Capacity Strengthening of Local Organizations and Government Counterparts: Sharing Strategies and Approaches

Presenter/Moderator: Joan Whelan, Knowledge Management Senior Specialist, Food Security and Nutrition Network/TOPS Program

Successful development efforts can be accelerated through peer cross-sharing and learning. This session asked participants to draw on their own experiences in building food security technical capacity, both within their own organization and with their partner organizations, and to share the strategies and approaches they have found most effective.

Participants were asked to think through their own experience with professional development and identify the methods and approaches that have helped them to learn new skills. Examples shared included: coaching and mentoring; field visits and other opportunities to observe; use of tools and guides; knowledge sharing and opportunities to ask questions. While participants did not identify more traditional approaches such as training workshops, they stressed their importance.

Asked to think through their own project environments, and work with staff and local partners, the group also identified priority areas for capacity strengthening, with strong group consensus arising around four specific areas, all cross-cutting: 1) management (HR, finance, reporting, planning, coordination), 2 results-based management and performance appraisal, 3) evaluation skills, particularly for outcome and impact monitoring, and 4) advocacy and negotiation. The group then broke into smaller groups, each designated to one of the four capacity strengthening priority areas. The small groups brainstormed how these needs might possibly be addressed through the TOPS micro-grants program. Examples of these suggestions included having a workshop on management to identify management challenges and also identify promising practices, as well as establishing new M&E guidelines and then conducting training about them.

 

The Way Forward: Participants made recommendations in the following areas:

Capacity Strengthening and Tools

Five priority capacity gaps were identified by session participants:

1. Management (HR, finance, reporting)

2. Evaluation skills (outcomes/impact)

3. Advocacy/negotiation

4. Results-based management and performance evaluation

5. Capacity strengthening approaches and techniques (how to train others)