Increasing Value for Money in Higher Education Development Cooperation A German Perspective Based on Project Coordinators’ Experiences

Abstract

The concept value for money, usually defined as the three E’s (economy, efficiency and effectiveness), does not fully apply to projects in development cooperation. The paper on hand argues that the concept should not be perceived as economic benefit in monetary terms only. It encourages a qualitative approach defining value for money as a long-term effect of a project that can be reached by only a little more input of resources than usually available for development cooperation projects. Thus, the concept of value for money is closely connected to that of sustainability of a project. Recent studies show that German-African development cooperation in the field of higher education not always can live up to the expectations concerning sustainability (DAAD 2013 / Hansert et al. 2012). Based on the authors’ experiences with development projects aiming at higher education quality, this article critically reflects on development cooperation in higher education and identifies prerequisites which could foster a beneficial use of (monetary and non-monetary) input in development cooperation projects. As will be shown, critical evaluative thinking, joint project planning, realistic expectations and the acknowledgement of intercultural differences can be key to successful project work in development cooperation and thus can help to increase the value for money and sustainability alike.

Keywords: higher education management, quality assurance, project management, international cooperation, development cooperation