CAPACITY BUILDING FOR NON GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS

INTRODUCTION: The term capacity building is a common approach used in NGOs and other non-profit organizations to help ensure that investments in community development and educational programs achieve expected results and that these changes are sustainable. With unions this term does not seem be commonly used and when it is used it is used indiscriminately. There tends to be a lac of information about the approach of capacity building that unions use. Therefore! our ability to understand what others have learned about capacity building for unions and how we are approaching this area of wor can be of great benefit to our current wor and could be helpful in terms helping to achieve other union goals. DEFINITION: " helpful definition of capacity building is used by non-governmental organizations #NGOs$% "the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in the fastchanging world." The World Customs Organization defines capacity building as "activities which strengthen the knowledge, abilities, skills and behaviour of individuals and improve institutional structures and processes such that the organization can efficiently meet its mission and goals in a sustainable way."&t is! however! important to put into consideration the principles that govern community capacity building. Oxfam International ' a globally recognized NGO defines (ommunity capacity building in terms of its own principals. O)*"+ believes that community capacity building is an approach to development based on the fundamental concept that people all have an e,ual share of the world-s resources and they have the right to be .authors of their own development and denial of such right is at the heart of poverty and suffering.. To those wor ing in NG/0s! the ability to develop the appropriate capacity building processes is critical in order to ensure that changes are sustained not 1ust started. &n this context! funders for NGOs want to be sure there is a clear process of capacity building otherwise an organization might not be prepared to sustain changes once the initial funding ends. 2nion members too might or should have similar concerns in terms of how their dues are used.

3uite often the term capacity buildings is used ,uite indiscriminately to reflect activities that an organization uses but in fact are not strategic or well integrated with each other activities4 e.g. not positioned to achieve a desired outcome. &n the context of our learning collaborative the important outcomes we are trying to achieve are to improve patient care and union building. CRITICAL APPROACHES FOR SUCESSFUL CAPACITY BUILDING IN NGOs &n recent years there has been an increasing interest to learn about the specific approaches that most often contribute to effective capacity building in NGOs. " ma1or study of 56 NGOs! supported by the 7enture 8hilanthropy 8artners! was completed in 9//5. +any of the research studies identified : critical approaches that were important for successful capacity building. They include% 5$ Reassessment of asp !at ons an" #oa$s % The importance of aligning new strategies and aspirations to other goals of the organization and getting agreements about this alignment among the leadership and management of an organization. 9$ Goo" mana#ement to $ea" an" mon to! t&e p!o'ess % The importance of management to ;own< the approaches that are being implemented and to be prepared to ;drive< the process. +anagement means the people responsible for ma ing it happen but there is also the need for top level leaders=executive directors to embrace and support new areas of wor and aspirations. 6$ T&e Nee" fo! Pat en'e an" Reso(!'es % The importance of understanding that building the capacity in an organization ta es time to implement! significant resources! align roles and responsibilities of leaders! volunteers! board members as well as the actual wor itself. "ll of this ta es time. :$ Inte!t) ne" a't * t es% That alignment of activities is an important and is a continuous process since improvement in one area or practice has an impact on expected and unexpected demands in other areas. The relationship between various activities is important and needs to be consistent. TYPES OF CAPACITY BUILDING "ccording to 2nited Nations (ommittee of >xperts on 8ublic "dministration #9//?$! outlines that capacity building ta es place on an individual level! an institutional level and the societal level.

In" * "(a$ $e*e$ + (ommunity capacity-building on an individual level re,uires the development of conditions that allow individual participants to build and enhance existing nowledge and s ills. &t also calls for the establishment of conditions that will allow individuals to engage in the .process of learning and adapting to change.. Inst t(t ona$ $e*e$ - (ommunity capacity building on an institutional level should involve aiding pre-existing institutions in developing countries. &t should not involve creating new institutions! rather modernizing existing institutions and supporting them in forming sound policies! organizational structures! and effective methods of management and revenue control. So' eta$ $e*e$ - (ommunity capacity building at the societal level should support the establishment of a more .interactive public administration that learns e,ually from its actions and from feedbac it receives from the population at large.. (ommunity capacity building must be used to develop public administrators that are responsive and accountable. O!#an ,at ona$ 'apa' t- .( $" n# / &t is another form of capacity building that is focused on developing capacity within organizations li e NGOs. &t refers to the process of enhancing an organization-s abilities to perform specific activities. "n Organizational capacity building approach is used by NGOs to develop internally so they can better fulfill their defined mission. "llan @aplan! a leading NGO scholar argues that to be effective facilitators of capacity building in developing areas! NGOs must participate in organizational capacity building first. Ateps to building organizational capacity include%

Beveloping a conceptual framewor >stablishing an organizational attitude Beveloping a vision and strategy Beveloping an organizational structure "c,uiring s ills and resources

THE EMERGING FACTORS INFLUENCING CAPACITY BUILDING

New philosophies that promoted empowerment and participation! li e 8aulo *reire-s 0E"('at on fo! C! t 'a$ Cons' o(sness0 #5CD6$! which emphasized that education! could not be handed down from an omniscient teacher to an ignorant student rather it must be achieved through the process of a dialogue among e,uals. (ommissioned reports and research during the 5CE/s! li e the Capa' t- an" V($ne!a. $ t es Ana$-s s 1CVA2 which posited three assumptions% development is

the process by which vulnerabilities are reduced and capacities increased no one develops anyone else relief programs are never neutral in their developmental impact (hanges in &nternational Bevelopmental approaches - Buring the 5CE/s many lowincome states were sub1ect to .structural ad1ustment pac ages.F the neo$ .e!a$ nat(!e of t&e pa'3a#es led to increasing disparities of wealth. &n response! a series of .social dimension ad1ustments were enacted.. The growing wealth gap coupled with .social dimension ad1ustments. allowed for an increased significance for NGOs in developing states as they actively participated in social service delivery to the poor. Then! in the 5CC/s a new emphasis was placed on the idea of s(sta na.$e "e*e$opment%

