Module 5: Clear link to results and

monitoring of capacity development

Supporting change through

Capacity Development

This module discusses

• How to define capacity results

• How to monitor capacity results

CD Quality grid requirement: 3. Clear link to results and expected

outcomes3.1 Are results and/or outcomes defined beyond what the CD suppport will deliver? Please give examples of key targeted results at the level of enhanced capacity of organisation(s), if relevant, outputs that the organisation(s) produce or at the level of outcomes.

3.2 Have the country partners' inputs, which are required to sustain the results of the programme, been identified and specified?

3.3 What innovative forms of CD support have been considered, e.g. regional sources, staff exchanges or networking?

Why Is this Criteria Important?

• Thinking about results is at the heart of good design and management

• Capacity results are as important as other development results but easily lost in the results chain

• How to capture Capacity Results?

• Think in terms of the outputs of the organisation/system arising from CD processes

• Think beyond what external support will achieve…since it has only limited bearing on outcome

Contextual factors and actors within influence

Contextual factors beyond influence

Wider impact

Outcomes

Outputs

Capacity

Recurrent inputs

CD processes

CD

support

Internal resources

CD DEVELOPMENT OBJ

Increased use of services

CD IMMEDIATE OBJ(capacity for what)

Performance improved

ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITYKnowledge, systems, rules,

structure, behaviour, etc

CD PROCESS

CD ACTIVITIESCourses, mentorship, advise,

twinning, exchange, etc.

CD INPUTSfunds/contracts, trainers, TA

PARTNER ORGANISATION/ SECTOR

RESULTS CHAIN

OUTCOMEUse of products and

services by clients/ public

IMPACTImproved development result eg: better health

OUTPUTSImproved products and

services

CAPACITYEG: PFM, leadership, logistics, technical

INPUTSBudget & Staff

Challenges

• Easy to fall into trap of focusing on donor inputs and outputs, not organisation/ sector outputs

• Difficulty to specify the performance and capacity changes that are sought, and to propose indicators

• Theory of change often un-developed/ incomplete Assumption of simple linear causality, and underestimation of impact of other factors on results.

• Pressure to deliver tangible products, less on facilitating processes, and building sustainable capacity for tomorrow

Specifying CD Results

• Link changes in capacity to proposed changes in performance• Performance = Performance change in organisational/

sector outputs (products and services)• Capacity = Enhanced or changed organisational / sector

capacity

• Aim at a realistic balance between:• Improvements in capacity that can be achieved over

the short to medium term and • The level of performance that can be expected to

accrue.• Ideally reflected in a corporate/ sector development plan

Message 1

Be realistic about what can be achieved:

• Developing capacity is in most cases harder to achieve and support than envisaged

• CD and support processes take longer time than envisaged

• CD support only effective when aligned to partner’s reform process

• Think carefully about the change process required to achieve desired results; is it simple, complicated, complex (next module)

Message 2

Avoid over-specifying results given complexity/uncertainty of many CD processes

• Need to be able to bargain and re-strategise along the way….

• Changing needs arise from lag between design & implementation

• Imperfect knowledge when entering the process

• Be clear on what you want to achieve, leave space to determine how you get there (programme estimates?)

11

Guiding questions for formulating capacity results

• Who or what (organisation, target group, sector, etc.) needs capacity?

• Why is the capacity needed – for what purpose? • What type of capacity is needed in order to achieve the

purpose?

Context and Capacity Assessment (QC1) = key sources of information in formulating capacity results

Quality of dialogue, level of ownership (QC2) and change readiness will influence what can be realistically achieved

Remember….

