6 May 2011
It is quite some time since I updated the blog. It wasn’t the case that I forgot all about it but it was more to do with my busy schedule on the current piece of assignments I am involved in! Unlike the other blogs, which are updated every now and then, the whole idea behind starting this blog was: a) to update the readers as and when I get the opportunity; and more importantly b) I could summaries/share my experience once a project is finished, which in general takes 3-6 months at a minimum.
I am hoping the readers will enjoy (potentially may use it as well) reading this piece. Capacity building is integral to most of donors’ pledges/development aspirations. Working here in Afghanistan, I learnt a lot of lessons from the capacity building program (for Ministry of Public Works) that I was involved in. The purpose of this article is to bring together and highlight some of the key lessons, which are:
1. Taking Onus – Senior staff who is responsible for initiating capacity building program should also take onus by providing their full support to the program. If possible they should aim to make themselves available all the time during the conduct of the program. It was seen that if the top person at transport agency is not 100% behind the program then it is difficult to achieve an effective outcome!
2. Training Methods - Short-term training as an exercise in transferring technical knowledge without giving enough attention to ensuring that the methodologies used will be effective in ensuring sustainable learning outcomes is not recommended i.e. the trainers should design the course in a holistic manner (preparing the contents, delivering the course, following up etc.) right from the beginning with an aim to maximize the learning opportunities of the agencies staff. The trainer is recommended to enter the training room with an open mind rather than with any pre conceived notions. Invariably he will come across the trainees having broad spectrum (from little to considerable) of subject knowledge. It was found that conducting pre and post tests (multiple choice, numerical/practical problems if applicable etc.) on the subjects trained also helped the trainees appreciating the fact how much knowledge they have gained or has their competence increased to where it was before. This is also a good tool as it shows tangible results to the donors.
Other related aspect that I would also like to mention here is that the trainer should also aim to deliver the training program with an aim that he is actually training the “future trainers” of the agency i.e. apply “Train the Trainer” approach. In the world of transport planning capacity building programs, the role and value of “local future trainers” is incalculable. In particular when a similar outcome can be achieved without donor’s assistance e.g. a motivated and competent “local future trainer” will be able to train his/her colleagues thereby saving donor’s assistance, which can be put for effective use on some other program.
3. Incentives– There is no doubt that commitment and efforts of the trainees will be critical to the success of a capacity building program. In volatile economies like Afghanistan, setting out the incentives for the trainees therefore becomes all the more relevant before the start of the program. The same should be set out at the outset i.e. the trainees should clearly know about the gains (apart from being more knowledgeable and competent in their work i.e. the good of the country) they are making from attending this program.
The key thing here to remember is “what’s in it for the staff at Agency?” Not providing incentives, which should certainly be tangible, may result in adverse impacts on the program e.g. trainees’ attendance may be poor, they are not motivated enough etc. On a smaller scale some examples of such incentives may include; providing tea/food during the conduct of program, certificates, travel allowance etc. However the bigger incentives may include: provision of scholarships towards advanced studies, more resources in the work area, more satisfying work etc.
4. Gender Bias – It was seen that for certain times/places, the agency might find it difficult to encourage women engineers to visit project sites. However, that should not deter the senior staff for not allowing them to join the program. The may not visit the sites but could still be involved in the project work e.g. carrying out traffic data analysis etc.
5. Finding Right Advisers – Well, I need not write much here. There is no doubt that finding the right adviser will be the key difference between success and failure of the capacity building program. The person will either make it or will break it. There is always a risk in hiring someone. However the key here is to make every effort to find the person with the right experience, skills, attitude and cultural awareness (extremely important for countries like Afghanistan). Whilst there aren’t any set guidelines on how to find the right person but the following may help:
· Is there any expert available in the relevant filed- probably the most important issue;
· What is his educational background- the second most important issue I observed in Afghanistan? Some of the advisers didn’t even have the right education and they were imparting training program (a social planner should not be hired to impart training on road construction);
· What is his/her past experience in terms of delivering such programs;
· Double checking with the adviser on how will he mange to buy his customers i.e. how will he motivate the trainees;
· Can someone (including his trainees) endorse his/her work; and
· Has he/she worked/ready to work in adverse conditions.
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