CAPACITY BUILDING IN NGOS &n the 2NB8-s 9//E'9/56 .strategic plan for development. capacity building is the .organization-s core contribution to development.. The 2NB8 promotes a capacity building approach to development in the 5?? countries it is active in. The 2NB8 focuses on building capacity on an institutional level and offers a G'step process for systematic capacity building for organizations. The steps are% 4% En#a#e sta3e&o$"e!s on 'apa' t- "e*e$opment "n effective capacity building process must encourage participation by all those involved. &f sta eholders are involved and share ownership in the process of development they will feel more responsible for the outcome and sustainability of the development. >ngaging sta eholder-s who are directly affected by the situation allows for more effective decisionma ing! it also ma es development wor more transparent. 2NB8 and its partners use advocacy and policy advisory to better engage sta eholders. 5% Assess 'apa' t- nee"s an" assets "ssessing preexisting capacities through engagement with sta eholders allows capacity builders to see what areas re,uire additional training! what areas should be prioritized! in what ways capacity building can be incorporated into local and institutional development strategies. The 2NB8 argues that capacity building that is not rooted in a comprehensive study and assessment of the preexisting conditions will be restricted to training alone! which will not facilitate sustained results. 6% Fo!m($ate a 'apa' t- "e*e$opment !esponse The 2NB8 says that once an assessment has been completed a capacity building response must be created based on four core issues% A% Inst t(t ona$ a!!an#ements ' assessments often find that institutions are inefficient because of bad or wea policies! procedures! resource management! organization! leadership!

framewor s! and communication. The 2NB8 and its networ s wor to fix problems associated with institutional arrangements by developing human resource framewor s .cover policies and procedures for recruitment! deployment and transfer! incentives systems! s ills development! performance evaluation systems! and ethics and values.. B% Lea"e!s& p ' the 2NB8 believes that leadership by either an individual or an organization can catalyze the achievement of development ob1ectives. Atrong leadership allows for easier adaption to changes! strong leaders can also influence people. The 2NB8 uses coaching and mentoring programmers to help encourage the development of leadership s ills such as! priority setting! communication and strategic planning. C% 7no)$e"#e ' The 2NB8 believes nowledge is the foundation of capacity. They believe greater investments should be made in establishing strong education systems and opportunities for continued learning and the development of professional s ills. They support the engagement in post-secondary education reforms! continued learning and domestic nowledge services. D% A''o(nta. $ t- ' the implementation of accountability measures facilitates better performance and efficiency. " lac of accountability measures in institutions allows for the proliferation of corruption. The 2NB8 promotes the strengthening of accountability framewor s that monitor and evaluate institutions. They also promote independent organizations that oversee! monitor and evaluate institutions. They promote the development of capacities such as literacy and language s ills in civil societies that will allow for increased engagement in monitoring institutions. 8% Imp$ement a 'apa' t- "e*e$opment !esponse &mplementing a capacity building program should involve the inclusion of multiple systems4 national! local! institutional. &t should involve continual reassessment and expect change depending on changing situations. &t should include evaluative indicators to measure the effective of initiated programs. 9% E*a$(ate 'apa' t- "e*e$opment >valuation of capacity building promotes accountability. +easurements should be based on changes in an institutions performance. >valuations should be based on changes in performance based around the four main issues% institutional arrangements! leadership! nowledge! and accountability. The 2NB8 integrates this capacity building system into its wor on reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The 2NB8 focuses on building capacity at the institutional level because it believes that .institutions are at the heart of human development! and that when they are able to perform better! sustain that performance over time! and manage -shoc s- to the system! they can contribute more meaningfully to the achievement of national human development goals..

:HY CAPACITY BUILDING IN NGOs The primary aim of capacity building is to help local non-governmental organizations #NGOs$ achieve the greatest possible support processes to bring about! ma1or positive change in the lives of the beneficiaries! clients or service users they have been formed to serve. &n other words! every nongovernmental organization needs to maintain the following issues very clearly. The issues are4 Accountable !ocus "rust Creativit# Deliver# $eliabilit# %rofile and &est practice F #(!e: 4 / E;p$a ns )&- 'apa' t- .( $" n# fo! O!#an ,at ons

FINAL :ORDS: *or NGOs capacity building relates to several areas of wor including% improved governance! leadership! mission and strategy! administration #including human resources! financial management! and legal matters$! program development and implementation! political action! diversity! partnerships and collaboration! evaluation! advocacy and policy change! positioning! and planning. *or some NGOs! capacity building may relate to leadership development! advocacy s ills! training=spea ing abilities! technical s ills! organizing s ills! and other areas of personal and professional development. Heyond the technical and structural activities capacity building also relates to establishing processes for critical thin ing and encouraging learning to help ensure that the aspirations and strategies of an organization are being met. The approach of capacity building tends to be a clear set of activities to help establish programs to adapt to changing needs of a service or population being served. &n this context! these activities refer to a long-term investment in people and

their organization and a commitment to certain processes through which they can better shape the forces that affect lives.