Strengthening Civil Society in Sri Lanka
Through Building Advocacy Partnerships
Among NGOs and Developing Local Leadership
(PROJECT NO. S. ECAPE-04-GR-123 (CS))
PROGRESS REPORT
July 1, through December 23, 2005
Submitted to the Dept. of State
January 14, 2005
International Training Office,
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
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Strengthening Civil Society in Sri Lanka Through Building Advocacy
Partnerships Among NGOs and Developing Local Leadership
PROJECT NO. S. ECAPE-04-GR-123 (CS)
Introduction
This progress report is submitted to the Office of Citizen Exchanges, Bureau of Educational
Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, by the International Training Office at Northern Illinois
University summarizing the major activities carried out during the first six-months of the
project (July 1, through December 23, 2004) titled “ Strengthening Civil Society in Sri
Lanka Through Building Advocacy Partnerships Among NGOs and Developing Local
Leadership” also known as GROW II. The above two-year project (2004-2006) is a
partnership between the Northern Illinois University (NIU) and two major institutions in
Sri Lanka, namely, Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration and the Open
University of Sri Lanka.
The project initiated its activities in July, 2004, promptly after awarding of the grant by
the U.S. State Department and has completed its first six months of activities by the end
of December 2004. During the reporting period, the project has accomplished a series of
significant activities and in this report these have been categorized under five major
headings, namely; (A) Setting up of an Advisory Committee in Sri Lanka, (B) Formation
of a NGO Coalition, (C) Preparation for One-year Diploma Course on Good Governance
and Local Leadership (D) Professional Development Program at NIU and (E) Sri Lanka
Project Advisory Committee at NIU. While the first two activities took place in Sri
Lanka the latter three were carried out at NIU.
The implementation of the project activities during the six-month reporting period had
been smooth, to the target, and on time. It can be emphasized that the targeted project
activities have been accomplished quite successfully based on many indicators, as have
been described in this report. During the six-month period covered by this report the
project actively engaged the expertise and resources of four units at NIU, namely,
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International Training Office, Faculty of Adult and Higher Education, Faculty
Development and Instructional Design Center and the University Resources for Women
to achieve its major goal - building a stronger civil society in Sri Lanka. The major
collaborating institutions in Sri Lanka also joined hands in the most efficient manner and
synchronized their efforts quite efficiently with the Core Advisory Group in order further
strengthen the efforts to achieve the project goal. Additionally, Sri Lankan partners were
resourceful in scaling up of some of the core principles that are being successfully
implemented in four Model Villages in Sri Lanka by the four NGOs partners of the
earlier project, also funded State Department project.
Start-up Activities of the Project
As an initial step, major project stakeholders both at the Northern Illinois University and
in Sri Lanka were engaged in a participatory process of developing and agreeing on the
mission of the project, as it was crucial for achieving the intended project outcomes.
Following a lengthy process of reflection and dialogue, the major stakeholders were able
to finalize and agree on the following mission statement for the GROW II Project - “ to
enhance the democratic culture in Sri Lanka through strengthening a transformation
process at the local level, which is intended to: foster empowerment, advocate for
participatory governance and promote international education at Northern Illinois
University (NIU).”
Following the same process, GROW II leaders agreed on the goals for the four major
components of the project. This effort was very helpful not only to have a clear view of
the targets to be accomplished through better utilization of the available resources but
also in energizing the team both in Sri Lanka and at the Northern Illinois University to
strive for enhanced outcomes. The major goals for the four major components of the
project, are as follows:
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I. Goal Statement for Core Advisory Group (CAG) in Sri Lanka
To provide direction and support to GROW II Project in Sri Lanka, by acting as a “Think
Tank” for innovative strategy formulation related to advocacy initiatives, community
empowerment, and other activities related to strengthening the civil society, working in
collaboration with the Sri Lankan stake holders including the NGO Coalition, Diploma
Course administrative partners as well as with the Northern Illinois University, USA.
II. Goal Statement for NGO Coalition in Sri Lanka
To be effective and critical partners of an advocacy and empowerment process of GROW
II Project, geared at stimulating the democratic culture at the local level in Sri Lanka
through strengthening the capacities of the leaders of the member NGOs.
III. Goal Statement for the Diploma Course on Participatory Governance and
Local Leadership
To implement a formal leadership course geared to prepare a critical group of leaders at
the local level to further support the traditions of participatory governance through
strengthening the capacities of the NGO Coalition and identified local government
institutions, working in partnership with the Northern Illinois University.
