A good fit

Capacity development of state institutions in fragile situations has been elevated to a shared global concern through the New Deal. It is central to peacebuilding and statebuilding. A new report from the Research and Communication on Foreign Aid (ReCom) programme, analyses five cases of successful attempts at developing capacity:

1. Multi-donor capacity development within the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan
2. An overhauling of all aspects of tax administration in Rwanda
3. Donor driven capacity development of the police force in Sierra Leone
4. The use of diaspora and senior nationals for capacity development in Liberia
5. The case of South–South driven capacity development in South Sudan

A good fit is important

These cases show that there are rarely uniform best practices. Rather, there are interventions which fit well to the given situation and context. This does not imply conforming to the context. In some cases, what fits the need and context, may be an initiative that confronts specific malfunctions and practices.

What has fueled change?

Several issues appear as vital for change to occur: First, there has to be felt needs, opportunities and strong motivation for capacity development to occur. Second, people are central to institutional change and there is a need to pay close attention to both internal and external staff. Hiring national experts from the diaspora and regionally seconded mentors may be a way forward. Third, working with the external relations and environment of an institution may lead to a push for institutional change. Finally, there is a need to balance change in formal systems and procedures with alteration of internal hierarchies and power relations.

Recommendations for donors:

• When possible – build on existing partnerships as trust and long-term cooperation has proven to be a vital factor for changing the way systems and people work
• Look for strongly committed institutions and persons to find appropriate pockets for initiating quick capacity development
• Allow time and phase-wise definition of needs and targets to overhaul an entire organisation. Start with motivated pockets and continue on an ad hoc basis
• Pay attention to the external linkages and the environment of an organisation and support changes in the public perception of an institution
• Focus on initiating some changes that markedly break with previous ways of doing things as these can lay the basis for institutional change and capacity development.
• Put more resources into facilitating regional South–South exchange of professionals for capacity development purposes