SL Network Meeting – Programme Area Plan (PAP)

Erka introduced the new version of the PAP which was developed with the help of VSO experts in the SL progamme area. The major shift of focus in the SL’s new plan is to support people in rural areas only, ie not UB. The plan has to be submitted to VSP London for approval in March.

As written, the plan proposes to work in four sectors

• Agriculture, to include both livestock and horticulture
• Textiles
• Tourism
• Construction (pilot)
  

The agriculture, textiles and tourism sectors are linked by their rural context and there are considerable crossover opportunities in the types of partnerships and placements that could be developed between them. The new ADB/VSO Water Point Project being a good example. (for follow info on any project, etc, referred to here, please contract Erka). However, construction is almost exclusively targeted at urban development and therefore is at odds with the new SL rural focus.

Following discussion on this aberration, the following emerged,

• Construction should not be included in the plan, not even as a pilot. A pilot implies that if successful a full programme of construction related activities would ensue. It was felt that this would not be the case.
• Developing Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) partnerships, not only in construction as current TVET placements are, could be a possible way to retain the VSO construction placements experience but with a rural and peri-urban focus.
• Including the Water Point Project aims in the Programme Area Aims was felt to be inappropriate.
• The stated Objectives in the plan are too weak. There is no mention of sustainability, for example.
• The Implementation Strategies were not specific enough.
• The Implementation Strategies should include a strategy for shifting the SL focus to rural placements, i.e. exit strategies for current UB based partners, Lotus, Equal Steps and the Construction Technical College. This could possibly involve moving them to an alternative Programme Area.
  

SL group members were encouraged to provide their proposed amendments to the PAP document by the 29^th Feb to Erka, preferable on soft copy.