A Results-oriented Approach to Capacity Development for Democratic Governance

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A Results-oriented Approach to Capacity
Development for Democratic Governance

• Workshop for CIDA
• Ottawa,
• 10.-11.December 2008

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Session 1

• Introductions and
• Learning Objectives

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Learning Objectives

• Make sense of capacity concepts
• Recognise key elements of the CD challenge in the
  democratic governance area
• Be able to assist partners adopting a
  results-based operational approach to CD
• Know options for and limits to own role in
  support to CD

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Session 2

• The Capacity Development Challenge - Overview

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Accra Agenda for Action

• Donors will support efforts to increase the
  capacity of all development actors parliaments,
  central and local governments, CSOs, research
  institutes, media and the private sector to
  take an active role in dialogue on development
  policy and the role of aid..

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The Paris/Accra point of departure

• We agreed in the Paris Declaration that
  capacity development is the responsibility of
  developing countries, with donors playing a
  supportive role, and that technical co-operation
  is one means among others to develop capacity.
• Accra Agenda for Action

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Then what are we talking about?

• Capacity synonyms
• Ability, capability, aptitude, faculty,
  competence, facility, power, gift
• So what is the capacity of
  this car?

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CD What does it mean?

• Many view capacity development in very vague
  terms
• Capacity development is not even a term that
  most people outside of development organizations
  really know much about.
• The lack of a clear and agreed definition of
  what is meant by capacity development is a
  challenge

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The definitions ...

• Capacity
• The ability of people, organisations and society
• as a whole to manage their affairs successfully.
• Capacity development
• The process by which people and organisations
• create and strengthen their capacity....
• Support to capacity development
• Inputs to capacity development processes
• delivered by external actors....

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Capacity is inside people, organisations and
broader systems
shaped and influenced by external factors and
actors
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Capacity in plain figures
Two non-exclusive options Working on the
demand side Working on the supply-side
Supporting change
Contextual factors and actors influencing capacity
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Five key elements of the approach

• Focus on change
• Holistic approach
• Focus on what is there
• Results focus
• Serious about ownership and about donors playing
  second fiddle jointly

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The Change Function
Dissatis- faction
Process of change
Vision
Enhanced capacity
Cost of change
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Incomplete functions

• D x P x V Change!
• D x P Fast road to confusion
• D x V Anxiety and frustration
• P x V Bottom of inbox

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Tools for Change
Dissatisfaction 1. Quick Scanning Matrix 2.
Setting the stage Mapping sector and governance
actors 3. Political Economy and Stakeholder
Analysis 4. Organisational assessment
Vision and design 7. Sequencing/ scoping 8.
Logical design
Change process 5. Partners role in CD
processes 6. Change management capacity and design
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Session 3

• Assessing capacity Holistic, outputs, power
  issues what to look for?

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Actors, Organisations and System in Democratic
Governance
Political System/Government
Context
Citizens, voters, consumers, economic agents,
elites etc.
Checks and balances organisations
Core public agencies
Public and private frontline agencies
Donors
Governance, demand
Accountability, supply
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Analytical framework - 1
Contextual factors beyond influence
Development results
Governance
Inputs
Outputs
Immed. intermed. Outcome
Impact
Contextual factors within influence
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What assessments often find...

• Lack of resources
• Lack of planning
• Lack of effective tax regime
• No transparency
• No effective oversight
• No focus on results
• No.

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Understandingnothing??
Measuring the difference?
Desired Reality Democratic governance
Current reality
..or understanding reality?
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Combining values and understanding?
Measuring an actionable difference?
Desired reality Progress towards democratic
governance
Current reality
.. understanding reality
relevant benchmarks within reach
.. credible change process
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Capacity diagnosis, step by step..

• Outside-in
• Why assess, who should assess?
• Watch the context
• Focus on results
• Inputs
• Go inside the box other boxes...and
• What lies beneath?

