In May 2008, an international preparatory workshop in Bonn brought together seventy development practitioners from governments and civil society with the intention of developing a concrete capacity development agenda for Accra and beyond. The "Bonn Workshop Consensus" seeks to influence the deliberations in Accra and the Accra Action Agenda in order to strengthen efforts for capacity development.

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Beyond Accra: Six areas for action 

 
1. Integrate capacity development (CD) at the core of sector and thematic development
 Articulate actionable CD objectives in sector/thematic strategies and plans; include CD in sector reviews; allocate adequate funding; convene stakeholder working groups around CD; build aliances of CD champions

2. Address systemic factors that enable or undermine CD
Identify systemic constraints; reform incentive systems for retaining and sustaining capacity; manage international labour migration; promote effective participation and accountability; agree on appropriate ways to assess and measure progress; strengthen country management of aid and aid relationships

3. Increase relevance, improve quality and expand choice of capacity development support (including TC)
Ensure “good fit” approaches, better deployment of existing capacity assets; establish quality criteria and professional standards for CD support; establish accountability mechanisms for Technical Cooperation; ensure real choice of suppliers for CD services, including through South-South cooperation

4. Engage and strengthen civil society and the private sector as agents for capacity development (CD)
Recognize civil society and the private sector as CD agents; agree on mechanisms for direct CD support and funding to CSOs; support the development of country and regions CD service providers and think tanks

5. Improve capacity development support in situations of fragility
Safeguard exisiting capacity; engage quickly to support capacity development; sustain support when the immediate crisis is over; establish temporary mechanisms for coordination and accountability for CD; invest in knowledge acquisition by country agents; integrate refugees and displaced people; involve the diaspora

6. Build aliances to change operational practice for capacity development (CD)
Form alliances of champions at the country level to influence priorities and practice; broaden and deepen CD knowledge and improve access; upgrade the capacity of donors and their agents to engage on CD

Perspectives on Capacity Development for Accra and Beyond

Current thinking on capacity development emphasizes six areas for action. For more information see “Perspectives on Capacity Development for Accra and Beyond.” (see below) The document outlines the rationale for the action areas and the concrete steps that may be taken at the national and international levels. It is not a consensus document but a compendium of collective wisdom that may help shape the priorities for moving forward in a variety of country conditions and contexts.

Comments, ideas and proposals on capacity development issues are welcome at the following e-mail address;  contact@lencd.org

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LenCD and the Aid Effectiveness Agenda

LenCD’s earliest work was done in partnership with the OECD/DAC and focused on the Paris High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF2), where LenCD provided technical advice and organized the roundtable on capacity development. LenCD also was instrumental in guiding the research and organizing consultations for the development of the reference paper “The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice.” The paper was adopted by the DAC in 2006 as collective guidance on capacity development. In an effort to build a broader community of practice on CD issues and reach out to practitioners in the South, LenCD organized the Nairobi Forum in October 2006, “Addressing the Paris Declaration: Collective Responsibility for Capacity Development." 

For the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF3) in September 2008, LenCD supported the organization of a DAC preparatory workshop (Bonn, May 2008). The workshop “Capacity Development: Accra and Beyond” contributed to setting a priority agenda for action on capacity development that informed debates in Accra and helped shape the relevant sections in the Accra Agenda for Action. These concepts were embodied concisely in the Bonn Consensus (May 2008) and more substantively in the “Perspectives on Capacity Development for Accra and Beyond”. LenCD carried these messages to Accra with a marketplace display, outreach materials and a side event. The documentation can be found at www.LenCD.org .

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THE BONN WORKSHOP CONSENSUS

"We recognize that capacity development is critical for sustainable development and national ownership. It is primarily a developing country responsibility.

Capacity development is a fundamental change process requiring that:

a)     Developing countries commit to the capacity development of their human resources, systems and institutions at all levels, and

b)     External partners commit to strengthen their own capacity and adapt their approaches to deliver responsive support for capacity development.
Six areas of action:

• Developing countries agree to integrate capacity development as a core element of national, sector and thematic development efforts.

• Developing countries will take the lead in addressing key systemic issues that undermine capacity development, with support from external partners as required.

• To enable developing countries to exercise ownership of capacity development through technical cooperation, external partners agree to a) the joint selection and management of technical cooperation to support local priorities and b) expand the choice of technical cooperation providers to ensure access to sources of local and South-South expertise.

• Developing countries and external partners also jointly commit to enable the capacity development of civil society and the private sector to play their development roles more fully.

• In situations of fragility, notably in post conflict, external partners will provide tailored and coordinated capacity development support for core state functions earlier and for a longer period. Interim measures should be appropriately sequenced and lead to sustainable capacities and local institutions.

• Beyond Accra, developing countries and external partners jointly agree to a strengthened and consolidated international effort to expand capacity development knowledge and apply resulting good practice."

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