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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING

Since 1954, The Asia Foundation has provided hands-on technical assistance to a wide range of public and private organizations and institutions in Asia to strengthen their operations and enable them to more effectively pursue their missions. The Foundation has proven expertise in adapting successful technical assistance models and strategies to fit different country contexts. The Foundation draws on the skills of its own staff as well as its extensive database of technical experts from within and outside the Asia-Pacific region. Many of the Foundation’s most effective efforts have involved identifying Asians who can share their expertise with colleagues in other Asian countries.

Examples:

With funds from USAID, the Foundation is working with the American University in Afghanistan - a new four-year educational institution in Kabul - to strengthen its financial and management practices and governance structure to prepare it to receive and manage direct financial assistance from USAID and other donors.
In partnership with the Danish Development Cooperation Agency, the Foundation has since 2005 assisted the Indonesian Human Rights Courts to develop a “blueprint” for court reform, produce legal manuals, and train judges and court officials.
In 2002, the Foundation completed a two-year Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project in Pakistan to strengthen institutional capacity for legal and judicial reform. The project included training judges and court staff, setting up systems for documentation and reporting, and mobilizing constituencies for reform.
The Foundation received funds from USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives to provide technical assistance to East Timor’s Parliament to strengthen the capacity of Members and committees, improve the ability of the Committees Support Unit to provide legislative support services, and strengthen the Parliament Secretariat’s administration and management.
In Bangladesh, the Foundation is strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations to promote free and fair elections and to engage citizens in policymaking through the Fair Election and Institutional Reforms Program. This five-year project, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), also provides training and other technical assistance to the Bangladesh Election Commission to improve its election administration capabilities.