IV. Goal Statement for the Advisory Committee at NIU
To provide guidance and program support in building a stronger democratic civil society
in Sri Lanka through strengthening the capacities of the project partners in Sri Lanka and
cultivating an enhanced global perspective at NIU in building civil societies as a key
element in international education.
Identification and Appointment of a Project Manager in Sri Lanka
One of the first major steps that took place immediately after the initiation of GROW II
was the identification of a project manager possessing the commitment, energy and the
leadership potentials in order to organize, coordinate and synchronize the project
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activities in Sri Lanka. Identification of the Project Manager was made smoother by the
fact that the Project Director and the Project Advisor were still in Sri Lanka after
attending the International Symposium of the earlier State Department funded project.
After a series of initial explorations, screening and discussions conducted with five
potential nominees, Ms. Seela Ebert was selected as the Project Manger. Her willingness
to serve as the Project Manager in Sri Lanka for GROW II presented additional
advantages including providing continuity to the project as a result of being the Chair of
the advisory committee of the last project as well as the trust, energy, and the needed
experience for successful implementation of the current project. Throughout the
reporting period, the Project Director at NIU was constantly in touch with the Project
Manager in Sri Lanka on the phone and via e-mail and this smooth communication was
quite vital for the effective coordination of the project work between the Northern Illinois
University and Sri Lanka. This ability to stay connected on a continuous basis can be
mentioned as a critical factor in the project success so far. One of the initial steps soon
after the appointment of the Project Manager in Sri Lanka was to agree on the major
responsibilities connected to the position as it was felt crucial for the project success.
The agreed responsibilities of the Project Manager are as follows:
 Provide overall support and consistent coordination to the implementation of the
project activities in Sri Lanka, working in collaboration with all project
stakeholders, specifically with NIU project leaders, Core Advisory Group (CAG),
NGO Coalition, and the Course Coordinators at the two partnering academic
institutions – SLIDA and Open University.
 Engage in continuous communication via e-mail and telecommunication with the
project leaders at NIU, project partners in Sri Lanka (including the NGO
coalition, partnering academic institutions and CAG) to ensure smooth
implementation of project activities.
 Organize and coordinate monthly meetings of CAG, develop agendas and other
procedures as needed, transfer information to the US counterparts and between incountry partners.
 Coordinate and follow up on the procedures related to the recruitment of
participants for the NIU Professional Development Program, including receipt of
applications, coordinating with Public Affairs Office at the US Embassy for visa
issuance procedures, attending to flight arrangements and other logistical
arrangements as needed
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 Acting on the recommendation of CAG, recruit members for the NGO Coalition,
coordinate the formation of CAG, identify and endorse participants for the
national workshop and the national seminar in Sri Lanka and attend to related
logistical responsibilities.
 Assist in monitoring and assessing the progress of the project and attend to
continuous improvement of project activities.
 Attend to any other additional responsibilities related to the project needs and
other important functional aspects of the project that are not mentioned above but
may arise from time to time.
The subsequent section of the report presents the significant activities connected to the
project “ Strengthening Civil Society in Sri Lanka Through Building Advocacy Partnerships
Among NGOs and Developing Local Leadership”, that took place during the reporting
period, spelled out under the five major categories that were mentioned in the
introduction to the report.
A. Setting up of an Advisory Committee in Sri Lanka
Setting up of an Advisory Committee in Sri Lanka was the major project activity that
took place in Sri Lanka at the very beginning of the project, and was initiated
concurrently with the appointment of the Project Manger. This body, titled Core
Advisory Group (CAG), was considered a very critical project element as the insight,
guidance and direction of CAG was of paramount importance at this initial stage of the
project activities. CAG, working in collaboration with the Project Manager in Sri Lanka
as well as with the Northern Illinois University, USA, was the machinery intended to
provide direction and support to the project. It was also intended to act as a “Think Tank”
in providing innovative thinking and strategy formulation related to advocacy initiatives,
community empowerment, and other project related activities. This body consists of
eleven leaders who are highly credible and actively involved in civil society activities and
at the same time representing GROW II constituencies and focus areas. Out of the 11
members of this body five were also in the advisory body of the earlier project (GROW I)
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of the Northern Illinois University funded by the State Department and they represented
the four NGO partners of the earlier project. This enabled seamless transition and also
the needed knowledge and information base for the transition and continuity into the new
project (GROW II). The Chair of CAG (Mrs. Jezima Ismail), is the President of the
Muslim Women Research and Action Forum, a partner organization of the earlier project
and also was a member of the advisory body of the former project. She was also the
leader of the International Symposium, the crowning event of the earlier project.
