Introduction to the ICD Competencies

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WORLD VISION INTEGRATED COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

For an organization to change and strengthen to achieve its mission, it requires its most important asset – its people – to continually learn and develop and think and act in different ways. The application of WV’s Development Programme Approach, the implementation of LEAP 3 and sponsorship in programming require changes in roles and competencies of field-staff. To support the changes in how we need to work, a job-specific competency framework was introduced in 2011 and is growing each year. The ICD competency framework is the centre-piece of the ICD Resources, and aims to enable and promote the use of competencies to enhance all field-staff L&D and wider P&C practices.

In line with best practice in staff learning and development (L&D) across many fields, WV applies a competency-based approach. This means competencies are used to inform and guide the design, implementation and evaluation of all staff L&D plans, practices, activities, resources and tools. Competencies can also be used in all staff recruitment, management and development practices.

Competencies help us understand that learning is about behaviour change. Changing behaviour is a complex and often difficult process, especially embedding long-term change. It is one of the major challenges that all organizations face. Creating great learning experiences in the moment - whether in a classroom, workshop or online - is a relatively easy task, but ensuring that short-term ‘learning’ becomes embedded and results in behaviour change is more difficult. Using a competency-based approach can help make this change a reality.

We are on a learning journey in applying competencies in how we manage and develop our people. If you are already using ICD resources or wish to start to use, we encourage you to use this guidance to support you in understanding, adapting and applying the ICD competencies in ways that will serve your needs and priorities. Much of the content is based on application learning to-date from national and regional offices, and we’ll ensure this learning continues to inform changes and improvements to ICD resources.

This document is for all staff interested in and wishing to apply a competency-based to people management and development using ICD Resources. It is starting point and should be used before and in conjunction with other ICD guidance on use of competencies, including the actual ICD Competency Framework. This document aims to answer the following questions:

  • What are ICD competencies?
  • What is the relationship between ICD competencies and WV’s Core Capability Framework?
  • Why use ICD competencies?
  • How can ICD competencies be used?
  • How are the ICD competencies designed and how can they be contextualized?

What are ICD competencies?

There are many definitions of the term ‘competencies’. ICD uses the definition below adapted from People in Aid[1].

An ICD competency describes a major work task or area of work, for example ‘Lead and manage staff’, ‘Manage monitoring processes’, ‘Manage sponsorship integration’. Each competency is written based on analysis of the task for effective organizational performance.[2]

To help understand an ICD competency think about it as an ice-burg. Let’s imagine the ice-burg below represents the competency ‘Facilitate community groups and meetings’.

Each ICD competency is presented in a standard template that covers two pages and includes different sections. These are explained below, and you’ll note the ‘TIP’ of the ice-burg and the ‘BASE’ reflected in the template.

Figure 2: Page 1 of competency template – TIP of the ice-burg

Figure 3: Page 2 of competency template– BASE of the ice-burg

What is the relationship between the ICD competencies and the Core Capability Framework?

The CCF describes the underlying personal abilities associated with effectiveness in the WV context and applies to all WV staff at all levels. The ICD competencies describe the technical abilities required for specific field-office job roles and describe what the core capabilities look like when applied in these roles. In this way, the CCF and ICD competencies complement each other. The ICD competencies do not replace the CCF, but can be used alongside the core capabilities. The terms ‘capability’ and ‘competency’ are often used interchangeably and share the same meaning.

The CCF is, and will remain,WV’s Partnership-endorsed capability framework. It describes the core personal skills, knowledge and behaviours WV wants to see in all employees at all levels. The CCF focuses on the key foundational thinking, achievement, self-management and relational capabilities. It does notdefine technical competencies required for specific job roles.

The WV Partnership CCF document states that:

“Both the core capabilities and the job-specific technical skills and knowledge

are required to get the job done and get it done right.”

ICD is aiming to respond to this by providing a comprehensive competency or for staff in field-offices, with an emphasis on programme level staff, and those who directly support them. The ICD competencies cover technical abilities needed in specific job roles. They also describe what the application of some core capabilities looks like in specific job roles. The competencies have been written based on analysis of programme staff roles, using the CCF as a lens through which to view their role, and what they need to be able to do.

Figure 4: ICD competencies and the CCF

Within most of the ICD competencies there is a combination of job-specific technical abilities and job-specific personal abilities. This is because the competencies reflect what is expected of staff in their effective performance of major job tasks.

