Towards Good Practice In recent years, capacity development (CD) has received a lot of attention in development forums around the world as the critical factor in achieving sustainable development and aid effectiveness. Evidence from research and the experience of development practitioners suggests that capacity development should be a central focus for international development efforts. Capacity development is defined as the “process whereby people, organizations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt and maintain capacity over time.” This definition is drawn from the OECD-DAC good practice paper, “The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice,” which was prepared with the involvement of development practitioners and the Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD). Development practitioners have begun to accommodate calls for a more comprehensive understanding of what capacity development means. This includes aiding the creation of sustainable country capacities, and achieving development results. It is more than inputs like training and technical assistance or implementing one-off projects. A Post-Accra Agenda In May 2008, an international preparatory workshop in Bonn brought together seventy development practitioners from governments and civil society with the intention of developing a concrete capacity development agenda for Accra and beyond. The Bonn Workshop Consensus seeks to influence the deliberations in Accra and the Accra Action Agenda in order to strengthen efforts for capacity development.
The Bonn Workshop Consensus "We recognize that capacity development is critical for sustainable development and national ownership. It is primarily a developing country responsibility. Capacity development is a fundamental change process requiring that: a) Developing countries commit to the capacity development of their human resources, systems and institutions at all levels, and b) External partners commit to strengthen their own capacity and adapt their approaches to deliver responsive support for capacity development.
Six areas of action: Developing countries agree to integrate capacity development as a core element of national, sector and thematic development efforts. Developing countries will take the lead in addressing key systemic issues that undermine capacity development, with support from external partners as required. To enable developing countries to exercise ownership of capacity development through technical cooperation, external partners agree to a) the joint selection and management of technical cooperation to support local priorities and b) expand the choice of technical cooperation providers to ensure access to sources of local and South-South expertise. Developing countries and external partners also jointly commit to enable the capacity development of civil society and the private sector to play their development roles more fully. In situations of fragility, notably in post conflict, external partners will provide tailored and coordinated capacity development support for core state functions earlier and for a longer period. Interim measures should be appropriately sequenced and lead to sustainable capacities and local institutions. Beyond Accra, developing countries and external partners jointly agree to a strengthened and consolidated international effort to expand capacity development knowledge and apply resulting good practice."
For more information on the Bonn Workshop Consensus and the upcoming Accra Conference please visit www.lencd.org. More Information about the agenda and the proceedings of the Bonn Workshop are available on the OECD/DAC website. |
