TThe AfCop celebrates its 1000 Members

It is with great pleasure that we, the AfCoP’s Core Management Team who-guides-the-direction-of AfCoP, see the tremendous growth of our community. With over 1,000 members, we feel more compelled than ever to guide the Community toward increased impact and results throughout Africa. We realize our responsibility to best conduct the Community.
Since the AfCoP’s inception in February 2007 and the creation of its online platform seven months later, members have been asking questions, offering advice, and sharing experiences with peers across the continent. The dynamic nature of our meetings and online forum embody the AfCoP as a catalyst to implement Managing for Development Results (MfDR) in African countries.
The AfCoP was launched at a time when citizens increasingly demanded more accountability and value for the public resources spent in their countries. The AfCoP has raised awareness on the need to bring development results in Africa through sound management methods, and built capacity for that purpose. This will be achieved by public administration in Africa only if governments take ownership over their strategy, and achieve the targeted results.
African countries expressed interest in sharing knowledge on the best ways to manage for development results. The AfCoP was born from the idea that knowledge sharing and learning cannot be solely event-focused and must exist on a longer term. To build capacity and bring about lasting changes, dialogue among results practitioners has to take place on a sustained basis. For that purpose, AfCoP members meet face-to-face and connect online in the Community’s two languages: French and English.
When we decided to make the online platform the main knowledge sharing component of the community we were deemed adventurous. Connectivity remains challenging all over Africa and most of us had never participated in online discussions. We were pleased to see how quickly many of us understood the opportunities the online platform presented and took advantage of participating in its activities.
In fact, the demand for discussions on development results in Africa has never been so high. Members frequently express interest in discussing various topics. They launch online discussions and respond to others. Members ask questions on the best ways to create a Monitoring & Evaluation framework, discuss management tools, performance based budgeting approaches, and offer solutions to their colleagues.
The Community offers many opportunities for members to participate in African conversations on MfDR. Every member can interact with its peers across the continent. In the coming months, a renewed emphasis on online discussions will be given. Experts from African countries and development agencies will share their experiences in managing for development results. Also, more MfDR-related news will be provided online.
We hope to see you actively participate on the AfCoP platform and in your countries toward achieving greater result s in Africa.