Thus far, the Foundation has launched two types of networks — the highly specialized Technical Advisory Panels and Networks (TAP-NETs), six of which have been launched, and the Country Level Knowledge Networks (CLK-NETs), the first of which is being set up in Ghana. Both types of networks aim at encouraging the emergence of communities of practice among development stakeholders in the Foundation’s core competence areas with a view to facilitating knowledge generation, sharing and dissemination for good governance, sustainable growth and poverty reduction. Two other Knowledge Networks, the African Policy Institutes Forum (APIF), and Economic and Financial Policymakers’ Network (EFNET), were launched at the end of 2004.

All six TAP-NETs in the Foundation’s six core competence areas are in operation. These are: Economic Policy Analysis and Management (EPANET), Public Administration and Management (PAMNET), Financial Management and Accountability (FIMANET), Professionalization of the Voices of the Private Sector and Civil Society (VOICENET), Strengthening of Policy Analysis Capacity of National Parliaments and Parliamentary Institutions (PARLIANET), and Strengthening and Monitoring of National Statistics (STATNET).

TAP-NETs are networks of highly competent and experienced professionals, intellectuals, development practitioners, researchers, policymakers, civic leaders, captains of industry and commerce, among others, in the six core competence areas of the Foundation's operation.

The TAP-NETs were set up to achieve three major objectives. First, to improve the quality of ACBF project and program operations so that the Foundation can serve, more effectively, the African continent through projects, programs and knowledge generating and sharing activities in capacity building and development management. Second, to work with ACBF to identify, refine and apply best practices in the capacity building process. Members of the TAP-NETs are therefore expected to contribute their skills, experiences, strategies, techniques and tools, among others, and through the Foundation make these available to policymakers and other development managers in African countries with a view to strengthening the effectiveness of their capacity building programs and enhancing their access to a pool of experts who can contribute valuable inputs to solutions to development management problems ... read more