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Capacity Building
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Capacity Building
‘Capacity building’ in Africa has its origins in
colonial divestiture. The
conceptual thinking trend has gone from ‘institution building’ in the early
1950s and has gone through ‘institutional strengthening’, ‘development
management’, ‘human resource development’, a ‘new institutionalism’,
through the current ‘capacity building’ of the 1990s (Lusthaus, forthcoming,
not reviewed here). In the recent history of evaluation, ‘capacity
building’ was a synonym for ‘training’, and focused on the individual.
However, it has become apparent that capacity building has distinct components
to make a programme function effectively (van Diesen). Today, evaluation in capacity building has risen in
importance because of concerns about failed programme efforts (lack of
sustainability), scare resources and changing definitions for accountability.
These concerns have spurred the growth of evaluation of initiatives and systems
that seek to promote efficiency and sustainability. Most of the evaluations are
on issues related to the improvement of capacity of implementing agencies
(Breen, Found, Spring), institutions (Spies, Sawio), civil society and
governments/multilaterals (ODA/Synergos Institute). The increase in the numbers of highly qualified African
evaluators will result in increased research using context-specific textbooks (Mugenda). Many international agencies working in developing countries
develop frameworks, models and tools for assessment drawing on the particular
problems encountered in developing countries.
These include SCF for food economy assessment techniques, USAID for
famine early warning systems, and PACT and INTRAC for assessing organisational
capacity. These models have plenty
of scope for trial, use and replication, particularly when they are simple and
inexpensive. Developers of these models have employed creative communication
techniques for evaluation in highly illiterate populations. The increased use of
visual (e.g. Visualisation in Participatory Process- ‘VIPP’), dramatised
(social mobilisation), oral (key informants) or tactile (rapid rural appraisals)
techniques is evidence that these methods provide better participation among
different stakeholders in many African settings. Efforts by UNICEF and World Bank are bringing together the
purchasers and users of evaluation, to create enabling environments for highly
qualified and competent African evaluators. The authors refer readers to the
conference proceedings of the Seminar on Evaluation carried out in Abidjan in
1998 (through African Development Bank), and to the conference report of the
African Evaluation Association Conference carried out in Nairobi in 1999
(through UNICEF East and Southern Africa Regional Office). Author(s):
Breen, C.M., Blair, R., and Chitsike L.T. Title:
Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe: External
Evalutation of Ford Foundation/IDRC Phase II Grant 1991-1994 Source: IDRC
Evaluation 1995 ([email protected];
www.idrc.ca/evaluation)
Key Words:
institutional evaluation, social science research, natural resource
management, training, Zimbabwe Reviewer:
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description:
The Centre for Applied Social Sciences (CASS) is a
postgraduate research and training department in the Faculty of Social Studies
at the University of Zimbabwe, focusing on applied social science issues in
natural resource management. This
report examines the extent to which the objectives of phase II funding
(training, research, publication/dissemination, capacity building) were attained
by the Centre, as well as reviewing critical issues in the development of a
regional role for CASS. Such issues
include institutional and other constraints experienced in attaining the
objectives; current staffing needs and options for increasing the Centre’s
capacities. Others would be the identification of opportunities and constraints
for regional projection including current staffing needs and other possible
inter-institutional linkages with other centres in the region; and options for
the future structure and operation of CASS. The principal findings of the evaluators were that CASS has
largely met the objectives of Phase II, and in so doing, CASS is providing
important and valued leadership nationally, regionally and internationally.
CASS is widely respected for the role it is playing in regional
networking, having in Phase II, conducted regional workshops and a conference,
collaborated in the SADC Fisheries Project, and jointly presented a six week
training course with IUCN and GTZ in natural resource management. CASS activities have expanded both regionally and
vertically to address different levels of resource management. This was in
response to the high regional demand for training in community based natural
resource management. This development could provide both an important service
and a source of income which would contribute to the sustainability of CASS. CASS remains vulnerable, however, because of a high degree
of dependency on the director; a bottom heavy staff profile, with middle
management deficiencies; a declining role in teaching; and an inefficient
administration system. In order to
decrease vulnerability and increase effectiveness, efficiency and
accountability, it is recommended that CASS be restructured to incorporate a
Trust Fund, which would hold the assets and be able to employ the required
staff. The proposed model for the
restructuring of CASS is elaborated in detail in the report. Author:
de Graft-Johnson, K.T. Title:
Report of the Interagency Mission on Monitoring the Achievement of Social
Goals of Development in the 1990s. Source: U N
Statistical Office (UNSO) / UNDP,, 45 p. + annex, July 1991 Key words:
Household, monitoring, evaluation, education, fertility, breastfeeding Reviewer:
UNICEF Kenya Country Office Documentation Centre. Description: The Interagency Working Group consisting of UNICEF, UNFPA,
UNDP and the UN Statistical Office was set up to discuss a statistical programme
to assist developing countries to monitor progress of social goals identified at
global level. The group assessed
data availability, identified gaps and proposed changes in the statistical
system to assist the collection of reliable information. Author(s):
Found, W., Bell, D., Khalikane, M., Schlichter, T., Schwass, R., Sohani,
G., and Victor, P. Title:
A Review of Monitoring and Assessing Progress Toward Sustainability, A
Project Undertaken by IUCN, Supported by IDRC Source:
IDRC Evaluation 1997 ([email protected]; www.idrc.ca/evaluation) Key Words:
project evaluation, assessment tools, sustainability, capacity building,
Columbia, India, Zimbabwe Reviewer:
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description:
The Monitoring and Assessing Progress Toward Sustainability
Project develops and tests local-level efforts to assess sustainability and to
generate strategies to complement an agency emphasis on assessment based on
macro-indicators. This report
examines the learning that has emerged through Phase I of the IUCN/IDRC Project,
providing observations and conclusions that will be useful in planning
subsequent activities of the Project. Analysis
focuses on the conceptual development of the IUCN/IDRC approach, field
development and assessment of tools and methods, related assessment work, and
future applications for the Project. Phase I of the IUCN/IDRC Project was found to have made a
useful start in developing an alternative international approach to assessing
progress towards sustainability. The IUCN approach emphasizes the relationship between human
welfare and the well-being of the ecosystem, seeking to influence human
behaviour at the local level. The
Project presented a number of concepts, metaphors, methods, and tools to be used
and tested in three field settings: India, Columbia, and Zimbabwe.
These tools/methods have proven to be useful in varying degrees in
different contexts, the greatest successes having been in village-based rural
planning in Zimbabwe and in internal agency planning in Columbia.
Field activity suggests the possibility of other successes in the future.
Some methods, however, have not been thoroughly tested, and future work
should concentrate on the continued development of the methods and their
underlying concepts. The Project
documentation is weak in many cases, and the field experiences need to be
systematically used to revise/refine the work, and to place the IUCN/IDRC
approach within the broader field of similar work by other agencies.
Most world-wide attempts to assess progress towards
sustainability are based on the pressure-state-response (PSR) framework, and
focus on the creation of sustainable development indicators (SDI), involving
quantitative measures derived from masses of quantitative data at the national
level. The IUCN/IDRC approach
stands in stark contrast to the PSR/SDI work, and represents an important,
potential complement to it. No
single agency or group has developed a grassroots, reflective approach which has
a major international impact. IUCN/IDRC could fill such a gap, if it clearly
establishes the goal of having a significant international role in
sustainability-assessment activity. IUCN/IDRC must also give more attention to
documentation, some of which must relate its work to the work of others, and to
strategically select partners with whom to undertake joint activities. Author:
Graham, M. Title: Use
of Information and Communication Technologies in IDRC Projects: Lessons Learned Source:
IDRC Evaluation 1997 ([email protected]; www.idrc.ca/evaluation) Key Words:
communication, telecommunications, information and communication
technologies, capacity building. Reviewer:
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description: This evaluation examines the role of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) in development by extracting lessons from
previous IDRC project experiences, in order to provide input for the design and
implementation of the Acacia program. Acacia
explores the investment in, and application of, ICTs by African communities to
build local resources to solve development problems.
The evaluation also tested the usefulness of the Lanfranco Framework for
studying the value of ICTs in development research. ICTs were found to be valuable tools that can help people
to gather and analyze information, store and manipulate data, and improve
communication. ICTs improved the
capability of individuals and institutions to tackle and solve development
problems. National ICT policies and legislation, as well as the
policies of donor agencies with respect to ICTs, were influenced by project
activities, and consultations and lobbying efforts by Centre staff, efforts
which were facilitated by email and Internet access. Geographic information systems (GIS) projects demonstrated
the potential of this technology to encourage planners and communities to take a
more holistic view of development problems.
Projects emphasized regional training and relied on local
capabilities to establish and manage ICT systems. Programme support helped
create an information culture and an environment in which people with similar
interests could share ideas and were encouraged to form professional
associations and informal networks. ICTs
were most effective in overcoming barriers of distance and time, with electronic
mail and associated list servers being used most often.
GIS technologies helped overcome language barriers by presenting complex
spatial relationships as more easily understandable maps.
Several projects provided access to hardware and software that offered
capabilities that were previously inaccessible.
By providing improved access, enhanced sharing, and timely delivery of
information, ICTs empowered people to take action. Projects were able to create a culture of communication and
were most effective in this role when information was tailored to the needs of
users. When jobs and economic
activity were created, they were in most cases in the information and
communication sector.
