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CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT - UNDP

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT : A UNDP PRIMER United Nations DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT : A UNDP PRIMERC ontents 2009 United Nations DEVELOPMENT Programme 304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 USAPurPoseThis primer addresses the basic elements of the UNDP approach to CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT . It provides a simple, cogent and accessible illustration of the UNDP CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Approach for the benefit of DEVELOPMENT practitioners both within and beyond the UN DEVELOPMENT system a real-world guide to real-world applications to strengthen and contribute to national capacities for DEVELOPMENT . It focuses in on smart institutions, visionary leadership, access to knowledge and public accountability mechanisms as the drivers of CAPACITY change, and draws from evidence and policies from across regions, synthesizing country-led experiences and institutional lessons with global research. The Primer refers, and offers ready access, to these resources, but it does not purport to capture all knowledge, views and practice in this extensive field.

I. CAPACity IS develoPment! Capacity development is about transformations that empower individuals, leaders, organizations and societies. If something does not lead to change that is generated, guided and sustained by those whom it is meant to

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Transcription of CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT - UNDP

1 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT : A UNDP PRIMER United Nations DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT : A UNDP PRIMERC ontents 2009 United Nations DEVELOPMENT Programme 304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 USAPurPoseThis primer addresses the basic elements of the UNDP approach to CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT . It provides a simple, cogent and accessible illustration of the UNDP CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Approach for the benefit of DEVELOPMENT practitioners both within and beyond the UN DEVELOPMENT system a real-world guide to real-world applications to strengthen and contribute to national capacities for DEVELOPMENT . It focuses in on smart institutions, visionary leadership, access to knowledge and public accountability mechanisms as the drivers of CAPACITY change, and draws from evidence and policies from across regions, synthesizing country-led experiences and institutional lessons with global research. The Primer refers, and offers ready access, to these resources, but it does not purport to capture all knowledge, views and practice in this extensive field.

2 However, we hope it provides a convincing and enticing initiation into an area of DEVELOPMENT knowledge and practice that is at the heart of what makes human DEVELOPMENT results sustainable over time. ACknowledgments This advocacy primer is the result of a team effort, from conception to write-up. It uses UNDP s existing resources and key knowledge materials as its base and benefits from fresh insights from CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT practitioners and experts. With the direction of Kanni Wignaraja, Director of UNDP s CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Group, the primer was developed by Andie Davis and Tsegaye Lemma. Substantive inputs and country examples were provided by the CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Regional and Headquarters teams. The peer review group consisted of Alessandra Casazza, Blythe Fraser, Christianna Pangalos, Jayne Musumba, Jennifer Colville, Julianne Heck, Niloy Banerjee.

3 Special thanks go to Noura Hamladji (UNDP Azerbaijan), Berdi Berdiyev (BDP), Maureen Lynch (Communications Office), Purusottam Man Shrestha (UNDP Nepal), Robert Bernardo (CDG) This primer was designed by What Works. Contact Information: Editor: Kanni Wignaraja, Website: IntroductionII. Elements of the UNDP approach to CAPACITY developmentIII. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT in action IV. Annex - Resources VI. Current issues in CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT 3I. evolving APProACh to develoPmentThere is now emerging agreement in the DEVELOPMENT community that CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT is the engine of human DEVELOPMENT . In the face of the current economic, climate and food crises, developing state and societal capacities to de-sign and implement strategies that minimize the impact posed by these crises will remain critical for sustaining progress towards achieving DEVELOPMENT objectives including the MDGs1. CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT starts from the principle that people are best empowered to realize their full potential when the means of DEVELOPMENT are sustainable home-grown, long-term, and generated and managed collectively by those who stand to benefit.

4 But what exactly do we mean by CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ? Confusion around the term seems to have grown along with its popularity. For some, CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT can be any effort to teach someone to do something, or to do it better. For others, it may be about creating new institutions or strengthening old ones. Some see CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT as a focus on education and training, while others take a broad view of it as improving individual rights, access or DEVELOPMENT : the wAys to the meAnsFor UNDP, CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT contains elements of all of the above. UNDP sees CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT as the pro-cess through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own DEVELOPMENT objectives over time. Simply put, if CAPACITY is the means to plan and achieve, then CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT describes the ways to those means. An essential ingredient in the UNDP CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT approach is transformation.

5 For an activity to meet the standard of CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT as practiced and promoted by UNDP, it must bring about transformation that is generated and sustained over time from within. Transformation of this kind goes beyond performing tasks; instead, it is more a matter of changing mindsets and attitudes. 1 The Millennium DEVELOPMENT Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world s main DEVELOPMENT challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations-and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September TO CONsIDER whILE READINg ThIs PRIMER:Based on your own personal experience, have you ever wondered why certain government institutions perform better than others?5I. IS DEVELOPMENT ! CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT is about transformations that empower individuals, leaders, organizations and societies .

