governance structure. In terms of fiduciary and safeguards, the project is rated moderately satisfactory. The project’s first set of annual results (timely procurement and financial audits as well as internal audit review among others) are due on June 30, 2016. The ACEs are fully aware of the expected results, but a number of steps are required. One IFR is overdue (Benin) and needs to be submitted urgently, and 3 are due by end December 2016. Procurement is progressing in the ACEs and there is good communication between the Bank team and the teams, where inquiries regarding procedures are being answered. The team plans at least one in-depth financial review in FY17. Each ACE has been asked to ensure the World Bank’s approval of any construction and five centers have been in contact with the Bank on safeguards review, and more are coming. No safeguard issues are expected related to campus construction Progress to date on each of the PDO-level indicators is as follows: (i and ii) 5,258 students are enrolled in new specialized short-term courses, Master and PhD programs of which 1,711 students are regional students; (iii) 1,020 students have undergone an internship/placement of at least one month; 6/23/2016 Page 2 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) (iv) the ACEs generated external revenue in the amount of US$15.8 million; and (v) the number of internationally accredited programs is one (2iE in Burkina Faso). These figures were provided by the ACEs themselves. Verification of the figures for disbursement purposes (as they are DLIs) is taking place with the third-party verification (TPV) agency having completing the verification of 5 pilot ACEs [LSM1] and the remaining 14 expected to be completed by September. This is likely to lead to downward adjustments to these figures. That being said, progress on the indicators has improved since the last supervision mission in November 2015 with achievement observed on all the PDO-level indicators and being on track for year 1 targets. Therefore, progress towards achievement of the PDO continues to be rated Satisfactory. Operational progress A key challenge was the disbursement delay and shortage of dollars for Nigerian ACEs due to the country’s exchange rate and the single treasury account[LSM1] . The project finally resolved this challenge in June 2016 and now all centers have received advances including the 10 centers in Nigeria. The operationalization of the results-based financing is also settling in with verification on-going and better shared understanding of the definition of the results. The M&E framework has been strengthened through the regular process of presenting the performance on key indicators in a timely and reliable manner as this then leads to joint identification of strengths and weaknesses and, in turn, informs decision making in key areas. Government supervision and facilitation is taking shape in most countries, and regional supervision through the Association of African Universities (AAU), the academic experts and the World Bank is more regular and effective. ACEs’ understanding of fiduciary rules and reporting for the project is improving. Further, university-ACE integration is improving. . Challenges The ACEs need to accelerate the use of funds, notably in the purchase of major equipment and funding of civil works activities. Further, the (expected) longer term challenges closely linked to the project’s objective remain: promoting stronger link between education and research on one side with Industry and development needs on the other side; recruiting regional students; raising learning outcomes of graduates and overall quality of programs to international levels; and generating adequate revenue. Also, around half of the ACEs needs to increase funds utilization[LSM1] of the funds that have been disbursed to them so far. This relates to the continued need to improve operational aspect of the project, notably information sharing, M&E reporting and usage, communication, financial management, and procurement at all levels (the Bank, regional facilitation, government, university and at the ACE level).[LSM2] If these challenges significantly improve in the next six months, and the first education results-based disbursements are released as expected as a result of achievements on DLIs, then it is anticipated that the implementation progress rating will be upgraded to Satisfactory In terms of fiduciary and safeguards, the project is rated moderately satisfactory. The project’s first set of annual results (timely procurement and financial audits as well as internal audit review among others) are due on June 30, 2016. The ACEs are fully aware of the expected results, but a number of steps are required. One IFR is overdue (Benin) and needs to be submitted urgently, and 3 are due by end December 2016. Procurement is progressing in the ACEs and there is good communication between the Bank team and the teams, where inquiries regarding procedures are being answered. The team plans at least one in-depth financial review in FY17. Each ACE has been asked to ensure the World Bank’s approval of any construction and five centers have been in contact with the Bank on safeguards review, and more are coming. No safeguard issues are expected related to campus construction The main functions of the RFU include overall facilitation and aggregated monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Thus far, the RFU has implemented a number of activities with support from the Bank task team. Budget reporting, cost-effectiveness and timely replies are improving. Fiduciary and safegaurds wise, the project is rated moderately satisfactory. The projects first set of annual results (timely procurement and financial audits as well as internal audit review among others) come due in June 30, 2016. The ACEs are fully aware of the expected results, but a number of steps are required. The team plans at least one in-depth financial review in FY17. Safeguard-wise, each ACE has been asked to ensure WB approval of any construction and five centers are in contact on safeguards review, and more are coming. No safeguard issues are expected due to on-campus construction. 6/23/2016 Page 3 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance  --  Substantial  Substantial Macroeconomic  --  Moderate  Moderate Sector Strategies and Policies  --  Moderate  Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program  --  Moderate  Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability  --  Substantial  Substantial Fiduciary  --  Moderate  Moderate Environment and Social  --  Low  Low Stakeholders  --  Moderate  Moderate Other  --  Low  Low Overall  --  Moderate  Moderate Results Project Development Objective Indicators PHINDPDOTBL No of students enrolled in new specialized Master, PhD, post-grad, post-doc and/or short-term courses/ programs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 1580.00 5409.00 5258.00 17375.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDPDOTBL  Number of regional students enrolled in new specialized short-term courses, Master and PhD programs (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 987.00 2410.00 1655.00 9432.00 Date 30-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 6/23/2016 Page 4 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) PHINDPDOTBL  No. of internationally (regionally/sub-regionally) accredited education programs. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 3.00 1.00 1.00 18.00 Date 30-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDPDOTBL  Number of Students with at least 1 month internship in a private sector company or a local institutions relevant to their field/ sector. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 1037.00 2005.00 1020.00 6928.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDPDOTBL  Amount of externally generated revenue by the ACEs. (Amount(USD), Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 976877.00 2379494.00 15846102.00 9551250.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 Overall Comments Following clarifications on the definitions on what counts for each DLI, a number of the ACEs have revised downwards the indicators to reflect the actual numbers. It should be noted that the results are currently under-going independent verification. The project team is working closely with each ACE to ensure the results presented include all the necessary information to allow for effective verification. Intermediate Results Indicators PHINDIRITBL  No of faculty trained by the ACEs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 100.00 631.00 707.00 1200.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2014 6/23/2016 Page 5 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) PHINDIRITBL  Number of regional faculty trained by the ACEs (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 27.00 85.00 94.00 415.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  Number of female faculty regionally trained by the ACEs (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 7.00 27.00 20.00 131.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  Number of national faculty trained by the ACEs (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 73.00 546.00 613.00 685.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  Number of national female faculty trained by the ACEs (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 14.00 122.00 151.00 195.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 6/23/2016 Page 6 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) PHINDIRITBL  No of newly established or revised curricula (meeting labor market skills), as approved by the appropriate institutional organ. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 106.00 102.00 66.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 16-Jun-2016 31-Mar-2018 PHINDIRITBL  Increase of internationally recognized research publications in disciplines supported by the ACE-Programme (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 1098.00 1566.00 655.00 1335.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 16-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  No of partnership agreements between ACEs and engaged partner institutions (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 48.00 225.00 216.00 208.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 16-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  ACE project implementation team meetings with openedly disclosed minutes (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 210.00 325.00 136.00 Date 15-Nov-2015 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 6/23/2016 Page 7 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) PHINDIRITBL  Annual disclosed unqualified external financial audit with the ACE annual budget (planned and executed). (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 1.00 7.00 37.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  RFU holding regular meetings with at least 15 ACEs participating (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 4.00 5.00 8.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 13-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  Level of satisfaction of ACE and ACE Steering Committee on quality of support provided by the Regional Facilitation Unit (AAU). (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 73.00 79.40 80.00 75.00 Date 20-May-2014 16-Dec-2015 17-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  No of ACE-Institutions reporting on at least 85% of their indicators, submitting the RF to the AAU in time. (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 9.00 11.00 14.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 17-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 6/23/2016 Page 8 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) PHINDIRITBL  Annual program report prepared and submitted to WB (Text, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target done (exceeded) Four done (exceeded) Four semi-annual activity semi-annual activity Value N/A Done program reports have program reports have been delivered by AAU been delivered by AAU Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 17-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  Direct project beneficiaries (Number, Core) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 2717.00 7077.00 9107.00 18765.00 Date 01-Nov-2013 16-Dec-2015 17-Jun-2016 31-Dec-2018 PHINDIRITBL  Female beneficiaries (Percentage, Core Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 332.00 1401.00 1528.00 4464.00 Overall Comments Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed Disbursed P126974 IDA-54120 Effective USD 2.00 2.00 0.00 0.94 0.91 47% P126974 IDA-54150 Effective USD 70.00 70.00 0.00 16.57 47.36 24% P126974 IDA-54190 Effective USD 16.00 16.00 0.00 3.08 11.53 19% 6/23/2016 Page 9 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) P126974 IDA-54200 Effective USD 8.00 8.00 0.00 1.56 5.74 19% P126974 IDA-54210 Effective USD 8.00 8.00 0.00 1.58 5.93 20% P126974 IDA-54220 Effective USD 8.00 8.00 0.00 1.58 5.66 20% P126974 IDA-54230 Effective USD 24.00 24.00 0.00 5.29 16.79 22% P126974 IDA-54240 Effective USD 8.00 8.00 0.00 1.55 5.74 19% Not P126974 IDA-57330 USD 15.00 15.00 0.00 0.00 14.65 0% Effective P126974 IDA-H9300 Effective USD 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.46 0.53 46% P126974 IDA-H9320 Effective USD 5.00 5.00 0.00 2.55 2.17 51% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P126974 IDA-54120 Effective 15-Apr-2014 05-Jun-2014 02-Sep-2014 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-54150 Effective 15-Apr-2014 25-Feb-2015 22-May-2015 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-54190 Effective 15-Apr-2014 10-Jul-2014 18-Dec-2014 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-54200 Effective 15-Apr-2014 16-May-2014 16-May-2014 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-54210 Effective 15-Apr-2014 20-May-2014 20-May-2014 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-54220 Effective 15-Apr-2014 14-Aug-2014 02-Apr-2015 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-54230 Effective 15-Apr-2014 10-Apr-2015 23-Jul-2015 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-54240 Effective 15-Apr-2014 15-Jul-2014 07-Jan-2015 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 Not P126974 IDA-57330 29-Sep-2015 20-Oct-2015 -- 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 Effective P126974 IDA-H9300 Effective 15-Apr-2014 05-Jun-2014 02-Sep-2014 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 P126974 IDA-H9320 Effective 15-Apr-2014 27-Jun-2014 18-Aug-2014 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2018 Cumulative Disbursements 6/23/2016 Page 10 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (P126974) Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Project(s) P153111-Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project Add. Fin. 6/23/2016 Page 11 of 11 Public Disclosure Copy