The Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) program was developed to promote immediate, measurable improvement in laboratories of developing countries. The laboratory management framework, a tool that prescribes managerial job tasks, forms the basis of the hands-on, activity-based curriculum. SLMTA is implemented through multiple workshops with intervening site visits to support improvement projects. To evaluate the effectiveness of SLMTA, the laboratory accreditation checklist was developed and subsequently adopted by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO). The SLMTA program and the implementation model were validated through a pilot in Uganda. SLMTA yielded observable, measurable results in the laboratories and improved patient flow and turnaround time in a laboratory simulation. The laboratory staff members were empowered to improve their own laboratories by using existing resources, communicate with clinicians and hospital administrators, and advocate for system strengthening. The SLMTA program supports laboratories by improving management and building preparedness for accreditation.

This article applies an analytical framework of governance and boundaries to explore the development of EU relations with the central and eastern European countries (CEEC) and the politics of enlargement. It examines how boundary changes create opportunities and incentives to extend governance below the membership line. Furthermore, it demonstrates how, through a process of internalization, the CEEC increasingly impact on EU governance through issue linkage, changes in actors' preferences and effects on the negotiation process. This demonstrates a linkage between the governance system and the EU's capacity to contribute to Europe's wider political, security and economic order.

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