The IDI works with Supreme Audit Institutions in emerging and developing countries in all seven regions of INTOSAI. We organise our work and deliver our capacity development programmes in cooperation with INTOSAI Committees and Working Groups and the Regional Training Committees and Secretariats. Our programmes are developed in close cooperation with these institutions and in accordance with the needs detected in each region. The invitation to take part in a programme is sent to the head of the institution, who also nominates the participants from the SAI.

During the period 2001-2006 the IDI focused mainly on developing a second pool of training specialists through the Long Term Regional Training Programme (LTRTP) which was delivered in CREFIAF, OLACEFS, CAROSAI and EUROSAI. Through this programme, approximately 200 audit practitioners from the regions’ SAIs were trained in the design, development and delivery of courses using modern interactive training techniques and the IDI’s “systematic approach to training” (SAT). The LTRTP has been a key mechanism for developing sustainable training infrastructures in the regions of INTOSAI.

During the years 2003-2006, the IDI continued to cooperate closely with Working Groups and Standing Committees of INTOSAI to help disseminate best practice guidance developed by these bodies. Through these cooperation projects we have delivered programmes in Public Debt Auditing, IT Auditing and Environmental Auditing.

During 2005-2006 we also placed considerable focus on Goal 5 of the Strategic Plan: “to explore the potential of Distance Learning Programmes”. Three different projects were started to investigate how we can use new developments in e-learning to reach more SAI staff with our training and capacity building efforts. The experience gained in these projects will help us develop this training method and design guidelines for e-learning.

As we embark on a new Strategic Planning Period on 1 January 2007, we are making a strategic shift from classroom training to a broader “training for impact”. The lessons learned from the previous period indicated that professional staff development through training is not sufficient to achieve sustainable strengthening of the SAI as an institution. This means that both the strengthening of the SAI as an institution and the professional development of its staff will form part of our scope.

As the IDI seeks to address capacity-building issues in the target SAIs, the programmes are likely to be more focused on subgroups or clusters of SAIs rather than on the region as a whole.


Principles

To ensure effective development through its programmes, the IDI has adopted four principles. These principles constitute important elements that IDI staff members employ when designing and implementing programme activities:

Regional and local ownership

To ensure sustainability, the IDI is committed to developing its strategies in cooperation with Regional Training Committees and Secretariats. This approach guarantees that the strategies reflect local and regional needs and priorities.

Partnerships

The IDI believes that strong partnerships guarantee better results. It has therefore entered into a number of regional partnerships and has signed Memorandums of Understanding with five of the seven INTOSAI regions.

Donor coordination

One of the IDI principles is to avoid to the extent possible competing for funding with the regions. It has therefore not approached regional development banks to seek funding for the IDI programmes. However the IDI has assisted the regions in approaching these banks for the funding of their own plans.

Gender balance

The IDI has focused on the issue of gender balance at workshops and courses to ensure as far as possible that women are represented both as facilitators/instructors and participants. In all IDI events 2001-2005, approximately 40% of the participants were women.

To facilitate the gender balance among participants, the IDI invites the heads of SAIs to nominate candidates of both genders for participation and instruction. This policy has undoubtedly worked as over the years we have seen an increasing balance in gender among both participants and instructors.