1. The Lake Victoria Initiative Initiated in 1999. A time frame of 20 years is envisaged. Objective: to contribute to poverty reduction within a framework of sustainable development a regional Approach Strategic Partnership agreement signed in 2001 twn EAC, Sweden, France, Norway, WB,EADB.

2. Lake Victoria Strategy - the areas of intervention Capacity development for sustainable development Empowerment of Communities & individuals Sound environment and sustainable use of natural resources Combating HIV/AIDS Private sector development for economic growth Special emphasis to be given to multidimensional programs and projects - promote the three dimensions of sustainable development

3. Capacity development for sustainable development Support to organisations within the EAC structure Support to regional co-operation Support to civil society organisations Support to local authorities Knowledge development of the links between poverty reduction and sustainable development

4. Capacity building strategies Technical assistance Mainly for project management expertise. short term and not build dependence. Use of local/regional consultants to beef up slim staffing Tailored courses. Courses tailored to suit the local environment with participants working on local case studies. Research responding to local needs and problems encourage partnering across countries and across disciplines.

5. Capacity building strategies Exchange of experiences/sharing of best practices thru Partnerships (north-south) - Swedish NGOs partnering with east African NGOs. mixed results. Study tours, between organizations with similar mandates. Visits always based on ToR that identify the possible learning areas, which experiences are relevant. Good results. Regional networks and collaboration between different bodies positive peer pressure, also serves to ensure non duplication of interventions.

6. Experiences institutional set up and institution building important. No parallel structures Human resource development concurrent with institutional development. Should respond to need (enable individuals to perform their jobs better) and be based on a capacity needs analysis/plan.

7. Experiences importance of clear definition the capacity building objectives- insufficient definition and preparations result in ambiguous results Ownership - both the processes and products must be owned – No donor labels

8. Challenges The understanding of partnership vis-a-vis the donor-recipient relations. Long chain of channeling the support High/distorted expectations of the partners when you talk about capacity building. How to balance institutional strengthening, capacity building and direct activities as appropriate.

9. Maximising benefits Critical is to address the underlying causes of poverty such as poor governance, unsupportive policies and lack of participation. Institutional achorage Involvement + enhanced collaboration (CSOs, Govt, PS) Decision making at lowest appropriate level

10. Thank you