CAG has a triangular connection to NGO Coalition, Diploma Course stakeholders and
the GROW leaders at the Northern Illinois University and therefore has become a
channel for multi-faceted representation of diverse project constituencies. During the
reporting period CAG had met four times (once a month on the average) and the
meetings took place in different venues on a rotating basis as was decided by CAG
members. Some of the other major functions of CAG, as agreed by the CAG members
as well as the project leaders at NIU are:
 Stimulate new approaches to strengthen the capacities of the NGOs in the NGO
Coalition to be effective and critical agents of a process leading to building a
democratic society.
 Design and implement necessary procedures related to the GROW Declaration
(on Women’s Representation in Political Decision Making), which was evolved
by the PF in January 2004, unanimously endorsed by the seminar participants on
June 4, 2004 and presented to the political leadership at the national symposium
held on June 8, 2004 and monitor the progress of the related policy formulation as
well as its implementation.
 Operationalize the recommendations presented by the participants during the June
4 Seminar and the June 8 Symposium, and take steps needed to follow-up them
up with the political and legislative leadership.
 Provide direction as needed for the implementation of the formal (one year)
academic course (Certificate Course on Good Governance), to be administered by
SLIDA and the Open University and assist in the provision of needed legitimacy,
recognition and visibility to the course, working in close collaboration with the
two institutions.
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 Strengthen the networking capabilities among the stake-holders as well as among
other collaborating bodies and interested parties
 Provide solutions to the issues that may come up in the process of project
implementation and take corrective action, adjust and improvise work plans as
and when needed.
 Assist in the development of plans for continuity and sustainability of the
leadership development programs (including the Certificate Course on Good
Governance) as well as the advocacy campaigns, after the life of the present
project.
Follow-up work of CAG on the GROW Declaration
Most outstanding contribution of CAG during the reporting period was the follow-up work of the
GROW Declaration that was submitted to the top political decision makers during the
International Symposium held on June 8, 2004. Majority of the CAG members were involved in
the formulation of the GROW Declaration at various stages and therefore showed great
enthusiasm and commitment to work diligently under the new project to make it into a
constitutional law assuring the requested 33% of women representation at the local level. As an
outcome of further representation by CAG in this regard, a small group of CAG members were
invited by the Minister of Women’s Empowerment to participate in various discussions held on
introducing a quota for women in local government bodies. As noted by the Project Manager in
Sri Lanka, “the GROW declaration was distributed to all the members in the National Committee
on Women engaged in the legislative changes on women’s political representation. The Cabinet
has already approved in principle the 1/3 quota for women. A sub committee appointed by the
Ministry of Women’s Empowerment was working out the details on legislative changes and other
modalities of this legislation. There is a mention in the Cabinet Memo about NGO input on this
matter. Although GROW was not specifically mentioned, GROW recommendations have been
seriously considered by the Parliamentary Committees on Women’s Political Representation
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when submitting the Cabinet Paper. CAG members consider this situation as a remarkable
achievement of the GROW project.
The minutes of four CAG meetings attached to this progress report clearly indicate the
contributions of CAG to the legislative changes on women’s political representation as
well as other various significant contributions made during the reporting period to the
project.
B. Formation of a NGO Coalition
Project leaders believe that coalition building is the key to bring about transformation in
the society and therefore is an important project strategy in order to strengthen the civil
society that the project is aiming to brace. Therefore, forming of the NGO Coalition was
considered a significant element of the GROW Project. During the reporting period, the
building of the NGO Coalition was still in its formative stages due to several unforeseen
situations, most of which were beyond the control of the project.
Below is a list of
NGOs that have been rallied around the GROW II Project to be included in the NGO
Coalition, as a response to the invitation by CAG and the Project Manger. It should be
emphasized that below mentioned NGOs were invited to the NGO Coalition based on
their geographical, ethnic and social representation as well as their emphasis in the civil
society activities. CAG decided that four NGOs of the earlier project, GROW I, too
should continue to be in the NGO Coalition in order to provide the needed continuity,
direction and integrity to the project activities. The members of the NGO Coalition are:
1. Institute of social Development
2. Women’s Savings Effort
3. Women’s Development Centre
4. Institute of Social Development
5. Federation of Economic & Environmental Development
6. SEEDO – Socio, Economic & Environmental Development Organization
7. Sinhala Kanthabhivurdi Sangvidhanaya
8. Siyath Foundation
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9.