Benefits of using the ICD job-specific competenciesinclude:

  • They can be used together with the CCF in staff recruitment, performance management and staff development.
  • They bring some of the core capabilities to life by adapting and extending some of the ‘Indicators’ to show what their application looks like in specific job roles. This helps make the core capabilities more meaningful for local level staff and therefore encourages their greater use.

To further explain the relationship and benefits of the ICD job-specific competencies, see this extract from an ICD competency called ‘SEP02: Facilitate community meetings and groups’.

The ‘Indicators’ in the Core Capabilities are reflected directly in the ICD competency ‘Behaviours’. The wording is different because the ‘Behaviours’ have been adapted and written to reflect the specific work of staff who work directly with community members, such as Development Facilitators.

Table3: Example of the link between CCF ‘Indicators’ and ICD ‘Behaviours’

CCF ‘Indicators’ / ICD ‘Behaviours’ for ‘SEP 02: Facilitate community engagement through group processes’
Communicate information effectively / 2.1 Follow local meeting protocols.
2.2 Create a sense of safety and openness using effective communication skills.
2.3 Actively listen to participants and show respect, interest and empathy for all their contributions.
2.8 Use flipcharts and other visual resources that help participants understand the meeting content or activities and use to record meeting notes.
Practicing gender and cultural diversity / 2.1 Follow local meeting protocols.
2.3 Actively listen to participants and show respect, interest and empathy for all their contributions.
Thinking deeply, clearly and broadly / 2.5 Ask questions in different ways when participants don’t understand them.
Build collaborative relationships / 2.6 Encourage respect for and listening to each other’s ideas and views.

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WORLD VISION INTEGRATED COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

Why use ICD competencies?

Competencies help us understand learning as behaviour change. Acquiring and applying new skills, knowledge and attitudes should result in us thinking and doing things differently. This should be observed in how we act and react in situations and perform tasks which were the focus for the learning. Learning has not occurred if we’ve gained new knowledge or skills but then fail to recall it and apply it so we respond differently to before. By understanding learning as behaviour change it helps us see that staff L&D should enable staff to achieve desired changes in behaviour as articulated in the competencies.

Understanding ourselves and others

The Competencies can help staff better understand their jobs and what is expected of them. A shared and consistent understanding of effective performance can also help in conversations between staff and managers. The ‘behaviours’provide a focus to help staff, and their manager and/or coach to reflect on how well they are currently performing key tasks. Since the aim is to support behaviour change, then it’s important to establish a baseline understanding about current ability.

“We are learning more about the task (competency) and the details that we didn’t know before. It helps me better understand my job” - Development Facilitator
“Unless competencies are understood, field-level staff will not be able to deliver the products we are after as an organization: CWB Targets - ADP Manager

For example, a staff member and manager could use the ‘behaviours’ to help assess current ability to ‘facilitate community groups’ so they can identify their strengths, which she/she could use to coach others, and to identify develop needs to inform their individual development plan or NO training plan. The enabling ‘skills’ and ‘knowledge’ of the Competency can also be used to guide the design of assessment tools to identify skill and knowledge gaps which can inform the design of curricula.

Monitoring and evaluating behaviour change

The ‘behaviours’ can also be a focus to help in efforts to monitor and evaluate an individual’s progress in applying new learning which aims to improve performance. This is critical in measuring the impact of staff L&D and whether the new skills and knowledge are being applied consistently and making a difference to workplace performance as demonstrated in new or different ‘behaviours’.

For example, if the staff member has been on a facilitation skills training course and is now practicing their new skills in the community, the ‘Behaviours’ can help the staff member reflect on their performance and the manager or peer give coaching feedback and document progress, and where appropriate, celebrate achievement.

Understanding competency development as a journey

Achieving meaningful behaviour change is challenging. A competency-based approach helps us see that competency development is a process, a journey over time, and is not a one-off event. Someone might acquire new skills or knowledge in a workshop, but then they need to apply this in their job which requires time and practice, and often support and feedback from others to achieve consistency in performance. It’s also important not to expect too much change all at once. This means avoiding overloading learning and training opportunities on a big range of competencies.

Promoting learning through experience and reflection and coaching/mentoring

By understanding competency development as a ‘journey’ it also helps us to appreciate that most learning actually happens through experience and practice and learning from others.

“My community is my lab and university” – ADP Manager

While formal training and study remains a valuable method to support learning, most learning occurs outside of the classroom and formal study. Teachers and trainers continue to foster learning, but it is now widely acknowledged that managers, co-workers, community members and local partners play a key role in guiding and facilitating a significant level of learning at work. But this way of learning does require intentional planning, guidance and support from a skilled manager or coach/mentor.

