Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
Scope of the Project
Who does the project target?
What is the main focus of the project?
Why is the WB supporting this project?
The target of the project are the people in Africa who will benefit from the developmental
impact achieved from upgrading critical skill sets linked to Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Agriculture and Health. Development challenges
within these fields will be addressed in particular through ensuring that (i) the skills
obtained in higher education trickle down to lower lever training institutions and
employers through the partnership components of the project, and (ii) research is
conducted in collaboration with others to address the development challenges. For
example in health, partnerships with midwifery schools and sub-national teaching
hospitals, in STEM with mining companies ,or in Agriculture with research centers, will all
benefit the country more broadly. And improving training capacity in the target disciplines
regionally will reduce the need for individuals to migrate outside of Africa for such
training and reduce the brain drain.
The main focus of the project is to 1) scale up quality education in specialized areas –
graduate and undergraduate, 2) research, and 3) partnerships and spillover effects.
A critical objective of the WB’s mission is to improve economic growth and reduce
poverty. Supporting governments strengthen and scale up the capacities of institutions to
provide individuals with the critical skills to fill existing gaps to deliver services beneficial
to well-being and economic growth in the Africa Region, will contribute to this.
Eligibility of Institutions to apply
Which universities are eligible?
Which subject areas will be supported?
Are Regional Universities eligible:
All higher education institutions with active Phd programs in the target areas of STEM,
Agriculture and Health, who are committed to addressing development challenges and
have the support of the government, can participate and submit proposals.
All grants will go towards the Africa Centers of Excellence, where Science, Technology,
Mathematics and Engineering (STEM), and/or Health and Agriculture Sciences form the
core disciplines. Inclusion of other disciplines that are relevant to addressing development
challenges such as cross disciplinary disciplines (nutrition for example), and other
disciplines such as social sciences and humanities are encouraged , provided they are
linked to addressing the development challenge (legal training for the extractive
industries for example). However the core of the proposal should focus on the STEM,
health and agriculture sciences.
Yes, Regional Universities (with several government ownership or support) are strongly
encouraged. Some of these already regional institutes may have some comparative long1
Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
Are Private/NGO Universities eligible?
How many Universities per country can apply:
What commitment is needed from
Universities?
What is the role of international partners?
What is the role of industry partners?
term strategic advantages, not only Africa-wide, but even globally. The regional
institutions would have to indicate which government would be ready to support the ACE
through assuming IDA credits.
Private/NGO Universities are eligible. The WB recommends that governments support
private/NGO institutions. It is up to the country government concerned to determine
whether they will support private institutions. IDA credits are loans with grant elements
to the government, and must be paid back by the government.
Any number of Universities can apply. However, it is encouraged that the universities
work together within country to submit joint ACE proposals. These ACE proposals
however are also encouraged to seek out both national and regional partnerships. In
addition it is encouraged that institution’s engage in a national dialogue on development
challenges that are facing both the country and the region (for instance the extractive
industries, oil and gas sectors are big sectors a number of Western Africa countries).
Universities have to be strongly committed to improving overall quality of education in
the target disciplines, becoming a regional center of excellence, and in ensuring that
scaled up skills trickle to partnership institutions (within and outside the country).
Furthermore, they have to agree signing performance agreements, whereby the amount
of funding they receive will be dependent on how they perform.
Partnerships are a key feature of the project and international partnerships are strongly
encouraged, particularly between academic institutions. Such partnerships must be
directly linked to addressing relevant regional development challenges. Since
strengthening regional collaboration is one of the main objectives of the project,
partnerships between African institutions are a necessary component of any proposal.
Partnerships with institutions outside Africa will also be important. Partnerships should
aim to build the capacity of the ACE and raise the quality of research and education in
participating institutions across the region. Since proposals will be developed by one lead
academic institution, each prospective ACE is responsible for developing partnership
agreements and acquiring letters of support from each partner (see Call for Proposals for
further details). At least 15% of funding must be spent on developing and maintaining
academic and industry partnerships.
