Revised Jan 2011
Livelihoods Technical Competency Framework
Technical competency Knowledge Required
Understanding of:
Broad policy framework
Enabling advisers to:
International and domestic
institutions
Enabling advisers to:
 International architecture for aid and high-level development
goals (e.g. MDGs)
 International trade and intellectual property regimes and how
these impact men's and women's livelihoods
 Food and nutrition security as a policy and practical objective
 International climate and environmental commitments
 Climate Science & understanding impact of climate change on
(rural based) livelihoods
 Poverty reduction strategies and how they impact on, for
example, the agricultural sector, food and nutrition security, etc.
 Public financial management
 Governance as a key factor in securing effective development
outcomes
 Work with other cadres and contribute to high-level debates
 Work with and influence partners to develop effective policy
environment for livelihood improvement
 Ensure that on-the-ground work is aligned with and informs
higher-level debate
 Roles and functioning of key international (e.g. World Bank, EU,
G20, key donors such as USAID Feed the Future, CGIAR,
Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, various
Foundations and NGOs) and regional (e.g. development banks,
CAADP, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, etc.) players
 International architecture surrounding agriculture, food and
nutrition security and forestry (technology, marketing, trade,
environmental agreements, etc.) and other natural resources
 Roles of other UK Government departments in agriculture,
natural resources and private sector support and of domestic
NGOs
 Understand their role within the broader system and identify
opportunities for linkages and collaboration
 Work as part of multi-institutional teams to achieve common
goals (Managing for Development Results) and develop an
effective policy environment for livelihood improvement
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Livelihoods Technical Competency Framework
Rural development policy,
history and current
engagement
Enabling advisers to:
Sources of risk and
insecurity and their impacts
on livelihoods
Enabling advisers to:
Revised Jan 2011
 History, impact and degree of success of development
interventions (including participation, agricultural services
reform, land policy, food and nutrition security (FNS), and
diversification) in meeting the needs of the poor and extreme
poor
 Impact of public sector reforms (e.g. decentralisation,
privatisation) on livelihoods of men and women
 Impact of agriculture on poverty reduction, FNS and its differing
impact on men and women
 The role of the private sector in development and growth and the
enabling environment for private sector trade/making markets
work for the poor
 The importance of technology to growth (especially agricultural
technology but also opportunities for applications of new
communications and low carbon technologies in rural areas) and
possible trade-offs with FNS and poverty reduction
 Social and economic links between rural and urban areas
 Political economy factors including power
 Social protection as a tool for securing livelihoods
 Design, lead and contribute to evidence-based analysis of the
context of rural and urban livelihoods
 Introduce livelihoods perspective into policy and programming
 Identify best practice and new opportunities in programme
design
 Design programmes that work for the poorest and for particular
groups (e.g. women, migrants, etc.)
 Ensure that current work builds on lessons of the past
 Climate risk and the impact of climate shocks
 Resource scarcity
 Political economy and the impact of elites on access to
resources
 Fragile states and how to tailor work to these environments
 Conflict (civil and resource-based)
 Predictable hunger, food and nutrition insecurity and crop failure
 Insecurity of tenure
 Gender-based risks
 HIV/Aids and other health risks to livelihoods
 Food price shocks and related needs to adapt livelihoods
programming to cushion increasing volatility
 The links between different risks and the vulnerability of different
social groups, both rural and urban.
 Ensure that programmes and policies meet current and future
needs and are not derailed by predictable threats
 Help people manage risk more effectively
 Build resilience amongst people living in poverty
 Incorporate principles of disaster risk reduction (DRR)
strategies into programming
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 Revised Jan 2011
Livelihoods Technical Competency Framework

Natural resource-based  Agricultural services policy and delivery (research, extension,

livelihoods inputs)
 Resource management regimes, institutions and options and
ways of building capacity within these
 Supply and value chains for agricultural/forest/livestock/fishery
inputs and products
 Water resources management and urban/rural water issues in
the context of diminishing supply
 Adaptation and building resilience to climate change in
agriculture, FNS and for the sustainable management of natural
resources
 Resource-based mitigation of climate change
 Access to financial services, including credit, savings and
insurance

Enabling advisers to:

