Monash Memo - articles - 14 November 2001

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Monash wins deal with Asian Development Bank

Monash International has won a prestigious contract to develop an in-house learning program on private sector development strategy for the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Announcing the win this week, Monash International managing director and CEO Mr Tony Pollock said the awarding of the contract was central to building its offshore reputation in the areas of project consultancies and training and development, and in partnership formation with key institutions such as the ADB.

The ADB is a multilateral development finance institution dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific.

Professor Graeme Hodge, director of the Law faculty's Centre for the Study of Privatisation and Accountability, will lead the team of Monash International specialists.

"The first phase of the in-house learning program is a challenging opportunity and will constitute 'awareness sessions' for senior staff in the bank's head office in Manila," Professor Hodge said.

Monash International project development manager Ms Julie Robertson said the work was fundamentally about capacity building in the bank's priority area of private sector development (PSD).

"It aims to increase the capacity of staff across several levels as part of the ADB's efforts to provide an enabling environment for PSD and is a key element supporting the recent release of the bank's PSD strategy," she said.

"The strategy represents a critical step forward for the bank in that it has not only outlined the importance of a strong and dynamic private sector to long-term economic development but has also clearly articulated a supportive framework to underpin its future work in this area," she said. "This framework provides the structural heart and a central intellectual underpinning for the in-house learning program."

Under the strategy, the major thrusts include creating favourable conditions for business, generating business opportunities and encouraging private investment.

Monash International's Project Development and Assistance Unit, which manages the project, is a strategic unit and supporting arm of Monash International dedicated to project consultancies, training and development.