Uva Wellassa Govi Kantha Sangvidanaya
10. Lawyers for Human Rights & Development
11. Agromart Foundation
12. Center for Women’s Research
13. Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum
14. Sarvodaya Women’s Movement
As mentioned earlier the major goal of the NGO Coalition is to be effective and critical
partners of an empowerment process geared at stimulating the democratic culture at the
local level in Sri Lanka through strengthening the capacities of its member leaders. Each
of the member NGOs in the coalition have nominated one to three leaders to be
considered for the pool of applicants for the One-year Certificate/Diploma Course on
Good Governance and Local Leadership. As of the end of the reporting period, NGO
Coalition has submitted 21 nominations to the Diploma Course. At least one candidate
from the pool representing the members of the NGO Coalition, will be selected for the
Diploma Course, based on the selection criteria that has been agreed upon by the GROW
leaders and the resource team of the course. This connectivity to the NGO Coalition was
considered a quite efficient process of recruiting highly representative group of course
participants, thereby enabling further augmenting the project mission - building a civil
society through local leadership development.
C. Preparation for One-year Diploma Course on Good Governance and
Local Leadership
One of the most significant components of the project is the conceptualizing and
designing of a one year Certificate/Diploma Course on Good Governance and Local
Leadership, which is scheduled to start in mid January, 2005 at the Sri Lanka Institute of
Development Administration. The Diploma Course is considered a critical strategy to
prepare the needed leadership to guide and lead the communities in realizing the most
important mission of the project, viz. building an enhanced civil society and improve the
democratic culture at the local level. This educational program is designed to develop
leadership knowledge, skills and attitudes among program participants (primarily female)
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engaged in community related work at grassroots levels in Sri Lanka. The course is
intended as a leadership development intervention on good governance and civil society
for NGO leaders and local administrators. Two major institutional partners in the
administration of the course are: Sri Lanka Institute for Development Administration
(SLIDA) and the Open University of Sri Lanka (OU). Other institutional partners of this
academic synergy are Sri Lanka Institute of Local Government (SLILG) and the
University of Peradeniya.
Majority of the activities of the GROW II Project that took place during the reporting
period centered around major activities connected with the Certificate/Diploma Course.
These activities included; identification and preparation of the resource team who will be
assuming the major responsibility in teaching and implementing a quality program,
designing and implementing the Professional Development Program at NIU in order to
prepare the resource team for this important responsibility, conceptualizing and planning
the curriculum of the Diploma Course, identifying and recruiting the course participants.
Major decisions on the other issues such as the medium of instruction, logistical
arrangements, certificate to be awarded, and a series of other aspects vital for the
administration of a highly effective learning intervention also took place during the
reporting period.
One major decision that was taken is to select the Diploma Course participants from an
already identified pool of NGO leaders from the NGO Coalition, Pradeshiya Sabha
administrators, prospective candidates for local elections as well as a few selected
representatives from other regional and local development institutions engaged in
community development interventions. It was intended that the course will enable the
local administrators and their various agencies to engage in collaborative partnerships
with NGOs and get involved in a participatory decision-making and resource sharing
processes. Furthermore, it will develop the necessary skills and attitudes in organizing
public oversight mechanisms to counteract bribery, corruption and abuse of power that is
prevalent in the local development scene today. It was intended that on the whole the
proposed academic intervention (Diploma Course) will develop the competencies of the
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participants in building a democratic culture at the community level extending to the
national level.
Curriculum of the Diploma Course as was planned during the NIU Professional
Development Program
The curriculum of the Diploma Course as was planned during the reporting period
includes a carefully structured set of learning modules based on themes related to
philosophy, practice, methodologies, and tools on Good Governance and Civil Society.
Knowledge and skills to ensure transparency, accountability, and development of public
oversight mechanisms have been integrated into the program in a practical and
meaningful way. The course, through the use of success stories, case studies and other
techniques will analyze and share best practices as well as problems related to abuse and
lack of transparency. The major modules of the course were conceptualized and designed
by the resource team during the NIU training, working in close collaboration with the
Project Director, Project Advisor and a consultant on curriculum development.