 Design, manage and monitor livelihoods programmes in a range
of country and resource contexts
 Identify and address capacity-building requirements and make
linkages between different levels of government and non-
governmental institutions
 Identify opportunities for people living in poverty to engage more
fully in markets (including in new markets for low-carbon
products or for carbon sequestration services)
 Identify and address major constraints to livelihood improvement
and work with others to overcome these

Dynamics of change  Major changes taking place in rural areas, their sources and
likely trajectories (especially migration, urbanisation, changes in
gender roles or composition, movement in and out of resource-
based livelihoods, impact of political changes, awareness of
differing dynamics in middle income and low income countries )
 Urban livelihoods and linkages between urban and rural areas

Enabling advisers to:

 Ensure that programmes and policies cater to real needs of
dynamic populations and do not lose their relevance
 Capitalise upon positive trends and help facilitate changes that
improve livelihoods

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 Revised Jan 2011
Livelihoods Technical Competency Framework

Analytic tools and ways of
working
 Key tools and methodologies (including Livelihoods
Frameworks, Drivers of Change, Making Markets Work for the
Poor, Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation,
Environmental Impact Analysis, Poverty and Social Impact
Analysis, methods for valuing natural capital, ways of
disaggregating populations)
 Ways of developing and maintaining partnerships (skill
requirements, capacity development, consensus building,
stakeholder analysis)
 Special approaches for working in fragile or conflict areas
 Delivery mechanisms and how to effect change

Enabling advisers to:

 Ensure that methodologies in use incorporate best practice and
quality evidence from livelihoods area
 Make effective contributions and develop lasting partnerships

Development effectiveness  Current thinking on ways of increasing effectiveness

agenda, evidence (approaches such as Managing for Development Results, DFID
gathering, lesson learning management tools such as logframes, indicators & results
and innovation frameworks, impact assessments, systematic reviews etc.)
 Value for money as a key tool for maximising impact
 Ways of identifying lessons and feeding learning back
 Professional networks and sources of support

Enabling advisers to:

 Be highly literate, able to engage in research and judge quality
of evidence
 Lead the design of livelihoods interventions that draw on
international experience, research, quality evidence and best
practice
 Monitor and assess expenditures and value for money,
development outcomes and impact, including progress towards
higher-level goals
 Analyse programme weaknesses and revise accordingly

Note: Livelihoods advisers filling specialist positions (e.g. forest, trade, livestock,
fisheries, etc policy will be required to have detailed technical knowledge in these
specialist areas.

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Livelihoods Technical Competency Framework
SHARED TECHNICAL COMMON TO ALL GROUPS
COMPETENCY
Knowledge of the
development effectiveness
agenda/ International
development system/
Institutional and
organisational knowledge
Enabling advisers to:
Revised Jan 2011
 International and UK commitments, such as MDGs, Public
Service Agreements, White Papers, G8 and Spending targets.
 Paris aid effectiveness principles and their application in
fragile states.
 Aid instruments used by DFID and the international
community- how they work and are deployed. These include
projects, SWAPs, budget support, technical assistance, global
funds, modes of working with multilaterals, ‘influencing’
approaches and policy partnerships.
 Government departments and role of Parliament.
 The international institutional architecture for development
(UN system, international financial institutions, regional
institutions such as EC and African Union).
 Knowledge of resource and contact networks among policy
professionals in own area, including international and national
NGOs, other agencies, private sector, academics, research
organisations etc).
 Understanding how to translate principles from own specialist
area to the range of interventions and aid instruments across the
DFID portfolio (drawing on a broad, up-to-date awareness of
other advisory areas).
 Work with other donors to improve the effectiveness of aid
instruments
 Support the work of other professional groups by being
familiar with their tools, instruments and methodologies.
 Advise DFID and external colleagues on the appropriateness
of specific aid instruments, drawing on international experience
and best practice.
 Support and develop effective donor partnerships, co-
ordination and division of labour with key government, donor and
civil society stakeholders around sector plans and strategies.
 Collaborate successfully with key multilateral institutions on
sector plans and programmes. Repeat of earlier?
 Advise and support complementary programmes and
initiatives involving relevant Whitehall departments in terms of
effectiveness and reduced transaction costs.
 Influence the integration of own advisory area into
development planning processes.
 Build partnerships and coalitions with a range of
stakeholders around complex issues in own advisory area.
 Work with partner governments to build their capacity to
promote and undertake sustainable development.
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