TNAG-2077-FCO40-2957-Hong-Kong-culture-1990 — Page 123

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Paid Educational Services

12.18 Revision of PES targets and reassessment of PES strategy was undertaken in 1989/90 as a result of the sharp downturn in business caused by a number of factors:

⚫ increasingly, World Bank lending is moving away from traditional project loans into sector loans in which technical assistance and therefore opportunities for Council work are limited. 82% of PES funding in 1988/89 depended on the World Bank. Although this is a significant drop from the 1986/87 level (93%) it still represents high business vulnerability. Heavy reliance on the World Bank is likely to continue. Targets for expansion in Eastern Europe through Know-How projects will, however, lessen single market vulnerability; table 15 assumes at least a 25% annual growth in the European market after 1990/91

• multilateral development agencies increasingly make loans dependent on policy changes by recipient governments, leading to a reduction in large-scale educational development projects ⚫ the market is becoming crowded as competition for contracts increases, internationally and domestically

• British agencies and institutions, sensible of the potential income from project work, are raising consultancy and training prices, which have to be passed on to clients.

Targets for management cost recovery, including those set in CP2, obtain within Projects Group but are not published for commercial reasons.

12.19 Given this context, the main features of operating strategy for the triennium are:

• increased efforts to diversify funding sources and to enter new markets. In line with geographical priorities, particular importance will be attached to supplying project management services in Eastern Europe

• annual business plans for specific countries, to provide objectives, describe marketing strategy and agree investment. In many cases this will involve raising the priority given to PES by Representatives

⚫ enhanced staff training with emphasis on professional project management and marketing skills

⚫ cost control at headquarters. A systems review in 1990 will check that superfluous bureaucratic layers and duplication of procedures are eliminated

⚫ greater focus on co-operation with European agencies and institutions. This will become increasingly important as the single market draws nearer and markets develop in countries whose principal foreign languages are European. EC development will be planned in the context of the proposal to establish an EC Liaison Office (see paragraph 7.16, page 11).

ODA projects

12.20 1989/90 was the first year in which ODA activity was organized on a contract basis, under the terms of the new MOU. Planning forecasts include an assumption that work handled for ODA on a project basis will grow to incorporate current system-based activity after the phasing out of the aid administration grant in 1992/93. Principal objectives are:

⚫ to achieve an annual turnover of at least £33 million by 1993/94

• to achieve a clear understanding with ODA on funding procedures during 1990/91

⚫to develop areas for potential growth in Southern Africa, Pakistan, Brazil and the Caribbean

• to co-operate with university consortia offering project management and divert mutually damaging competition.

Principal effectiveness measures for projects

• amount of project turnover

• amount of turnover on projects in Europe

• number of ODA projects secured, particularly in expanding sectors (health, renewable natural resources, the environment).

13 Arts

(Arts projects, drama and dance, films and television, music, visual arts, visiting arts)

13.1 Arts work is principally funded from the government grant (see table 16). In most developed countries, this is conducted in co- operation with local promoters and takes the form of subsidies. The task of headquarters specialist departments is to supply Representatives with professional information and advice, and to identify, negotiate, subsidize and, where necessary, manage arts events that will contribute to the achievement of country objectives. Traditionally, arts activity has been pre-eminently responsive and has operated with the minimum financial and administrative inputs required to ensure success. Increasingly, however, the trend is towards a more active approach that relies on collaborative funding and sets cultural objectives in the context of political and commercial objectives. A particular problem facing arts work is the unpredictable availability of high-profile arts companies, often as a result of financial constraints they themselves face. This can make forward planning difficult.

13.2 With the aim of contributing to the achievement of country objectives and demonstrating the excellence of British creative and performing arts overseas, principal objectives

are:

• to promote Britain's role in multilateral co-

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