Collaboration between ACEs and regional industry or sector partners is strongly
encouraged. This includes both private sector institutions and a range of other
institutions, (e.g. hospitals, farmers associations, research institutions, other forms of
training centers, etc.). Partnerships with industry are intended to enhance the impact of
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Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
Which countries are eligible to participate in
this call?
the ACEs and to increase the relevance of the centers’ education and research. These
partnerships are especially important in the context of the project's overall objective; to
meet the labor market demands for skills within specific areas where there are skill
shortages affecting development, economic growth and poverty reduction. Partnerships
activities could include industry advisory boards, internships, industry lectures, training of
trainers for sector training institutions, joint research, and other activities to interact and
reach out to the sector/industry. Since proposals will be developed by one lead academic
institution, each prospective ACE is responsible for developing partnership agreements
and acquiring letters of support from each industry partner. At least 15% of funding must
be spent on developing and maintaining academic and industry partnerships.
This call is open to seven countries in West and Central Africa - Benin, Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. These countries have available
International Development Association (IDA) credits and their Ministries of Finance and
Education/Higher Education have confirmed willingness to borrow IDA credits for this
project. Two countries have been confirmed to participate in a second component of the
call – The Gambia and Liberia. These countries will purchase educational services from the
ACEs, in order to further strengthen regional participation.
Submission process of Proposals
Who prepares and submits the proposal?
How many proposals can be submitted?
Can a University submit a joint proposal with a
partner institution?
Why are institutions competitively selected?
The University is responsible for preparing the proposal. The government will submit the
proposal on behalf of the institutions, ensuring government ownership and incorporation
of relevant country partners and commitment to development priorities of the
government (including specifically the MOHE, MOH, and MOA).
Each university can submit up to a maximum of two proposals for each ACE. However
there will be a section in the proposal template in which the inter-linkages between the 2
proposals from the university are clearly stated and explained. These proposals have to
be submitted by the government.
Yes, all proposals need to clearly state the partnership arrangements within the proposal.
The submitting institution will be the lead ACE and all funds will be managed by this ACE.
The partnership arrangements may include education services, joint research and any
other partnership activities.
A competitive, university-led, process is intended to increase ownership of the project
and engagement of partners, in order to provide a solid foundation for
implementation. A merit-based, transparent, and detailed selection process is the goldstandard for higher education funding. Since there are large numbers of existing regional
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Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
Will there be further calls for proposals?
What is the deadline for submission of
proposals?
Project Funding/Financing
What is the total Funding Envelope
Universities can ask for?
initiatives, and regional and international partnerships between universities, this
competitive selection process will allow all interested institutions to compete on equal
terms. This is preferable to a government-based decision which has the potential to be
less comprehensive and to be influenced by political motivations. Proposals will be judged
on merit according to standardized evaluation criteria. An initial technical evaluation will
eliminate proposals that do not meet the basic criteria. Proposals will then be reviewed
by an Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) made up mainly of members from the
African educational and scientific community, including from the diaspora, joined by
global technical experts. The IEC will make its recommendations to the project Steering
Committee. One potential disadvantage of a competitive selection process is that it can
favor institutions and partners that are already strong, to the neglect of institutions that
have a greater need for support. This is mitigated in the ACE project by the strong focus
on national, regional and global partnerships as a key mechanism for promoting
excellence in the region. In addition, the project Steering Committee will have
responsibility for making the final selection, taking into account the recommendations of
the IEC and specific linguistic, disciplinary and geographic factors, to ensure equity.
There will be only one call for proposals for this project, there will be no further calls.
Additional African governments have expressed interest in participating in the project.
Consequently, it is possible that the ACE project could be scaled up, depending on
successful implementation of this call. A second phase for Eastern and Southern Africa is
anticipated but not confirmed at this point. Funding for similar higher education
initiatives in Africa may be available through programs run by the African Development
Bank, USAID, Carnegie Corporation of New York and other bilateral and private funders.
The deadline for submission of proposals is Monday 2nd September. This is a firm deadline
which is necessary as the process of evaluating proposals will begin the following week.
There is no possibility of extension. All proposals must be submitted, in full, by Monday
2nd September. No documents submitted after this time will be considered.
Each ACE has the potential of obtaining up to a total of US$ 8m of funding, which is
complementary to the Universities’ ongoing funding. Given that universities can submit 2
proposals; this could be total amount of $16 million for the university (having two ACEs).
