EVENT UPDATE ON CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING WORKSHOP AT ILRI NAIROBI

Background

Capacity Development is a key component of the new ILRI Strategy 2013-2022. It is identified as one of the Strategic Objectives as well as a Critical Success Factor (CSF). The importance of paying attention to capacity issue is also echoed in the ongoing CGIAR reform process, where capacity development is identified as one of the cross cutting themes.

In line with its new strategy, ILRI is restructuring its capacity development function to respond to the new realities and challenges of the CGIAR, including a focus on delivering development outcomes at scale. It is increasingly felt that ILRI adopts a more rigorous and systematic approach to the assessment, design and implementation of capacity development efforts both at institutional level as well as within the broader CGIAR context.

Objectives

  • To brainstorm ideas and develop draft plan for future capacity development work at ILRI
  • To get the core actors together and create opportunity to own and identify with the process

Key takeaways

  • The capacity development plan is a roadmap of how ILRI plans to operationalize capacity development and clearly spell out how success would look in relation to Capacity Development i.e. identify key priority areas, key deliverables, ensures that all efforts are coordinated and synergies created and that aligns with the current broader ILRI-wide structural and functional changes/reforms.
  • The plan will take a broader approach to capacity development beyond the CapDev unit and identifies opportunities to streamline and align capacity development efforts amongst different CRPs and parts of ILRI that work on ‘capacity’ areas e.g. CapDev, HR L&D, BecA-ILRI Hub, Innovations Systems, RMG, PA, KMIS, LIVES, etc.)
  • The CapDev unit will play a coordination and brokerage role liaising with different ILRI programs, in different geographical locations who are also dealing with a diverse range of boundary partners. This coordinated approach will make it possible to evaluate outcomes and to clearly see impact of Capacity Development efforts both internally and externally (partners and other stakeholders along the impact pathway) through a common M&E and impact framework for this.
  • Some programs embedded Capacity Development staff but there is no formal hierarchical reporting mechanism with the Head of Capacity Development.There is still a lot of scope for improvement on how the CapDev unit coordinates and plans from an institutional planning point of view on capacity development activities.
  • Ideally it would be valuable to have a reporting/accountability structure assigned to the Head of Capacity Development for all staff working on capacity development related work. But there are practical and managerial implications of doing so. Possible organizational structures, such as through dual reporting and matrix management systems, could help to streamline efforts of joint interest in such a way that it delivers both CRP program outputs and contributes to the realization of priority functions of the critical success factor “Grow the Capacity”.
  • The CapDev Unit draft plan identifies five priority functions: 1) Design and delivery of innovative learning tools to increase research uptake; 2) Design Capacity Development Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Framework to illustrate the actual change and the process to achieve sustainable results in Impact Pathways; 3) Enabling Collaborative Capacities; 4)Coordination and Promotion of Strategic Fellowships at ILRI; and 5) Champion Value Proposition of Capacity Development.

LIVES contribution

  • Contributed to the discussions and draft writing upof identified priority functions, e.g., strategic fellowship programs, collaborative capacities, organization and staffing
  • The project’s capacity development deliverables included in the logframe of the CapDev plan such as development of manuals/guidelines on participatory extension approaches and scaling up strategy and documentation of project lessons for developing best practice manual on mentoring and coaching
  • Discussed with ILRI’s Head of Capacity Development on the question of being center of excellence in value chains capacity development. He was happy about this as long as it would happen at the project level. However, making it an institutional agenda would require institutional decision.

Next steps/Recommendations

  • Continue to interact with the CapDev unit to get update on initiatives such as capacity development community of practice for the CG system, strategic result framework for capacity development
  • Further understand the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and see how the capacity development work of the LIVES project contributes to and benefits from the larger CapDev agenda of ILRI
  • Review key project documents and see how to initiate interaction among the regional coordinators to learn about what is going on and how best capacity development be facilitated and coordinated
  • Identify common agenda and synergies across knowledge management, communications, gender and agri-business to develop and streamline modalities for joint capacity development delivery.
  • Capacity development functions are embedded in different ILRI programs. Initiating collaboration with relevant ILRI programs can be beneficial to LIVES project, e.g., IBLI (Index-based Livestock Insurance)
  • Given the wide range of stakeholders LIVES is engaging with at different levels, collaborative capacity, one of the priority functions identified by the draft CapDev unit plan, will be a critical capacity area. Action-oriented research on the process, approaches and lessons of the project in working with diverse stakeholders at different levels will be critical to document evidence and develop best practice material on collaborative capacities, e.g., innovation platforms, mentoring/coaching practices, etc.
  • Another priority function of the draft CapDev unit is strategic fellowships. This aligns with the postgraduate support of the LIVES project, for which collaboration with the CapDev unit will be beneficial to develop best practice materials regarding selection criteria, requirements, quality of supervision, key performance indicators, measurement framework, etc.

1