6 If something does not lead to change that is generated, guided and sustained by those whom it is meant to benefit, then it cannot be said to have enhanced CAPACITY , even if it has served a valid DEVELOPMENT purpose. Compare the examples APProACh to DEVELOPMENT moving to A CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT APProACh to humAn develoPmentwhAt differenCe does it mAke?Training in how to use the latest technology available on the market Training, as an integral part of a comprehensive programme addressing CAPACITY issues, on how to use the most readily available technology best suited to the organization s goals embedded in a personnel DEVELOPMENT plan; with build-in incentives to apply the new skills; empowering/enabling trainees to train others in using the technology; clearly articulating the benefits to personnel DEVELOPMENT and the linkage of personal performance to team performance and overall organizational efficiency and ability to fulfill its mandateNo stand alone, one-off interventions; new skills and competences developed responding to specific (individual and organizational) needs; incentives to apply the newly acquired skills and improve workplace performance; learning strategies to address future training needs.

7 Personnel DEVELOPMENT recognized as a necessary means to improve organizational performanceA foreign expert hired to work in a ministry to perform needed func-tions (gap filling)A foreign expert who coaches local staff in the ministry for a limited period of time. Institutional twinning, coaching and mentoring programmes are integral parts of the public serviceTransfer of knowledge and expertise, independence from outside expertise in the long-run, personnel developmentA project team provided by an inter-national donor, housed within a local body but reporting to and using the mechanisms of the donor A project team funded by an international donor (with local contracts issued by local body), within a ministry and using local mechanisms to implement the project, with a clear strategy to strengthen the capacities of the national system and ideally move towards complete integration within the ministry system (inclusion in bud-get, establishment of posts, enrolment on payroll, etc)No separate parallel system but inte-gral to exiting system consequently strengthening the CAPACITY of the national/local system to manage similar tasks (project)

8 In the future as part of their mandate and day-to-day workA donor agency procuring/providing goods and services from interna-tional market on behalf of a government ministry Support the establishment of a procurement process that is transparent, accountable and responsive to national needs and uses national systemsDevelopment of national procurement system that is effective and meets international standards6I. CAPACITY Matters The old model has been based on [the] mistaken assumption .. that it is possible simply to ignore existing capacities in developing countries and replace them with knowledge and systems produced elsewhere a form of DEVELOPMENT as dis-placement, rather than DEVELOPMENT as transformation. CAPACITY for DEVELOPMENT : New Solutions to Old ProblemsSo, we now recognize that CAPACITY is DEVELOPMENT . How did we arrive at this thinking? Some might say that the DEVELOPMENT community took the scenic route:7I.

9 EVOLUTION Of UNDP s CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT APPROACh Developing countries need money. Developing countries should just model themselves after the developed ones. Developing countries should partner with developed ones Developing countries should own, design, direct, implement and sustain the process themselves the Aid developed countries lend or grant money to developing countriesTechnical Assistance foreign experts come in to operate their own projects, which they expect to yield similar results to those seen in developed countriesTechnical Cooperation greater emphasis on training, transferring knowledge, based on national policies and prioritiesCapacity DevelopmentA focus on empowering and strengthening endogenous capabilities Greater focus on investment and reporting than on results Mounting debt Dependence on foreign aid Projects end when money runs out Projects launched, but disconnected from local goals or priorities Assumes few or no resources available locally Dependence on foreign experts Expertise not always transferred from foreigners to locals The externally driven model may ignore local realities Idea of assistance highlights unequal relationship between developed and developing countries Local expertise enhanced Projects somewhat more in line with local priorities and goals Driven by outside forces, opportunities missed to develop local institutions and strengthen local capacities Expensive Makes the most of local resources people, skills, technologies, institutions and builds on these Favours sustainable change Takes an inclusive approach in addressing issues of power inequality in relations between rich and poor, mainstream and marginalized (countries, groups and individuals)

10 Emphasizes deep, lasting transformations through policy and institutional reforms Values best fit for the context over best practice ; as one size does not fit allthenfollowed ByAnd of experimenting with DEVELOPMENT models have confirmed the value of local ownership and CAPACITY . While financial resources are vital, they alone cannot sustain human DEVELOPMENT . Technical cooperation may be appropriate in some instances to address short-term needs, but tends to be donor-driven and expensive, and to rely unduly on for-eign expertise while distorting national priorities. Strong CAPACITY , locally generated and sustained, is essential to the success of any DEVELOPMENT enterprise. Without it, the integrity of DEVELOPMENT achievements can be compromised and progress can remain rootless and illusory, sepa-rated from the capacities that already exist and vulnerable to the increasingly severe and complex challenges facing the world today.


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