Ensuring more effective planning and coordination

When required staff competencies are clearly defined, capacity building practitioners can more effectively plan and deliver coordinated competency development opportunities, avoiding duplication and repetition. For example, all programme team members need to be able to ‘Facilitate community meetings and groups’. If this is identified as a competency that needs strengthening, planning can be coordinated with the involvement of all key staff such as programme managers, DME specialists and sectoral technical specialists. If technical specialists are confident this competency is present for programme staff, they can focus their capacity building efforts on specific technical areas.

Ensuring greater consistency and quality in curriculum design

Competencies define what WV staff need to be able to do (learning outcomes) and the skills, knowledge and attitudes that staff need to possess and apply to achieve this. This can help ensure that curricula and other learning resources developed within WV, or in partnership with external providers, will have the same learning outcomes and address the same essential skills, knowledge and attitudes. It can also help in identifying existing curricula and learning resources available ‘off the shelf’ by ensuring those selected will actually support ‘competency’ development. This can help promote more efficient sharing of resources, reducing the need to keep designing new materials.

Promoting flexibility in learning approaches and resources

Competencies encourage the flexible use of a wide range of learning activities. This is important given the diversity of contexts and individual learning styles across WV. It means that while there is consistency in learning outcomes (how staff demonstrate competency through their behaviour), the way in which they develop competency can, and will, vary. For example, some staff may develop a competency through training and self-study and others will develop it from coaching support and peer mentoring. In this way, learning opportunities and resources can be tailored to the local context and staff needs, while the outcome of their learning will be consistent.

How can ICD competencies be used?

The range of ways in which competencies can be used is often referred to as a ‘competency-based approach’ to staff recruitment, development and management.

By individual staff and teams to help them:

  • Better understand their role and what is expected of them, and the roles of others
  • Promote shared responsibility for essential team responsibilities such as DME and Sponsorship
  • Apply action learning and reflection to their everyday work and take greater responsibility for their own learning and supporting others to learn

By managers to help them:

  • Ensure the right mix of competencies within a team for effective team performance. Not all staff in a team need to have all the competencies, but there does need to be a balance within the team.
  • Lead and support more effective individual and team competency development
  • Provide coaching support and feedback to staff
  • Promote and use common and consistent language about staff development in the team

By P&C, leaders and managers to help them:

  • Review and implement changes to structures and roles – JDs- as part of organizational adaptation related to the key changes such as the new Sponsorship operating model and implementation of LEAP 3
  • Develop ICD competency profiles for specific roles as a basis for recruitment and to support staff development and performance improvement, and succession planning for key roles
  • Enhancerecruitment practices to ensure a greater emphasis on ‘behaviours’ instead of qualifications
  • Undertake robust staff competency assessment processes to inform and ensure targeted staff development

The use and benefits of a competency-based approach are summarized below. To learn more about how the ICD competencies can be used in specific P&C practices, such as recruitment, please refer to the relevant ICD guidance document within the ICD Resources.

Figure 1: Benefits of using competencies

How are the ICD competencies designed and how can they be adapted?

Designing the competencies

The competencies are designed within WV through a collaborative process involving key stakeholders andled by the GC Capacity Building team.

What about other competency models?
WV has been promoting a competency-based approach for many years. The HEA Humanitarian Competencies Project is one example.Many INGOs and inter-agency projects are also promoting a competency-based approach. This work includes the design of frameworks such as the Core Humanitarian competency framework[3] and a Child Protection in Emergencies competency framework.[4]
The learning from these frameworks has been used in developing the ICD competencies. Furthermore, the definitions, language and approach used in the ICD Resources are consistent with those used in these humanitarian sector-wide initiatives.

This involves:

  • analysing organizational approaches and practices (eg WV’s DPA, LEAP 3)
  • seeking input and reviews by technical and functional area specialists
  • analysing job descriptions
  • reviewing external competency frameworks
  • describing how WV’s Core Capabilities look when applied in local level job roles

The design and use of ICD competencies to support the application of WV’s Development Programme Approach is an important and challenging process. Therefore, the competencies are reviewed and improved, based on learning and feedback on an annual basis.

Changing and translating the competencies

It is important that these competenciescan be used with staff members.Therefore, we encourage national offices to adapt the competencies to make them appropriate and meaningful in their context. To maintain the integrity of the competencies whilst also contextualizing them, consider making these types of changes as needed: