Effective institutions platform

The Effective Institutions Platform is one of eight initiatives that came out of the Busan High-Level Forum to take forward the commitments made in Busan.  At the EIP meeting in Johannesburg (27-28 February 2013), LenCD members made several proposals for ways in which the network could support the Platform:

LenCD coordinator Lawrencia Adams presents the network’s proposals at the Effective Institutions Platform meeting on 27 February 2013
  1. Support the Global Partnership help desk by providing advice and contacts on capacity development.  The Global Partnership help desk is under development as a way of supporting organisations seeking to engage with post-Busan proceses.  As a learning network, LenCD could contribute substantive advice and knowledge on capacity development across all of the Platforms.
  2. Integrating learning into organizational capacity development: again as a learning network, LenCD would be well-suited to support network members in testing change, documenting experiences, drawing out lessons and developing specific guidance.  LenCD has long advocated “closing the learning loop” and could assist organisations in reflecting on their own experiences and sharing them with others.
  3. Engaging with other platforms and processes by being advocates/ambassadors for  the  integration of capacity development.  Network members are regularly engaged with a wide range of international processes.  LenCD could perhaps develop materials which network members could use to advocate for capacity development as a cross-cutting issue.
  4. Organize learning sessions on CD within the framework of other platforms/processes: In connection with the advocacy mentioned above, LenCD could also perhaps develop materials that network members could use to present workshops or other learning sessions as part of events that they are attending in order to further educate counterparts on the importance of capacity development and how to integrate it into sectoral and other programmes.
  5. Serve as the “champion” or coordinating body for work on change management and making results happen
  6. Take on a co-secretariat role within the Platform

Please see:

Discussion papers on capacity building and effective institutions

Change management is what makes change happen. It is about utilising and fostering capabilities such as change leadership, visioning, strategic planning, communication, commitment, space and others, to manage and successfully complete organizational change processes. (Discussion paper by Evie Browne, February 2013)

Coalition building: Processes of change touch upon vested interests. Managing change effectively means that some of these interests have to be accepted, others negotiated, and others again have to be put aside. For all of these situations, coalitions need to be formed.  Unfortunately, we know very little about how to encourage and support coalitions from the outside. (Discussion paper by Evie Browne, February 2013)

Measuring results: Key traps and debates in monitoring and evaluating capacity development include a lack of clarity about whether M&E is for accountability or for learning, level (organisations, beneficiaries, or communities) at which CD is supposed to be taking place, and the tension between demands for results-based management and more qualitative systems thinking approaches. (Discussion paper by Cristien Temmink, February 2013)