Use of ICT is expanding in Africa. It is important that government policies and regulations with
regard to telecommunications anticipate this coming tide and that development
activities take advantage of opportunities presented by ICTs.
These technologies can alter the perception of development problems,
provide opportunities for improved communications, deliver information quickly
and inexpensively over great distance, and offer the potential to enhance
regional collaboration to address common problems.
To realize these potentials, close collaboration with communities and
appropriate packaging of information products will be crucial.
Author:
Mougeot, L.J.A. Title:
Urban Agriculture Research in Africa: Reviewing and Enhancing Project
Impacts. Cities Feeding People
Series. Report 29
Source:
IDRC Evaluation Report, 1999 ([email protected];ww.idrc.ca/evaluation) Key Words:
urban agriculture, Sub-Saharan Africa, IDRC Reviewer:
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description:
Urban agriculture (UA) has undergone a dramatic resurgence
in Sub-Saharan Africa. This
evaluation documents, compares and synthesizes the impacts of development
research on urban agriculture supported by IDRC over the past years. All
research activities under review were carried out in cities where UA, under one
form or another, has gained importance as a use of urban land, an employer and
/or a supplier of food to the city, and where research needs and capacities were
in place. Most projects had strong positive impacts on forming
effective local partnerships, in making scientific and methodological advances,
and in utilizing the research results. Some
positive impacts were cited at the level of institutional capacity building, and
to a lesser degree for human resource development.
Weaker positive impacts were recorded under gender sensitive analysis.
The nature and kind of impacts spanned a wide range.
More than 175 individuals received training, the provision of computers
allowed many institutions to increase their capacity for data research and
financial management, as well as the use of telecommunications, and many
projects were successful in linking with other partners concerned with UA
issues. Some impacts of
multi-disciplinary approaches consisted of innovative approaches to research,
appropriate treatment of socio-economic aspects in technical studies, and a
multi-disciplinary research team composition. All projects recorded positive
impacts for result utilization, a particularly important dimension of
development research. These ranged
from increasing public awareness on UA, to influencing graduate curricula, to
sensitizing city council departments. Results
also contributed to input for national policy strategy and proposals on
peri-urban land use, food safety controls and public health, feasibility studies
for rehabilitation of urban garden centres, the establishment of a UA council
committee, and recommendations for city plans and approved zoning provisions.
Most projects were successful in involving key stakeholders, which led in
many cases to the receipt of additional funds during the course of the
IDRC-funded project. This is
important as it affords the project team access to expertise that may otherwise
be unavailable. All researchers
agreed that the external environment had marked their projects, such as
responses to disruptions of city food supplies, and local government view on
urban cultivation. Some of the lessons learned were that research institutions
must have management capacity, and a mix of disciplinary expertise.
The project process must be inclusive, using, for example, pre-project
workshops to identify important stakeholders.
These factors can contribute to a higher level of success and the chance
that research results will be used by urban farmers and local governments to
increase food and income security and/or to improve urban environmental
management. Author(s):
Mugenda, O. and Mugenda, A. Title:
Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches Source:
African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), 1999 Keywords:
textbook, research methods, quantitative, qualitative Reviewer:
Reviewed by the authors of the book Description:
A very recent African text on research methods that is
available in Kenya. In a section on
logistics and ethics, the authors describe common problems encountered in the
field, tips on conducting fieldwork- - the kind of information that remains
tacit until learnt the hard way. They
also cover ethical issues of research in Africa [comment by Authors, African
chapter]. The Book defines the philosophical assumptions on which
quantitative and qualitative approaches to research are based. The positivist
paradigm as the basis for quantitative research and post-positivist paradigm as
the basis for qualitative research are also defined in detail. The book
describes conventional techniques of conceptualizing and stating research
problems, methods of sampling, developing research instruments, collecting data,
data analyses and report writing in quantitative research. The means of
assessing validity and reliability of data in quantitative data are also
examined in details. With regard to qualitative research, the book describes the
various modes of collecting and analyzing qualitative data and the major
differences between quantitative and qualitative data in terms of process and
product. The authors have attempted to localize the research process
to take account of the local historical, socio-cultural, political and economic
contexts that so much influence the research process in sub-Sahara Africa. The
book therefore makes tremendous steps towards meeting the constant lack of
locally available text, which relate to our local situations and experiences.
The authors have tried as much as possible to use local examples. They have also
attempted to describe the problems and challenges commonly encountered by
researchers when conducting research in Kenya and they have suggested ways of
minimizing these challenges and problems. The authors hope that the text will
make positive contribution to the quality of research in Africa. Author(s):
Sawio, C.J. Title:
Urban Agriculture in Dar es Salaam.