The resource team during their participation in the Professional Development Program at
the Northern Illinois University spent nearly one third of the period in developing a
detailed curriculum of the Diploma Course. The major modules of the program were
decided and developed after a detailed needs assessment process, using Tom Hutchinson
Needs Assessment Methodology and a curriculum development process using DECUM
Model. Major course modules that were decided to include in the program are; (1)
Communication and Media, (2) Community Mobilization., (3) Dimensions in Diversity,
(4) Environment Issues: Policy and Practice, (5) Gender and Empowerment, (6) Good
Governance and Civil Society, (7) Effective Leadership in a Democracy, (8)
Management Skill for Building Civil Society, (9) Policy Development: Principles and
Practices, (10) Project Development for Community Empowerment and (11) Information
Technology.
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The curriculum that was developed by the resource team during the NIU Program was
subsequently fine-tuned to match with the available budget. Subsequently, the resulting
outcome was shared with the program implementers and resource staff and agreements
were reached.
By the end of the reporting period, all the arrangements needed for the
smooth implementation of the course had been finalized.
A detailed description of the curriculum of the Diploma Course is attached to this
Progress Report.
The instructional resource team of the course will be the members of the Open University
faculty, the faculty from SLIDA, University of Peradeniya and the Sri Lanka Institute of
Local Government, who underwent the professional development program at NIU.
Other identified national level resource persons will also be invited as needed for special
themes in the course. The Project Director and the Project Advisor from NIU will also be
teaching selected modules in the course such as Local Leadership Development and
Project Development for Community Empowerment.
Organization of the Diploma Course on Good Governance and Local Leadership
The first tier of this one-year learning intervention conducted at the Sri Lanka Institute of
Development Administration (SLIDA) in collaboration with the Open University of Sri
Lanka (OUSL) is the administration of a six-month Certificate Course. A Certificate in
Good Governance and Civil Society jointly issued by the NIU, OUSL, and SLIDA will
be awarded to the graduates of the course.
For those candidates who perform at a higher level and also aspire to continue the
program another six-month course will be added using the same learning model thus
taking them to an Advanced Certificate level. Developing Internet- based skills for
communication and networking will also be an important component of the course during
this second tier of the program, as was agreed during the reporting period. Tools of online communication and networking also will be built into the course in this latter phase,
as essential practical elements and practice will be provided in an instructor-led
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environment. A field practicum on developing an action plan on a selected theme on
good governance and civil society, for each participant to carry out in his/her local area
will be an important element of the course. Each participant in the course will be required
to work with a selected NGO in the local community to develop community oversight
mechanisms to assure adherence to good governance procedures. This will include
practical assignments on identified issues in corruption and power abuse. Also, case
studies on community based monitoring mechanisms are some other examples in the
practical component. Therefore the second phase of the course will consist of two major
components: on-line component by NIU faculty and face-to-face teaching by Sri Lankan
faculty. During the NIU Professional Development Program, the Faculty Development
and Instructional Design Center at Northern Illinois University trained the needed
resource staff to provide technical assistance in the design and delivery of the on-line
component. Successful graduates of the second phase of the program will be awarded the
Advanced Certificate or a Diploma in Good Governance and Civil Society, jointly issued
by NIU, OUSL, SLIDA.
Other Important Elements of the Course
Critical elements of the course administration that are related to the participant selection,
were finalized during the Professional development program that took place at NIU with
the participating professionals. A brief summary of the decisions arrived during the
reporting period are as follows:
The medium of instruction of the course will be English, as was agreed by CAG in Sri
Lanka, NIU GROW leaders and the resource team of the course. It was intended that this
will further assure the opportunities for the minorities to participate in the course.
Each cohort (one per year) will include 25 participants, of whom at least 15 will be
female. Potential participants will be drawn from individuals with recognized leadership
potential, who have experience working at grassroots/local level. No previous university
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education will be required. Only candidates nominated by partner organizations and the
NGO Coalition will be considered for admission.
Participants Selection Criteria
When selecting participants, every attempt will be made to achieve the following mix of
demographic characteristics, geographic representation, and work experience:
Demographic Characteristics
 Predominantly female (at least 15 women)
 Predominantly  40 years of age
 A mix of cultural backgrounds (i.e., 70% Sinhalese, 20% Tamil, 10% Muslim)
Geographic Representation
It is suggested to include a possible mix of representation from Districts through out the
country (taking into consideration the budget situation) so that the program graduates will
be spread out fairly.