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1. Accra ambiguities on assessments

• Developing countries will systematically
  identify areas where there is a need to
  strengthen the capacity to perform.at all
  levelsand design strategies to address them
• Developing countries and donors will jointly
  assess the quality of country systems in a
  country-led process using mutually agreed
  diagnostic tools. developing countries will lead
  in defining reformDonors will support these
  reforms and provide capacity development
  assistance.

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2. Embedded in the context

Agents/actors inside and outside organisations
Institutional factors
Structural factors
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Stakeholders and actors..

• Individuals and collectives pursuing particular
  interests...
• Political economic elite, civil servants, the
  military, civil society, donors...
• Always strategizing, always dynamic...
• ..and embedded in structural and institutional
  drivers of and constraints to change
• How can actors help to deal with factor
  constraints and exploit drivers?

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Actors Stakeholders
Political System/Government
Context
Citizens, voters, consumers, economic agents,
elites etc.
Checks and balances organisations
Core public agencies
Public and private frontline agencies
Donors
Governance, demand
Accountability, supply
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3. Outputs first outcomes next!

• Outputs are all aspects of products, services and
  regulatory functions
• Past output levels point to likely future
• Outputs are good proxies for capacity
• Capacity changes causes outputs to change
• Dialogue about outputs diverts attention from
  inputs, vague plans, TA, training
• But It is not that simple!

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Challenge
Outputs? Prepare for the House of
the Commons!
No, never ever!
Yes, obviously!
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Tensions in results-orientation

• Managing by Results
• Meet the targets
• Hard Outputs
• Objective assessment or verification
• Outwards accountability
• Rigorous methods and high quality data
• Sanctions and rewards
• Encourages conservative behaviour

• Managing for Results
• Continuous improvement
• Also soft outputs, outcomes and impacts
• Self-assessment and participation
• In- and outwards accountability
• Rapid, low cost methods
• Motivation, learning
• Encourages risk-taking, experimenting

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5. Capacity The six-box model

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The 6 boxes unpacked

• Strategy Are goals and strategies clear? Do
  the inputs and contexts fit?
• Structures How is work divided?
• Leadership Does someone keep the boxes in
  balance adapt to the context?

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The 6 box unpacked (2)

• Internal Relationships
• Between boss-staff, peers, and units?
  Constructive conflict resolution approaches?
• Helpful mechanisms (systems processes)
• Are coordinating and control instruments
  adequate (planning, budgeting, auditing,
  monitoring)
• Rewards (motivation)
• Are there incentives for doing key functions?

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6. What lies beneath?

• Look for both the functional and the
  political dimensions of organisations
• Look for both formal and informal aspects
• All organisations have informal aspects and a
  political dimension
• Functional, political, formal, informal - all can
  strengthen or weaken capacity and change
  prospects
• Question Who needs to know what, and when,
  about these aspects?

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Functional and political dimension of capacity
Functional dimension Political dimension
Main unit of analysis? Driving forces? Image of man? Change? Change efforts? Focus on functional task-and-work system A sense of norms, intrinsic motivation Employees caring for the organisation Participative reasoning, finding best technical solution, orderly Internal systems, structures, skills, technology etc Focus on power- and-loyalty systems Sanctions and rewards, incentives Individuals caring for themselves Internal conflict, coalition with powerful external agents, unpredictable Incentives, change of key staff, outsmarting opposition
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Tool Diagnosis of formal/informal fit
Formal System Informal System
Purposes Is there goal clarity? Is there goal agreement?
Structure Functional product/ project or matrix? How is work actually done?
Relation-ships Who should deal with whom on what? What technologies should be used? How well do they do it? Quality of relations? Modes of conflict management?
Rewards (incentives) Explicit system what is it? Implicit, psychic rewards what do people feel about payoffs?
Leader-ship What do top people manage? How? Normative style of management?
Helpful mecha-nisms What is the Budget system? MIS? Planning system? Control system? What are they actually used for? How do they function in practice? How are systems subverted?
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Summary Diagnostic dimensions
Focus on the functional-rational dimension Focus on the political dimension
Focus on factors within the organisation(s) How is the job done? How is power exercised and interests accommodated?
Focus on factors in the external environment Is there an enabling environment for doing the job? Which forces influences the internal power relations?
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Session 4

