The PASET Board of Directors (BoD) adopted a Charter and governance structure, comprised of a PASET Governing Council (GC), An Executive Board (EB), Consultative Advisory Group (CAG), an RSIF Implementation Unit or Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) and the PASET Secretariat.
1. Governing Council (GC)
The PASET Governing Council led by a Chair, is responsible for providing strategic direction and thought leadership for PASET, making policy decisions and is the apex body for PASET. It is comprised of Ministers of Education/Higher Education/TVET of SSA countries that are contributing to the RSIF and/or PASET’s Regional TVET Centres of Excellence initiative, the World Bank and key donors.
2. Executive Board (EB)
The Executive Board (EB) serves as PASET’s oversight body in charge of all PASET operations. It comprises senior representatives of the contributing country governments, a World Bank representative, donors and the private sector. It is led by an Executive Director who serves in his/her individual capacity.
3. Consultative Advisory Group (CAG)
The Consultative Advisory Group (CAG) consists of eminent African scientists/academics and representatives from the private sector; international partner countries and national agencies whose role is advisory to PASET. The CAG meets at least once a year physically and virtually as needed and provides technical advice to the EB and GC on an as-needed basis for all PASET initiatives. The CAG maintains two sub-committees to provide inputs on higher education and TVET. The CAG higher-education sub-committee plays a critical role in providing expert advice and guidance in the development and implementation of RSIF and its components. The CAG is led by a Chair who works closely with the EB.
4. PASET Secretariat
The PASET Secretariat, which is in the interim hosted at the World Bank, convenes and facilitates meetings of PASET’s governing bodies and stakeholders including the GC, EB , CAG, the PASET Forums and engagements with new partner countries. The World Bank provides technical assistance to PASET at both the regional and country levels through capacity building activities including workshops. Additionally, the Secretariat uses its networks and convening power as a key instrument in facilitating PASET’s growth by strengthening the partnership among SSA governments, the private sector and partner countries. The Secretariat commissions the development of PASET related studies and reports, including those specific to the RSIF. The World Bank will continue with its role until the Secretariat effectively transitions into an African institution within a couple of years. The Secretariat reports to the EB. For more information about the Secretariat, please visit the PASET website.
5. RSIF Regional Coordination Unit (RCU)
The RSIF Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) is based at the icipe. The RCU is charged with the implementation of the RSIF and achieving benchmarks set by the GC. The RCU works closely with the PASET Secretariat and reports to the EB. Its responsibilities include:
- Creation and oversight of the Permanent and General Funds of the RSIF for supporting PhD training, research and innovation
- Setting up administration units for the three RSIF windows – PhD training, research and innovation.
- Managing the selection process for host universities following guidelines approved by the World Bank in consultation with the PASET EB
- Overseeing the selection of students and faculty for RSIF awards (i.e PhD scholarships, research and innovation grants) by administration units to ensure a fair and efficient process that selects a balanced class of the most highly qualified students/ staff
- Identifying partner institutions for RSIF host institutions and preparing and finalizing agreements (including MoUs)
- Planning, executing and managing RSIF program marketing strategies
- Reporting progress of RSIF to PASET governance bodies
- Hiring and managing staff of the RSIF
- Developing programmatic linkages between RSIF and other related programs that are relevant (such as journal publishing or PhD capacity building).