Work Experience
 Participants nominated by NGOs must have  2 years experience in community work.
 Participants nominated by SLILG and SLIDA must have  5 years with experience in
local government and/or similar experience.
Institutional Representation
Ideally, two-thirds of the participants will be drawn from local community leaders
nominated by the NGO Coalition and one-third from local administrators nominated by
SLIDA and SLILG.
Course Administration
SLIDA will plan, implement and monitor the entire program offering. Mr. Kumudu
Tennekoon will be the Course Director overseeing the course administration and Mr.
Herath will be the Course Manager responsible for the smooth implementation of the
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course. Mr. Herath will be in close contact with the course participants and the resource
faculty on a regular fashion and will attend to implementation issues that may arise.
Dr. Mahim Mendis will be the Course Advisor representing the Open University in the
program and will provide his inputs working in close consultation with SLIDA. Dr.
Shironica Karunanayake from the Open University will provide advise on the IT
component as and when needed. It was agreed that SLIDA will provide classroom
facilities and computer facilities as needed. GROW Project Director and the team had
extensive discussions with the SLIDA administrators to match the program
administrative costs with the very modest funding available for the Diploma Course and
agreements were reached guaranteeing the implementation of a very successful program.
(D) Professional Development Program (PDP) at NIU
The Professional Development Program at NIU, titled “Building Civil Society with the
GROW Project” that took place from September 19 through October 9, 2004, is another
key component of the project activities during the reporting period. GROW leaders at
NIU worked diligently over a period of three months in conceptualizing, designing and
implementing a highly effective program for the participating professionals as it was
considered a critical factor in achieving the mission of the GROW II Project. Therefore,
intensive efforts were taken in identifying the best resource persons for this very
important orientation as well as designing and the implementation of a high quality
professional development program at NIU for the selected participants.
As a first step in this direction, NIU team had a series of meetings with the two partnering
institutions in Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration and the
Open University) as well with CAG on the objective of the NIU Professional Program
and the need for identifying the best candidates for the program. GROW leaders at NIU
during their stay in Sri Lanka had four meetings in this connection in order to identify
and select the most suitable candidates to the course. Based on the discussions, 17
names were suggested as the pool of candidates out of which to select the eight finalists.
Out of the 17 candidates, 6 were from SLIDA, 5 were from the Open University and 6
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were connected to other institutions outside the major collaborating institutions. Out of
this number eight finalists were selected, four males and four females. Four of the
finalists came from SLIDA which is the major implementing organization, two from the
Open University, the other partner institution, and the other two were from two link
institutions - Sri Lanka Institute of Local Government and the Peradeniya University.
Goal and Objectives of the Professional Development Program
Program Goal
To enhance the professional capacities of resource faculty in the two major partner
organizations and other invited resource persons in Sri Lanka to conceptualize, design,
administer and evaluate a one-year Diploma Course on Good Governance aimed at
creating a more active citizenry towards building a stronger democratic civil society in
Sri Lanka.
Program Objectives
 Strengthen the knowledge and competencies of the participating professionals in good
governance, democracy and related ethics, community empowerment, strategic
 Management, situational leadership, team building, and communication to further
enhance the individual, institutional and community capacities for building a civil
society.
 Enhance the use of appropriate information technologies in the participating
professionals to enable them to guide the learners in the diploma program in
accessing new learning and share information and experiences to further strengthen
the democratic culture.
 Provide opportunities to engage in a dialogue with and learn from the NIU resource
team, Advisory Committee and the leaders of the DeKalb, innovative and creative
practices critical for empowerment of NGO leaders and local government
representatives/officials to enable them to work together in facing the challenges in
democratizing Sri Lanka
 Enable experiencing the American democracy and local governance in the Midwest
by visiting local level organizations and interact with local resource persons to learn
crucial strategies for the promotion of grassroots democracy in Sri Lanka.
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 Finalize the development of a detailed curriculum plan and program plan for a oneyear Diploma course on Good Governance to be implemented by the resource team
in Sri Lanka.
.
The Professional Development Program
As evident from the attached agenda, the planned program was carefully structured to
give the participants new and critical insights on Principles of Good Governance they can
learn as well as to gather diverse experiences to enable them to subsequently apply the
learning to the Certificate/Diploma Course that they will be teaching after their return to
Sri Lanka.
