Capacity Development in Action - Newsletter November 2008November 2008 - a quarterly E-mail update - from the Bratislava Regional Centre Capacity Development Practice First ever capacity development community of practice meeting
Montenegro: Can municipalities absorb IPA funding?
Strengthening partnerships for local governance and decentralization
Developing capacities for accountability and voice in Europe and the CIS
Partners discuss sustainability of training for local governance
Capacity Development Group discusses CD strategies
Coming up…
UNDP Moldova will host a regional workshop 26 – 27 November 2008: “Introduction to Capacity Assessments and Capacity Development Strategies” Intended for UNDP country office staff from the region, the workshop will familiarize participants with UNDP’s approach to capacity development, including the policy framework, capacity assessment methodology and programming for capacity development. For more information, please contact dafina.gercheva@undp.org. Say hi to…
“I can offer [CoP members] my experience on how CD works in practice in countries in transition. CD is not always understood, even within UNDP…. I have learned that one has to believe in their work in order for other people to believe it.” >>Read more (Page accessible only to UNDP.)
Resources:Capacity Assessment for IPA Absorption methodology NEW! Local Service Delivery Capacity Assessment methodology NEW! |
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SOFIA – 29, 30 September – Members of the newly created capacity development (CD) community of practice (CoP) met for the first time – to share knowledge on the practical adaptation, application and impact of the capacity development approach. As a result of a growing recognition of the need for nationally-led capacity development, there has been increasing demand for support to capacity development in the Europe and CIS region. The creation of the CoP is part of the response. 
PODGORICA – 26 – 31 October 2008 – UNDP is helping the Montenegro Country Office to develop a programme to assess the ability of local authorities to absorb domestic and international funding (such as the EU Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance). In response to a need identified by EU member states, EU candidate and potential candidate countries, UNDP developed a methodology to assess capacities for strategic planning and project design, project implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The capacity assessment is intended to identify and address issues that will maximize IPA absorption at the municipal level across the country. This includes obtaining, strengthening and maintaining capacities over time. The CD Practice went to Montenegro to gather more information on whether such an assessment would be of use, how to benefit from the previous work in this area, and to engage with a broad array of stakeholders who would be involved in such an initiative (including the Council of Europe, OSCE, the Union of Municipalities, SNV, and the Ministry of Interior). The CD Practice also visited Mojkovac Municipality to better understand their capacity needs and ascertain if the methodology needs adaptation to the local context in Montenegro prior to its use.
BONN –13 – 15 October 2008 – Members of the Development Partners Working Group on Local Governance and Decentralization (DPWG-LGD met to explore opportunities for supporting sustainable growth, retention and use of national capacities for local governance and decentralization. Experts from academia and research institutions and trainers also joined the event. All members endorsed the need for applying a strategic approach to capacity development as part of their support to local governance. It was agreed to enhance harmonization of methodologies and experiences, and recommended to apply the UNDP capacity development approach and capacity assessment tool to all joint donor initiatives in support of LGD. The next meeting will take place in Bratislava in May 2008, where UNDP will present its experiences with capacity development at the local level CD, including specific challenges and responses for Europe and the CIS.
SOFIA – 1, 2 October 2008 – The Oslo Governance Centre and the Bratislava Regional Centre organized a joint training event on accountability and voice mechanisms for public service delivery at the local level. Participants agreed that in order to strengthen the partnership between citizens and the state, long-term strategic planning is required. The capacity development approach goes hand in hand with building local leadership capacity for accountability and voice. Examples of accountability and voice mechanisms for public service delivery were presented, such as citizen report cards, public expenditure tracking, performance based budgets, and public hearings. The training served to further integrate the CD approach in the area of accountability mechanisms. For further information on the event, please visit our 
STRASBOURG – 25, 26 September 2008 – Jointly organized by the Council of Europe and UNDP, the conference “Towards sustainable training systems and effective capacity development in local government” brought together government representatives from across Europe, local government associations, and other partners. The question of the day was: How can training contribute to capacity development? It was agreed that training is an essential element of capacity development, but to ensure sustainable capacity development, training must be part of an overall capacity development strategy – moving beyond the individual learning of new skills to changing workplace behaviour and enhancing institutional capacity and performance of local authorities. 
ISTANBUL – 25 – 27 August 2008 – The Capacity Development Group met to discuss CD strategies, including a presentation of all the CD services that are being requested, provided and the lessons learned so far. Theory and cases were examined, as well as an analysis of how capacity development efforts varied by region. Strategic partnerships were also discussed. CD response was examined in four main areas: institutional reform and incentives; leadership development; education, training and learning; and accountability and voice mechanisms. It was agreed that information and knowledge regarding CD will be revised to better serve country offices, national and local governments and other partners.
Marta K. Gazideda 