The WB recognizes that the amount of funding available ($8 million) is seen as limited by
some Universities. Demonstrating additional funding and resources from other sources,
and how the project funding will complement existing funding and fundraising strategies,
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Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
How will the funds flow under the project?
How will partnership Institutions benefit?
Can the project fund Civil works?
Can the project fund salaries of faculty?
Can the project fund training of staff and
students outside of Africa?
Do students contribute towards Financing of
the ACE (refunding the government loan)?
Will there be co-financing from other
development partners?
is strongly recommended.
This will be country specific. The objective is to use standard country procedures, but
minimize the number of transactions and ensure that each ACE has sufficient available
funds to implement the ACE proposal. The WB, jointly with the respective governments,
will provide guidance to academic leaders on the flow of IDA and regional grant resources
and whether the funds will come to the universities directly, through the Ministry of
Finance or through the Ministries of Higher Education. This will be provided in detail in an
operations manual to be shared with the ACE.
At least 15% of funding must be spent on partnership activities where the ACE must
partner with other universities, industry associations, employment agencies, research
networks etc. Such partnerships should be directly linked to addressing relevant country
level development challenges. As part of the ACE proposal, it will contain a partnership
plan which will be signed by all partners. This will be completed by annual partnership
plan that will be agreed upon buy all partners. The funding for this will be managed by the
ACE.
The focus of the project is on quality and less on civil works to ensure improved teaching,
research and relevance of programs offered. There will be a 15% limit on civil works as
justified strongly by a needs assessment. There will be no limit on financing learning
equipment and supplies if proven critical for improvement in quality training and research
The ACE funding can go towards investment items and not regular salaries. Governments
and Institutions will provide regular funding for salaries. Short term visiting faculty,
consultants and honorariums (to non –staff faculty) can be funded within the proposal.
Training or placements into institutions in non-African countries is not encouraged for
longer says (above 3 months). Short term training and research collaboration is eligible
for funding. A partnership where training is carried out in-country (through partner
institutions sending faculty), or within the Africa Region is preferred.
Not as such. However universities are encouraged to submit strategies of sustainability in
their proposals. This should include a revenue generation strategy including consideration
of student fees.
Bi-laterals have been consulted and are very interested in the project. The WB will discuss
the matter of any co-financing or parallel support for the ACE project with each partner
directly. Governments and universities furthermore are encouraged to engage in
discussions on co-financing directly with other partners, e.g. through their national
Development Partner sector working groups on governmental level, and with the group
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Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
of partners on the institutional level.
Mode of Payment
Will universities be provided with the entire
sum upfront?
Will the Universities receive an advance to
kick-start quality improvements?
Will there be performance indicators linked to
partnerships?
No. Much of the funding will be provided to the university based on the achievement and
verification of critical performance indicators. These are minimum benchmarks that
universities will need to achieve in order to ensure efficiency in spending and rapid quality
improvements. In essence, the WB will reimburse the government's program to establish
regional centers of excellence. This program will include funding to both regular faculty
and staff salaries, operating costs, and new investments (up to USD 8 million of new
investment per center of excellence - max 2 centers of excellence per university, hence up
to USD 16 million per university). Specifically, we will reimburse the main parts of this
program, which will be regular government salaries. This implies that the World Bank
procurement rules are not applicable to the project since procurement rules are not
applicable to salaries. This facilitates greatly project implementation and disbursement.
Significant Technical Assistance will be provided, including a workshop on the financing
module with all universities stakeholders concerned.
Yes, a sufficient amount will be made available in advance to kick start the process. 1The
Bank will disburse a first tranche of funding (probably 15% of the grant - max USD 1.2
million) upon the result of signing the Performance agreement and supporting MoUs. This
will effectively function as an advance to each institution. The Bank will stipulate in the
financing agreement with the country that this and subsequent disbursements should go
directly to a specific account managed by the Center of Excellence. The ACE will invest
these funds strictly in accordance with the approved Centers of Excellence proposal
subject to the national accounting and procurement rules under the oversight of the
university and the government. The World Bank will support capacity building in
adherence to national procurement and accounting rules and verify adherence on a
sample-basis. Funding thereafter will be linked to achievement of performance indicators
(see above). Details of this will be provided to each University once selected.