Paper prepared for the Workshop on Cities Feeding People: Lessons Learned
from Projects in African Cities, Nairobi, June 21-25, 1998 Source: IDRC
Evaluation Report, 1998 ([email protected];www.idrc.ca/evaluation) Key Words:
project evaluation, urban agriculture, food supply, food production,
environmental management, Tanzania, IDRC Reviewer:
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description: Overall, the results from this evaluation are quality
results, documenting to a satisfactory level the dominant issues of UA in Dar es
Salaam. This is attributed to broad data collection, in-depth analysis and
presentation of the results in uncomplicated maps, diagrams, tables and figures. The Urban Agriculture, Environmental Planning and
Management Process in Dar es Salaam Project was undertaken to build baseline
data on urban agriculture in Dar es Salaam as input into the Urban Environment
Management process through the Sustainable Dar es Salaam Project.
This evaluation assessed the project's impacts.
The subordination of the project into a policy formulation
process in the Sustainable Dar es Salaam Project, which faced some political
problems and management changes, delayed project completion.
However, the project has significantly strengthened institutional
capacity at UCLAS (University College of Lands and Architectural Sciences) and
UDSM (University of Dar es Salaam) through the provision of equipment and
materials. Human resources
development has taken place to some extent, through indirect training; however,
it can be enhanced in future if an urban agriculture-oriented curriculum is
developed sooner and more rigorously among participating institutions. Local partnerships were utilized and some gender analysis
of data occurred. Interdisciplinary
research design and use of different methodological approaches added important
empirical components to the research process.
Notably, the multi-disciplinary approach helped to unearth more on the
environmental impacts on UA (urban agriculture) and of UA on the environment
through livestock keeping and pesticide use.
Also better highlighted is the existence of regulations and by-laws to
regulate the practice of UA, and the need for their enforcement. Results indicate that UA is contributing significantly to
the household economy. Solid waste composting and recycling for UA use is
possible. It can be developed in
peri-urban areas and in such places as Vingunguti, Mtongani Kunduchi, and mining
sites when mining is exhausted. The local government is interested in developing UA and
nine municipalities are currently emulating the Sustainable Dar es Salaam
Project. Leverage of additional
funds from STOAS (Agriprojects Foundation Department of Sub-Saharan Africa) and
NIGP (National Income Generating Program) facilitated rehabilitation of urban
horticultural gardens, which are future vehicles of UA development in Dar es
Salaam. Author: Spies, L. Title:
'Municipal Policy Review': Urban Agriculture (South Africa) Source:
IDRC Evaluation Report, 1998 ([email protected]; www.idrc.ca/evaluation)
Key Words:
urban agriculture, project evaluation, policy formulation, institutional
capacity building, South Africa, IDRC Reviewer:
IDRC Evaluation Unit Description: This document provides an awareness and understanding of
the importance of urban agriculture as a source of food production for the urban
poor. The 'Municipal
Policy Review' re Urban Agriculture (South Africa) project took the form of an
international conference on productive open space management, with a shared
focus on the potential of Urban Agriculture (UA) policy.
Its aim was to share information regarding UA, to identify the need for
policy guidelines and who the role players are, and to investigate key issues
where action is needed. This evaluation assessed the project's impacts. Based on the current perceptions of role players and the
international speakers' papers and their experiences, the evaluation determined
three main components for the effective development of urban agriculture. These
are: a supportive policy framework, which deals with the roles and
responsibilities of the service providers and the strategies to realise and
support these roles; institutional capacity building, addressing seeding money,
training and education, local participation, and the participative planning,
management and maintenance of pilot projects involving local municipalities;
and the establishment of enabling conditions to provide a supportive
legal basis for urban agriculture, particularly with regard to land zoning and
community ownership. Information is required to enable individuals and local
government to make informed decisions regarding urban agriculture. However, in South Africa there is a major lack of access to
and dissemination of information regarding all aspects of urban agriculture,
which may inhibit the development of the above components. This indicates that there is need to organise available
information and to disseminate it in a way that will reach stakeholders even at
the grassroots level. The important issues debated and the guidelines proposed as
a result of the 1998 international conference can influence the formulation of
UA policy in South Africa. Service
providers (institutions) that can deliver community UA services do exist,
however, they lack co-ordination at the national, provincial and local levels,
as well as information concerning the planning and implementation of UA
programme development. Roles and
responsibilities have yet to be decided on.
This conference created an opportunity for a comprehensive overview of
issues that affect the practice of UA and makes way for addressing the
challenge. The project represents a
milestone in the development of guidelines for a municipal policy review process
in South Africa. It not only
contributes to the discussion on the importance of policies to support UA
projects, but it also further increases the awareness and understanding of the
importance of UA as a source of food production for the urban poor.
The success of the implementation of such a programme lies in the
institutionalization of the project. |