Nigeria—John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), Phases I, II

In 2022, the Edo State Government contracted DAI to establish the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy in Benin City by developing procedures, programs, strategy, and a sustainability roadmap to meet the present and future needs of the state public service. In the first phase, the team established the Academy’s necessary building blocks, including a strategic roadmap and service offerings; governance and organizational structure; standard operating procedures; credible faculty; competent staff; necessary infrastructure; linkages to key training institutions; fit-for-purpose programs; and a visibility and branding structure.

In the second phase, we are consolidating the Academy’s operations and sustainability mechanisms—including linkages to human resource systems, state administration processes, and other public service processes—and enhancing partnerships with local and international learning institutions. Taking a collaborative approach, we work closely with the Academy leadership and the new staff, providing evaluation and support services to ensure the sustainability of the organization.

Sample Activities

• Enable JOOPSA to operationalize the procedures, framework, plans, and processes.
• Build customized sustainability mechanisms covering the Academy’s operations, financing, partnerships, and governance models.
• Develop a competency model working closely with the Head of Service, Civil Service Commission, and other key stakeholders, while ensuring adequate linkages with the relevant institutions, human resource systems, and processes.

Select Results (Phase I)

• Developed three crucial documents: a five-year strategic plan, an implementation plan, and a costed operational plan. These documents provide standardized tools and procedures for the Academy’s operations, ensuring it follows an evidence-based roadmap.
• Designed and implemented an organizational structure for the Academy, including governance mechanisms, a Board Operations Manual, organizational structure details, establishment numbers for five years, job descriptions, staffing plans, salary structures, selection and assessment criteria, job advertisements, online application forms, and procedural manuals.
• Established tailored courses and programs, developed relevant curricula, and recruited top-tier faculty. Outputs include a 2023 Training Calendar for JOOPSA, a Comprehensive Course Catalogue, Program and Faculty frameworks, a Learning Partnerships Identification Strategy, Program Clusters/Schools, Competency Frameworks, Curriculum outlines, Pricing Tools, and a repository of potential faculty with recruitment strategies.
• Trained approximately 3,000 public servants from 77 ministries, departments, and agencies on resource management, vision and execution, public service tradecraft, relational resource management, digital and future-readiness, and ethics and value.
• Established a partnership with Nexford University.