• Getting CD results and processes right for
  democratic governance

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Breaking away from a donor-centric focus
Figure 1 The traditional, limited assumption
focusing on donor inputs
Donor TC inputs activities
Figure 2 The extended assumption converting
ownership to tangible commitments
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Get CD results right
Design logic Start from impact, work backwards
to determine if and how TC support may be
relevant and feasible
CD outputs Organisation(s) with increased or
enhanced capacity to perform
Recurrent inputs to the organisation(s) (budget,
staff)
Increased or enhanced outputs (services, products)
Outcomes for users of products and services
Wider impact
Internal resources dedicated to CD
CD processes
External TC support to CD
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Get CD results right
Design logic Start from impact, work backwards
to determine if and how TC support may be
relevant and feasible
CD outputsTax authority has procedures, staff
and managers able to administer VAT

VAT revenue up 200, coverage 80 complete
VAT revenues transparently used in budget for
social services
Increased literacy, improved health, stronger
social contract
Manager, staff, some costs
Change process lead by managers with training,
coaching, joint development of new processes
V.A.T. experts
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Session 5

• Change Management and Ownership how to make it
  operational?

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Challenge

• Which words are most positively connected with
  capacity to develop and change?
• Powerful, harmony, tension, emotional,
  agreement, forceful, conflict, orderly, unknown,
  planned, control, interested, motivated,
  interests, drive, reason.
• Add to the list

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Characteristics of change processes

• Rarely linear
• Normally contested and resisted
• Most often incremental
• Goals and plans have ritual functions as much as
  managerial
• Losses materialise quicker than wins
• Change creates angst

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Key factors for successful CD - process

• External pressure for change
• Leadership, creating sense of urgency, purpose
  and feasibility
• Credible coalition for change, with enough power
  to deal with resistance
• Carefully crafted change strategy and cunning
  change management
• Flexible change process

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Elements of change processes

• Agenda setting -gt
• Formulation/Design -gt
• Approval -gt
• Implementation -gt
• Pausing/phasing out -gt

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Four options for interventions
Focus on the functional-rational dimension Focus on the political dimension
Focus on factors within the organisation(s) Getting the job done Getting power right, and accommodating interests
Focus on factors in the external environment Creating an enabling environment for doing the job Forcing change in the internal power relations
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Change interventions a la carte
Predominantly functional-rational perspective Predominantly political perspective
Interventions targeted at internal elements Change of systems, structures, procedures, technology skills training management training, Promotions, firing, targeted support to groups of reformers, sanctions against rent seeking, performance-based benefits to key staff
Interventions targeted at external stakeholders and factors Output-based budgeting, change of resource envelope, change in formal/legal mandate, introduction of supervisory agencies etc. Coalitions of external stakeholders strong enough to impose change. User pressure for accountability, support to advocacy and lobby groups, training of politicians, journalists.
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Session 6

• Donor support to CD roles, means and joint
  approaches

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A Challenge from Paris

• Capacity development is the responsibility of
  partner countries with donors playing a support
  role
• Paris Declaration 2006
• - What does that mean???

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Focus on the sector/organisations

• Dont ask what donors can do for the
  organisation/sector
• ..ask what the sector/organisation might want to
  do to strengthen its capacity
• - and whether donors might be helpful or not to
  that process
• Question What could that entail?

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Tool Development partners roles

• Identify the roles actually played in cases you
  are familiar with
• Discuss if there is a trend between what was done
  and what maybe should have been done
• Time for the task 45 minutes

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Discussion donor roles in CD support?

• Capacity development is a domestic affair
• So, how proactive should donors be?
• If it depends on the context, which context
  factors are then important?