• This is not about specifying outputs of external assistance

• The results chain firmly belongs to the host

sector/ agency (‘country results framework’)

• The role of external assistance comes later

Exercise:

Make the partner country CD results chain(what are the changes in capacity aimed for):

• CD outcome

• CD output(s)• Organisational/Sector Capacity changes• CD process• CD inputs

CD DEVELOPMENT OBJ

Increased use of services

CD IMMEDIATE OBJ (capacity for what)

Performance improved

ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY Knowledge, systems, rules,

structure, behaviour, etc

CD PROCESS

CD ACTIVITIESCourses, mentorship, advice, twinning,

exchange, etc.

CD INPUTSfunds/contracts, trainers, TA

PARTNER ORGANISATION/ SECTOR

RESULTS CHAIN

OUTCOMEUse of products and

services by clients/public

IMPACTImproved development result eg: better health

OUTPUTSImproved products and

services

CAPACITYEG: PFM, leadership, logistics, technical

INPUTSBudget & Staff

Programme with a CD component or:Programme = Capacity Development

Monitoring Capacity Results

• Monitoring: processes, organisation and outputs of capacity development

• Evaluation: the CD results produced and their effect on outcomes and impact

• M&E framework is the flip side of the results framework and should be developed AT THE SAME TIME

M&E is the basis for lessons learned and the justification for changing project structure.

M and E

TC support

CD processes

Recurrent inputs

Organisational/Sector Capacity

Outputs Outcomes

Wider impact

Internal resour-ces Primary focus of

evaluation

Primary focus of monitoring

Monitoring the Changes in Capacity

• Purpose is to track changes in capacity over time both for learning and accountability

• Can be done by looking at:

• changes in organisational/ sector outputs

• changes in organisational/ sector capacity

• changes in CD processes

Changes in Organisational/ Sector Outputs

TC suppo

rt

CD processes

Recurrent inputs

CapacityOutpu

ts

Outcomes

Wider impact

Internal resour-ces

Changes in organisational/ sector outputs

• Delivery of products and services as foreseen in results framework – capacity for what

• A helpful proxy indicator but;– Outputs can improve for reasons other than capacity

enhancement

• Indicators include: – producer data: services, products, regulations– client / customer satisfaction

Changes in Organisational/ Sector Capacity

TC suppo

rt

CD processes

Recurrent inputs Capacit

yOutputs Outcome

sWider impact

Internal resour-ces

Formulate indicators

Changes in organisational/ sector capacity

• Can be monitored in many ways (tools):– Conduct periodic (self) assessments against a baseline– Conduct Assessments that are Peer-based or

benchmarked against recognised standards

• Indicators need to be jointly selected and understood, not imposed

• Both quantitative and qualitative indicators required to capture both tangible and intangible elements of capacity

• Consider use of other methodologies such as MSC, outcome mapping; and use appreciative enquiry

Monitoring the Quality of the Change Process

TC suppo

rt

CD processes

Recurrent inputs

CapacityOutputs Outcome

sWider impact

Internal resour-ces

Monitoring the Change Process

• Success depends on joint effort, so mutual performance monitoring is important• What the partner country has done in terms of leading the process• What DP has done in terms of supporting the process

• Can be applied at programme level but also at level of individual expert, action

• Need to also take account of changing contextual/ PEA factors

• Arrange as periodic performance dialogue using a structured format

• Use of QC in EAMR and ROM

Monitoring roles – who does what?Who does

what

Monitoring of:

The partner The EC

Inputs & processes

... periodic, systematic dialogue about mutual performance with TC personnel

...together with partner; periodic dialogue on performance assessment; brokering of conflicts, adjustments in timeframes

Outputs & outcomes

...has main responsibility; serves learning, management and domestic accountability (also others, ….)

...help ensure that results are monitored appropriately; appropriate feedback of CD mon. to program adjustments

Outcomes & impact

...has prime responsibility; serves learning and domestic accountability(also others like watchdogs, think-tanks, ….)

...mainly to ‘monitor the monitoring’ by the partner’ with focus on the capacity of the domestic monitoring system (and support it)

Quantity and quality

Exercise:

Formulate CD indicatorsbased on the results chain

developed earlier