At least 15% of funding will be mandated to be spent on developing and maintaining
different types of partnerships. The project will develop disbursement indicators that
reflect the different types of partnerships (within and cross border partnerships, with
research institutes and employers etc). Moreover, for different sectors, different
indicators may be required given that partnerships may vary. For health, incentivizing a
partnership with lower level health training institution may be critical to achieve
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Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
development impact. For engineering, partnerships with employers may be more
important. The number of faculty and students rotating and providing services in ACE and
partners institution will shape the core of the disbursement indicators (including those on
regional student body, internships and faculty and student outreach activities)
Role of the Government
What is the role of governments in the
project?
The role of governments will be to (i) support universities in participating in the regional
competition and (ii) be represented in the ACE Steering Committee which will make the
final selection based on the technical evaluation, and (iii) ensure that the proposal design
and implementation strategy adequately addresses development challenges of the
country and region, and (iv) monitor performance and approve ACE disbursements. Each
country will also have a National Performance and Review Committee which will be
responsible for overseeing project implementation approving ACE annual work plans,
procurement plans and the budgets for the ACEs in that country.
To what extent do the interventions funded
Universities will be asked to demonstrate in their proposals and implementation activity
under the project have to be aligned with
the relevance of the intervention with strategies of the Ministry of Higher Education, and
government Policies and Strategies?
relevant other agencies and Ministries, notably the planning commission, Ministry of
Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Mines/Petroleum. The ultimate aim of
funding under the ACE project is to contribute towards key regional development goals
through improving skills and knowledge linked to STEM, Health and/or agriculture
sciences.
What is the commitment of the government
The government of each ACE hosting country will commit to (i) borrowing national and
regional IDA credit for the project (ii) enable the Centers of Excellence (with the approval
of the University) the right to set and charge tuition for all Short Term courses as well as
Masters and Phd programs. [Tuition fees for under-graduate can be subject to
government regulations]; (iii) enable the Center of Excellence to enter into a performance
agreement with the government to retain the external revenue that it generates; and (iv)
an ACE endowment fund will be set up and all external generated funding as well as Bank
disbursements will go into this account
Synergies of Project with existing University Strategies and Capacity
How do Universities address the challenge of
developing excellence in a short term project
cycle and merging this with medium term
university goals and long term national goals?
The WB is aware that no excellence can be built in just five years. Instead, the project will
establish the conditions and support universities establish excellence in the longer term.
One evaluation criteria of the proposal is the extent to which it is aligned to the medium
and the long term government development goals and university strategies. Continuous
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Q&A: Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project
collaboration with the respective government Ministries, industries, hospitals and farmers
associations is strongly encouraged.
To what extent will parallel funding and
existing capacity of the Universities play a role
in their selection?
What type of minimum capacity is needed
from Universities for implementation?
Sustainability
How can governments and Universities be
assured that the project is sustainable?
How can we ensure retention of students
trained?
Access to Further information
How can information on the project be
organized so that it can easily be accessed, and
feedback can be provided when needed?
The project will ask countries and ACEs to identify how the Bank money would
complement existing funding and capacity, and then proportionally allocate funding for
partnerships or ACEs. The critical advantage of WB funding is that it can fund the regional
aspects of a center of excellence, and help fund important linkages and partnerships with
internal and external agencies and institutions.
Financial management capacity is critical, as is capacity to obtain key data from routine
administrative sources. A thorough assessment of fiduciary and organizational capacities
for ACEs is critical, and will be taken into consideration during the selection process.
Technical Assistance will be provided to strengthen existing systems to accommodate
implementation.
Sustainability can never be assured. But government and ACE commitment to maintaining
excellency, and the early development of a funding strategy is a step towards
sustainability.
Some of the core lessons from several WB projects have been to 1) ensure that students
are admitted who come from rural or under-served areas (rather than the urban elite
only, who already has strong linkages with the countries outside of Africa), 2) ensure
training occurs within the country or Africa Region more broadly (rather than outside), 3)
expose students to learning environments in marginalized areas, 4) ensure that there are
employment opportunities for graduates within Africa, and 5) propose temporary
bonding measures and “ paying back” measures where governments support students
financially during their studies.
A website will be developed to share information including guidelines
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