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Donor roles in developing support

• Support development of broad directions for
  change and of change strategy
• Focus on feasible CD targets in terms of changes
  in organisational outputs
• Understand drivers and constraints to become a
  trusted partner
• Play a catalytic role, do not design or implement
• Ensure that CD inputs can adapt to the process
  rather than vice versa

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Joint CD support in sector programmes

• The SWAp is all about strengthened sector
  capacity, capacity often the difficult missing
  link
• CD is a core part of the sector programme, not an
  add on get it on the agenda
• Same principles apply for CD as for other SP
  areas
• Alignment to framework and joint plans before
  joint funding modalities
• Share diagnostics, reviews, dialogue
• Exploit comparative advantages and
  disadvantages

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How donors can support CD processes

• Own efforts
• Behave!
• Get a grip on the context for CD
• Deepen dialogue
• Stop topping-up, poaching of staff etc.
• Dont go alone
• Seek and share knowledge

• Financed/acquired
• Peer mechanisms
• Piloting new ways
• Staff exchanges
• Knowledge acquisition
• TA
• Training

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TA - Triangular Affairs- Uneasy Balances?

Customer? Client? Beneficiary? Partner? Stakeholde
r? Employer?
LOCAL INSTITUTION(S)
Doer? Middleman? Mediator? Facilitator? Controll
er? Spy?
DONORS
TA
Employer? Stakeholder? Customer? Partner? Benefac
tor?
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Session 7

• Bringing the ingredients of the CD cocktail
  together

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Repetition The Change Function?
Dissatis- faction
Process of change
Vision
Enhanced capacity
Cost of change
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Key factors for successful CD - content

• Scope of change in relation to existing capacity
• Realistic targets defined as outputs
• Combination of various options for CD
• External pressure for change
• Specificity of the products
• Sequencing and timing of interventions

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Basics first?

• Inputs and procedures before results?
• External controls before trust in managers?
• Dont try to replace patrimonialism, work to
  modify it?
• Work on reducing discretionality and opaqueness,
  rather than introducing the Perfect System?
• Leave NPM on the shelf?

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Sequencing

• Platform approach Basics first, consistent with
  power relations and change capacity
• Reform units?
• Ring-fencing strategic units?
• Focusing on uncontroversial routine processes?
• Risks in all approaches and no right answer
• Sectors cannot do it alone

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CD planning matrix
Impact
Outcomes CD development objective
Outputs CD immediate objectives
Capacity CD results
Recurrent inputs CD activities
CD inputs all sources
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Monitoring Capacity Development

• Why?
• Accountability
• Promote and sustain change
• Who?
• Depends
• What?
• The whole chain

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Self-assessment
Customer surveys

Political system
Academia
External partners
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Self-assessment
1 2 3 4 5
Leadership Customer orientation Teamwork System
s
2007 2006
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About helping others...

• That if real success is to attend the effort to
  bring a man to a definite position, one must
  first of all take pains to find HIM where he is
  and begin there.
• This is the secret of the art of helping others.
  Any one who has not mastered this is himself
  deluded when he proposes to help others. In order
  to help another effectively I must understand
  more than he- yet first of all surely I must
  understand what he understands. If I do not know
  that, my greater understanding will be of no help
  to him. If, however, I am disposed to plume
  myself of my greater understanding, it is because
  I am vain or proud, so that at bottom, instead of
  benefiting him, I want to be admired. But all
  true effort to help begins with self-humiliation
  the helper must first humble himself under him he
  would help, and therewith must understand that to
  help does not mean to be sovereign but to be a
  servant, that to help does not mean to be
  ambitious but to be patient, that to help means
  to endure for the time being the imputation that
  one is in the wrong and does not understand what
  the other understands.
• Søren Kierkegaard The Point of View for My Work
  as An Author (1859). Translation by Walter
  Lowrie, Harper Brothers, New York, 1962.

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Session 8

• Next steps and future options
• Open Forum

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Proposed agenda

• CD in CIDA new ways but love stays?
• Learning and research needs?
• Next steps?