The planned program with its diverse delivery methods that included (A) sharing of NIU
faculty expertise on American democracy, good governance at the local government
level, citizen’s participation in local governance, strengthening local leadership for good
governance (B) visits to local government institutions in Chicago and Dekalb, (C)
dialogues with current mayor and the city government team and the former mayor (D)
developing a curriculum that is non traditional and practical aimed at changing the
behaviors and attitudes of the participating local leaders, were some of the high lights of
the program.
The group carried with them innovative, practical and creative ideas from the US scene to
be applied in Sri Lanka through the program they will be administering as well as to
apply in their other professional activities. Examples of some of the ideas they carried
with them included (A) A Code of Ethics on Good Governance at the local level, (B) a
plan to develop an index on Good Governance to be applied in a few experimental local
government institutions, (C) Action plans on anti-corruption measures with clear
indicators and (D) Setting up of Watch Groups or Ethics Committees in some selected
communities. Some of the other high lights of the program were: application of IT in the
learning process to enable to bridge the digital gap even in a small way and
demonstration of video conferencing with the major implementing institution – SLIDA-
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to be used as a very feasible method of communication between the NIU team and the Sri
Lanka resource team as well the program participants.
The four partnering institutions at NIU, International Program Division, Faculty
Development and Instructional Development Center, Faculty of Adult Education at the
College of Education and the University Resources for Women hosted lunches and
dinners for the group that went a long way in establishing the needed bonding for further
strengthening of the collaborative spirit. A memorandum of understanding and an NIU
approved certificate for the Diploma on Good Governance were given to the major
institutions by the NIU leadership.
The schedule of the Professional Development Program at NIU and also the a brief
version of the curriculum designed by the course participants for the Diploma Course
they will be teaching starting in late January are attached to this report.
Two evaluations of the NIU Professional Development Program, one on the Information
Technology component of the program and the other on the total program also are
attached to this progress report. These evaluations amply reflect the degree of success
and the importance of the program to the participating professionals.
(E) Sri Lanka Project Advisory Committee at NIU
Sri Lanka Project Advisory Committee at NIU is a very significant mechanism engaged
by the project to be a major driving force in the realization of the overall project mission.
Acting promptly upon the grant announcement, Project Director extended invitations to
the members of the earlier advisory committee at NIU requesting their continued support
to the project by serving in the new advisory committee, as their zealous guidance were
considered quite crucial for the project success. Except for one member who had left the
university to take up a position in another academic institution, others indicated their
enthusiasm to continue serving in the new advisory body as well. A new member who is
a zealous advocate of international education and development at the Northern Illinois
University was invited to join the Advisory Committee and is now serving in the
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committee. The current Advisory Committee of the project consists of 13 faculty and
staff from diverse academic disciplines at NIU as well as a member representing the
student on campus. Its current membership is as follows: Phyllis Cunningham
(Professor Emeritus) Chair of the Committee, Prof. Kay Forest, Chair, Department of
Sociology, Prof. Richard Orem, Professor, Department of Literacy, Dr. Catherine
Raymond, Director, Center for Burma Studies, Prof. Murali Krishnamurthi, Director,
Faculty Development and Instructional Development Center, Sharon Howard, Director,
University Resources for Women, Prof. Cindy Campbell, Department of Educational
Technology, Research and Assessment, Prof Gene Roth, Department of Adult and
Higher Education, Prof. Jorge Jeria, Head, Department of Adult and Higher Education.
The project Director, Dr. Jaya Gajanayake, Project Advisor- Prof..Laurel Jeris, Dr. Deb
Pierce, Executive Director, International Programs, and Dr. Lina Ong, Director,
International Training office are also members of the advisory Committee.
Since the initiation of GROW II, the advisory committee had been providing direction
and guidance to the project in diverse ways. During the reporting period the committee
had monthly meetings extending up to two hours per given meeting. Usually the agendas
of the meetings were planned ahead of time to cover critical areas that needed inputs,
directions and guidance from the advisory committees. Since the initiation of GROW II,
NIU Advisory Committee has had monthly meetings except during the university
vacation periods when the professors were away from the campus. The minutes of the
meetings that took place during the reporting period are attached to this report. A careful
analysis of the minutes will portray the nature of the guidance and direction the AC has
extended to the project in diverse ways.
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