Welcome
Dear visitors,
Thank you for visiting CTA ’s website.
As we wrap up our activities for 2006, we can look back on a year of many accomplishments and some steps towards achieving the goals we set out in our 2006 plan of activities.
Finalising the external evaluation as well as several audits (since May 2005 five annual and one operational audit) led to some 220 recommendations. We have made significant progress on improving our efficiency and visibility:
- Introduction of a one-page project profile with the aim of: i) improving project planning, project quality and coherence, ii) saving time iii) building up a data base on CTA activities per country, per sector etc.;
- Harmonization and streamlining of CTA’s contract management system;
- Analysis of weaknesses in the project management cycle (why did CTA only spend 90 % of its operational budget in the past?); this led to the following changes:
- sending out signed contracts (saving 4 – 6 weeks per contract),
- starting commitments earlier in a budget year / no commitments towards the end;
- Systematically informing National Authorising Officers (NAOs), EC-Delegations about CTA activities in a given country and inviting them to participate in CTA -organised events;
- CTA is about to develop a new staff evaluation system (form & procedure) and in the process of introducing a time management system;
- CTA has started addressing training needs through internal seminars;
- CTA rules have changed (an administrative board will replace the advisory committee and staff can be offered permanent contracts).
In 2006 we had to say goodbye to some colleagues who have decided to take a different route and we have welcomed some new colleagues, who have come on board and are helping us in our ongoing endeavours.
A major exercise was the preparation of the CTA ’s Strategic Plan 2007 – 2010 whose main aim is to increase outreach through economies of scale and a more business-oriented approach. The potential is enormous as we have to respond to a huge demand from the more than 500 million potential beneficiaries who live in the rural areas of the 79 ACP countries covered by our mandate.
To enable a real turnaround, our vision is that our supervisory structures will increase CTA ’s operational budget to match the felt needs. Also CTA needs to invest more in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs).
One of the new tools is my new blog http://neun.cta.int. The blog will enable us to talk about issues and topics related to CTA, development as a whole (The END of POVERTY?) and on topics beyond (Making People HAPPY?) - a space where we can communicate. Please let me invite YOU to participate actively in this dialogue and to send your feedback directly to me.
We have identified a range of new information technologies that we intend to focus on in 2007. Amongst others we look forward to focusing on web2.0 tools during the CTA Observatory in September, to be held in collaboration with some of our development partners. Please mark your calendar so that you don’t miss this event.
Yet another innovation this year is our new electronic Christmas card, marking CTA ’s move towards increasingly using ICTs and showing some highlights of the Centre during 2006. I am confident that you will enjoy the card. But please be reassured that while the IT-community is busy with e-agriculture, e-government, e-democracy and other electronic ‘e’-activities – it is not our intention to move towards e-Xmas.
The foregoing remarks epitomize the busy and demanding year that 2006 has been – so busy that we easily committed our entire 2006 budget and more. This shows that funds permitting we can do far much more.
Please let me take this opportunity to wish Seasons’ Greetings to all our visitors and a bright and prosperous 2007.
Dr. Hansjörg Neun / Director CTA
December 2006
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