Engineering a Better World The Contribution of the Engineer to Humanitarian Assistance and International Development The Institution of Civil Engineers, March 2010 Engineering Partner

Building Capacity to Deliver Effective Transport Infrastructure: Lessons from experience Gary Taylor Managing Director I.T.Transport Limited (ITT) Reducing Poverty by Enabling Access

Engineering Partner What is capacity building? A coordinated process of interventions to –(i) upgrade skills –(ii) improve procedures, and –(iii) strengthen organizations. Investment in people, institutions and practices Capacity is built effectively when such activities contribute to the achievement of national goals while donor aid dependence decreases. World Bank PovertyNet website

Engineering Partner What it is not! A large, elaborate and expensive training programme with no discernible immediate practical application Nor is it: A subcomponent of a large programme that the Consultant would rather not have to do but carries out to fulfil the Terms of Reference

Engineering Partner Why is capacity building so important? Dead Aid? Critics of development assistance claim much is either a waste of time or detrimental to development Are not many of the failures in past assistance due to inattention to building capacity? For example – no point in building a road without capacity to maintain it – otherwise needs rebuilding in years time.

Engineering Partner What can be learnt from experience? What does not work ? – always more obvious than the opposite What works? – sometimes results take a long time What Examples – personal views

Engineering Partner Training – what was the point? Case Study – the training of small scale (labour-based) contractors in Tanzania –A group of contractors trained in Kilimanjaro Region about 10 years ago: now have no work –Training replicated in Arusha and then Mwanza: same result, they do not have work Lack of market research, wrong environment or wrong strategy?

Engineering Partner What works better? Understanding the contractors’ priorities: 1.Good workload 2.Payment on time 3.Training/skill development (short) –Example; Zambia Chipata contractors Training more, very small scale contractors (petty contractors or labour-only contractors) – example Rufiji local contractors

Engineering Partner Footnote to the above Case Study: Local Government staff in Ghana –Wish to decentralise management of local roads but problem over lack of capacity –Found that LG staff had received lots of training but had no resources to put the training into effect

Engineering Partner Improving Processes & Procedures - Computerisation Case Study: computerisation of MIS in Kenya –Took four years –Never delivered what it should have done –Interim spreadsheet solution provided more benefits Not properly thought through? Too much “black box”?.....There are even worse examples!

Engineering Partner What works better? Proper research of the needs – –Example: Kenya AIE program Keep computerisation as simple as possible (don’t be overambitious) Break work into modules that can be separately tested and implemented (allows checking of computer specialist’s work if not all delivered at the end)

Engineering Partner Training the right target group? Selection process for trainees is often either: –Too restrictive in terms of qualifications (end result is small group already with training) Or –Seen as a burden so that only those staff that can be easily spared are sent for training (courses too long and not seen as immediately useful) Result = limited impact

Engineering Partner What works better? Short simple training for a large number of people to achieve impact –Example: Tanzania Village level foremen/gang leaders Training grass roots groups that are the immediate beneficiaries –Example: Nicaragua Transport committees to look after roads

Engineering Partner Lessons Learnt Do not train people unless you are sure that they can put the training into effect; Where appropriate, focus training on lower levels and direct beneficiaries Keep training focused (on customer needs) and short; Don’t be over ambitious in computerisation and keep it modular;

Engineering Partner Memo: Capacity Building is.... Central to the development of infrastructure The way to sustainability of transport infrastructure The route by which the need for development assistance will eventually be eliminated

Engineering Partner END Thank you