A word about ISA

Managed by IPE Global and the British Council, the Implementation Support Agency (ISA) has been set up to provide World Bank-funded technical support to the Government of Bihar’s State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) with the aim of enhancing teacher effectiveness in Bihar at the elementary level. The Inception Period provided the team with the opportunity of building relationships, doing initial situation analysis and developing a series of action plans to tackle the defined result areas under the project. During the initial phase, ISA has further developed its understanding of the operating context and liaised extensively with potential partners both nationally and internationally to adapt and adopt exemplary practices to the context of Bihar. In addition ISA has been active in supporting and quality assuring the work of CfBT in developing an SMC module and AMC in its completion of a TNA on ICT in Education, and has responded to World Bank requests to produce a mid-line survey design and draft TORs for the tendering of Technical Assistance for the development of a Teacher Incentivisation Policy and for School Leadership Training.   

The technical approach that ISA has developed recognises the key role of capacity building at all levels of the state teacher education system in the interests of longer-term sustainability while at the same time, given the acute staff shortages currently prevailing, the pragmatic need to lead proactively to ensure that urgent tasks are completed. The application of ICT solutions in every aspect of the programme underpins all the work of ISA. To support SCERT a temporary ISA office has been established within the SCERT complex while refurbishment of appropriate office space is completed.