Advancing reconstruction
in Afghanistan
Professional development fellowship plays critical
role in rebuilding nation
When the Taleban regime fell in Afghanistan in 2002, the international community pledged billions of dollars in aid to help the country recover from two decades of war, instability and isolation. Three years later, much of the funding remains untapped and post-conflict reconstruction efforts have been slow to advance.
A primary obstacle has been establishing security—
particularly outside the capital city of Kabul—but other factors
such as building local capacity and reviving economies play a critical
role in reconstruction.
“Aside from security, professional capacity is one of the largest challenges and focuses of Afghanistan's reconstruction,” said Rachel Krause, a 2005 LBJ School graduate who wrote her professional report on best management practices for post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan, Kosovo, East Timor and Japan.
During her time at the LBJ School, Krause gained deep insight into Afghanistan’s rebuilding efforts through a two-year internship with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Fellowship for Afghanistan. The program aims to advance reconstruction through executive development and training.
Each year the program works with a select group of approximately 25 Afghan government officials, academics and nonprofit leaders, teaching them a wide range of managerial skills which they then apply to work-related development projects monitored by UNITAR and a network of mentors. Administered by a small multinational team based at UNITAR’s office for Asia and the Pacific in Hiroshima, Japan, the fellowship combines training workshops, distance learning and personalized mentoring to provide technical and institutional support as well as leadership training.
Krause was recruited for the internship by LBJ School Professor David Eaton, who has served as a consultant and mentor for the Fellowship for Afghanistan program since its inception in 2002. Balancing the internship with her coursework, Krause worked on a half-time basis during the school year and on a full-time basis during the summer.
Rachel Krause and Professor David Eaton (background left) help facilitate a training session with fellows from the Afghan Ministry of Reconstruction and the Engineering Service for Afghanistan Reconstruction held at UNITAR's office in Hiroshima, Japan in November 2003. |
Among Krause’s responsibilities were to help develop the curriculum and the program structure and to take part in the participant selection, training and evaluation. She also served as the primary contact for the fellows mentored by Eaton. During two stints to Hiroshima she worked face-to-face with her colleagues and the fellows, but she carried out the bulk of her work from Austin, Texas, through videoconferencing and internet communication.
Without ever setting foot in Afghanistan, over the course of two fellowship cycles, Krause learned about the challenges faced by the program participants and their determination to overcome them. She said she was impressed by the way the fellows were able to apply the lessons and resources acquired through the program to their professional projects.
“I've always sensed a fairly strong belief on the part of the Afghan participants that the reconstruction and rebuilding of their country will succeed,” she said. “Although they are definitely aware of the challenges they face, the attitudes they display indicate that they believe obstacles can and will be overcome. People, at least the ones that we work with, do not seem discouraged.”
One example that stood out was Mohammed Omar of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry. In an effort to reduce Kabul’s dependency on imported dairy products, Omar put together a plan to rehabilitate a dairy farm located on the city’s outskirts.
“When I met him in person he was quiet and didn’t seem to have a clear idea of the project he was going to pursue,” said Krause. “But once he started to turn in his proposals about his work I was very impressed."
“In his analysis the majority of meat and dairy are imported, expensive and low quality,” she said. “In Omar’s mind rehabilitating the dairy farm was going to be a step toward having high quality foods available at a cheaper price, employing people and bringing the city that much closer to sustainability.”
During two weeklong sessions in Kabul, Eaton provided training to Omar and the other fellows on how to develop and write effective proposals for reconstruction projects.
“This is a fellow who knew a lot about cows but didn’t know how to relate to multilateral donors,” said Eaton. “For him to develop a proposal which contained a budget and an implementation plan for establishing an experimental farm was a really great step.”
Both Krause and Eaton agree that while the scope of the fellowship may seem small, it plays a definite role in Afghanistan’s long-term reconstruction effort.
“Each participant is expected to improve his or her skills, whether in finance, human resources or leadership,” said Eaton. “But the real test is whether or not they can accomplish their projects. Development projects have been designed and implemented under this program. You can see the results.”
Krause sees an immediate impact in the improved skills of the individual participants, but she believes that the larger impact will be felt long after the completion of the fellowship cycle.
“The idea is that it will have a multiplier effect in that participants will go back to their ministries and share their new skills and training with their colleagues,” she said. “Also, the networking aspect has a lot of potential. Representatives from many different government ministries, universities, and NGO's work together in this program. This hopefully will enhance their cooperation in the future.”
Through his affiliation with UNITAR, which began with the launch of its New York office in 1997, Eaton has arranged ten internships for UT Austin students. Two of those internships led to full-time jobs with UNITAR.
Krause was the first to engage in a two-year-long internship, and she plans continue working with the program. Eaton said his goal is to continue with the two-year internship model, which he would eventually like to have endowed.
“Rachel is an example of how useful the internship experience can be when integrated over two years,” said Eaton. “More than an intern, she was treated as a staff person for the program.”
“Furthermore,” he said, “this is a great model for mentoring our students. In addition to her mentors from the LBJ School faculty, she had mentors from the UNITAR staff.”
Eaton said he will be looking at next year’s LBJ School applicants to recruit another intern for 2006.
Related Links
United Nations Institute for Training and Research Hiroshima Office for Asia and the Pacific
Ethnic Conflict and Humanitarian Intervention, fall 2005 course description
Globalization, Development, & Crisis, fall 2005 course description
Gary Chapman op-ed questions role of aid in Africa
Exporting Goodwill: Interns open their hearts to Honduras
On the front line: Matt Fuller helps reconstruction team in Iraq
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1 August 2005
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