CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT : WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR GROWTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Kanni Wignaraja July 2007

Why Capacity Development? How is the Paris Declaration, EU accession, UN reform and current aid modalities good for development? What does a focus on CD bring? It focuses us on national development priorities, policies and processes. CD is about the power and politics of who makes the decisions: how knowledge and systems are obtained, how dev finance is accessed, how programmes are monitored and used for agreed development results. The spotlight is on the ‘How’: CD is sector, institution and location neutral and works across them all. A systematic approach to CD is more than training and the use of national expertise. CD can be measured, costed, monitored.

What Have We Learnt? There a core set of CD strategies common to most; they must be adapted to local culture and needs. Capacity assessments are a good place to start. But they are only part of a CD process. Individual skills building is easy part. Organisational and societal capacity change is a major challenge and happens incrementally. It takes time. Sustained engagement of technical & political leadership is a requirement. It impacts roles and structures. Given winners and losers in a change process, ensuring transparent incentives is necessary. A technical fix is not always the solution. Political or organisational environment is often constraint to be addressed. CD as relevant to post crisis, middle income, LDC and transition contexts. CD strategies and sequencing differs.

UNDG Position Statement on CD 18 Dec 2006

Offer of UNCT Services for CD 1.Facilitate capacity assessments 2.Enhance analytical capacities to support policies and progs for inclusive growth & pro poor services 3.Support capacities for inclusive decision-making 4.Strengthen national capacities to implement and monitor international conventions and standards 5.Support national capacities to manage dev finance 6.Deepen state and public capacities for access and use of development data & information 7.Support technology & knowledge acquisition/mngt 8.Provide intl standards and good practice in above

UNDP Offer of CD Services Areas of Support: Capacity Assessments CD Response Strategies * Costing CD Strategies Monitoring and Evaluating CD * CD Strategies: Institutional Reform and Incentives Leadership Capacities Education, Training and Learning Accountability and Voice Mechanisms

Adapting and Using Capacity Assessments: A Framework for Dialogue, Design and M&E Scoping Issues Points of Entry Specific issues to be identified and confirmed by stakeholders during the Mobilize and Design Phase Issues driven by application contexts (e.g., national aid management, national progamme implementation capacities) Enabling Environment Org’l Functional Capacities (within a Sector/Theme Context) Formulate Policies and Programmes Assess Assets and Needs Monitor & Evaluate Implement Programmes Individual Engage in Partners & Build Consensus Human Rights Based Approach and Gender Equality Are Embedded in Every Capacity Assessment Technical Capacities

Addressing Implementation Lead with national policies, plans and systems that embeds all development finance - IPA, remittances, FDI, municipal grants… Include and cost required CA & CD within dev plans and budgets Require specificity of CD service support to strengthen national planning, management and monitoring systems Use nationally led and harmonised coordination mechanisms to direct, manage and monitor (in-the-budget, on-budget & off-budget) development finance – with updated mandate, skills mix, location Link AE capacity needs to public administration reform and civil service capacity enhancements Introduce early on state-citizen accountability & voice mechanisms Include capacities to deal with ‘distortions’ (brain gain/retention, competing conditionalities, parallel systems, no exit strategies, different accountability and transparency standards)