Since 2001, CANADEM has been developing the ability of the Government of Afghanistan to deliver better services to its citizens.
CANADEM directly supports Afghan-led priorities of good governance, transparency, accountability and enhanced service delivery championed by the Kabul Process.
From vision to strategy, policy to planning, budgets to implementation, CANADEM 's experts spark real change in governance process and people. Flexibility to circumstance and a real drive to align ourselves with national and local priorities define our approach.
CANADEM has been consistently developing its modality and reputation for placing precisely qualified people in the right place to get the right result.
We have the industry’s largest cutting edge roster of professionals – now numbering over 15,000 vetted Canadian and international experts. This merely complements our deep roots within Afghanistan and our preference to recruit the right person, as locally as possible.
In practise this means that when possible, we recruit locally or tap into the Afghan Diaspora, where necessary we deploy the best from our international network.
- An Islamic scholar and economist is helping the Ministry of Haj reduce corruption and promote efficiency.
- An Afghan specialist is working with the Ministry of Higher Education to simplify and shorten the academic accreditation process.
- An international lawyer is promoting rule of law through constitutional reform at the Ministry of Justice.
- A Canadian planner with 30 years experience is working with extremely receptive counterparts to streamline business licensing.
- A senior international civilian team is supporting Afghan police reforms.
- An Afghan/Canadian pharmacist & chemist is working with seven ministries to increase patient safety by reducing counterfeit drugs through better regulation.
- Background
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The CANADEM's Governance Support Office (GSO) brings together highly qualified Canadian and International technical experts to build the capacity of national institutions within the Afghan Government. The GSO provides expert technical support and advice to Afghan Ministries in key areas such as policing services, human rights law, election operations, vocational programming, education, engineering, financial management and administration -- as outlined in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, and which are part of the Government of Canada's priorities.
Technical Advisor to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Jo Bishop (second-left) seen leading a workshop with her AIHRC colleagues. - Governance Office Core functions
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Rapid Recruitment and Deployment of Senior Governance Advisors
Upon request from the Government of Afghanistan, and in collaboration with the Government of Canada, CANADEM recruits, screens and deploys senior governance experts to build capacity in the Afghan Government.
This mirrors CANADEM's role as Canada's Civilian Reserve of 15,000 experts specialized in rapid recruitment and deployment.
Supporting the Experts in Field
CANADEM's Governance Support Office provides operational support for the governance experts embedded in the Afghan government, such as accommodation, transport and security, as well as the monitoring and disemination of their progress and impact.
- Governance Experts
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The Governance Office consists of:
- 9-12 governance experts (Technical Advisors), working within different Afghan ministries. Many are deployed for one to two years; others are short term. The number of experts reflects Afghan government needs and Canadian government funding capacity;
- A management team, consisting of two Canadians (GSO Director and Deputy Director Development), an international security team leader, and Afghan support staff including interpreters, compound staff, drivers and security.
All are housed in the Canuck House in Kabul with office space and accommodation.
Expert Placements
GSO technical advisors have provided capacity-building assistance in the following Ministries and Agencies:
- MoI Ministry of the Interior;
- MoJ Ministry of Justice;
- MoE Ministry of Education;
- MEW Ministry of Energy and Water;
- IEC Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan;
- IEC Independent Directorate for Local Governance;
- MoF Ministry of Finance;
- MoPH Ministry of Public Health;
- MRRD Ministry of Regional and Rural Development;
- AIHRC Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission;
- Other placements are being considered.
GSO Advisor to the MoE provided policy advice, including how to providewomen and girls better access to education.
Current Canadians deployed with the GSO include Drew Gilmore (Stittsville), Mirwais Nahzat (Toronto), Ian Grocholski (Versailles), Elizabeth Dvorak-Little (Arlington), Seddiq Weera (Burlington), David Evertsen (Florence), and Pamela Thompson (Winfield). - Principles of Technical Assistance in Afghanistan
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These experts have extensive governance capacity-building experience. Their work is guided by two fundamental principles:
Respond to Afghan Needs
The principal beneficiary for technical assistance is the government of Afghanistan. Afghans working within the Ministries assisted are the direct recipients of advisory services and technical assistance. The Afghan Government identifies areas and ministries in which it would benefit from technical assistance, and elaborates the Terms of References in collaboration with the GSO. Technical assistance services are hence demand-driven and fully-supported by the Afghan Ministries involved.
Build Afghan Self-sufficient Capacity
The primary purpose of technical assistance is to provide a strategic service integral to capacity development and upgrading the public service. As such, technical assistance builds on existing Afghan knowledge and ideas, utilizes personnel and resources already in place, and makes use of the local experts and country systems to contribute to long-term learning and capacity-building.
