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What you find on this page as you scroll down: > Introduction > Editors Choice > Good Practice / Case Materials > Useful Web-sites and partners > Opinion pieces / discussion platforms > Other knowledge resources: tools, reports, books, ... PLEASE NOTE: This resource corner is work in progress. What you find here is a first mock-up of an eventual web-based and interactive resource corner and includes a preliminary selection of documents and resources. This resource corner is currently being peer reviewed with the intention of becoming fully functional by end of September. You are also invited to scan over the current resource corner. Should you have any comments or suggestions on how to improve the resource corners, please add a comment on the bottom of this page or send an email to contact@lenCD.org There is growing recognition that context matters for capacity development. The enabling environment provides the institutional, political and social conditions for sustainable capacity development to take place. Any attempt to understand the factors that facilitate or constrain capacity development must necessarily take account of the enabling environment. This is no easy task, either for country partners themselves or for external development partners, but it is critical if CD is to be sustainable. Many sector-specific and results-focused efforts have therefore failed or to lack sustainability because of broad, cross-cutting governance failures. Addressing these, often constitutes a difficult collective action problem leading to neglect and undermining many well intended CD efforts in sub-systems, organizations, or human resources. Successful efforts are usually associated with strong ownership, stakeholder participation, effective leadership, charismatic champions, demand-side pressures, accountability and incentives conducive to change. In light of the above, greater efforts are being made to understand and determine the extent to which the enabling environment is conducive to CD. At one level, this can involve taking account of concrete issues such as staff motivation and incentives, as well as leadership and the policy framework. The issue of public sector pay and related issues of performance and accountability are factors that can impact positively or adversely on efforts to enhance sector level capabilities. The effect of fragmented and parallel donor financed projects on producing perverse incentives needs also to be recognised. But other less concrete aspects of the enabling environment also need to be taken account of. Examples include societal norms and values, power relations and the role of informal networks and relationships. An increasing number of tools and methodologies are being developed to help better understand factors in the enabling environment. Political analyses, as well as governance assessment frameworks, are two such examples. There are also many analytical studies that try to better understand context. The AAA acknowledges the importance of addressing the enabling environment but argues clearly that while donors can support countries in better understanding systemic constraints to capacity development, it is ultimately the responsibility of partner countries to take the lead in advancing this agenda. It suggests the need to: · Identify the systemic issues that undermine capacity development and agree on joint action to address them · Reform incentive systems for better acquisition, use and retention of capacities · Promote effective participation in the development process and accountability to domestic constituencies · Assess capacity and measure progress in CD in particular at country level with locally agreed measures This resource corner highlights a range of resources that address the enabling environment. Considerable debate and research is taking place on this subject, as reflected in the broad range of knowledge resources listed below. Eventually, the resource corner will be structured around sub-themes that cover the following topic areas: (i) socio-political, cultural and jurisdictional factors; (ii) human resource management and civil service reform; (iii) financial incentives, incl. wage caps and pay reforms; (iv) non-material incentives; (v) corruption; > Editor’s Choice Madrid Conference Paper on Incentive Systems It is possible to distinguish factors that have motivational effects from other capacity elements. Some are internal, others are external to or “in the environment” of any given system. The question of motivation is inextricably linked with capacity and needs to be analyzed and addressed on all capacity levels: individual, organization and enabling environment.
Case Evidence on 'Ethics and Values in Civil Service Reforms'
Orrnert, A., and Hewitt, T., 2007, 'Elites and Institutions: A Literature Review' Exploring elites and their relationship to institutions can enhance the understanding of politics in Africa. This literature review by the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC) summarises current knowledge of how elites work with and through political institutions. It focuses on the large volume of literature published in the last five to ten years on Anglophone Africa, highlighting a number of gaps in the research.
Understanding State-Building from a Political Economy Perspective The need to build capable and accountable states has emerged as a leading priority for the international development community. This paper seeks to contribute to a more conceptually informed understanding of state-building, adopting a political economy perspective.
Is Political Analysis Changing Donor Behaviour? Sue Unsworth 2008 Research increasingly emphasises that what works in development depends on country-specific realities and opportunities. Donors need to recognise that politics is central to the development process so that they make the necessary investment in understanding local political dynamics. This paper from the 2008 Development Studies Association Conference finds that while political analysis is influencing specific aspects of donor activity, its impact is fragmented and donors’ default position remains technocratic. Strong, visionary leadership is needed to enable donors to make major changes in their thinking, organisation and culture.
The Politics of Successful Governance Reforms: Lessons of Design and Implementation Mark Robinson 2007Access full text: What political and institutional factors contribute to successful governance reforms? This article from Commonwealth and Comparative Politics compares reforms in Brazil, India and Uganda. It finds that successful reforms require a combination of political commitment, technical capacity and gradual implementation. Donors can support governance improvement most effectively by working with reform-oriented politicians and bureaucrats in contexts where reform is politically feasible to increase incentives for the changes > Good Practice / Case Materials Case Evidence on 'Brain Gain'
Power Analysis - Experiences and Challenges Helena Bjuremalm 2006 Access full text: Power analysis can help donors understand underlying structural factors impeding poverty reduction as well as incentives and disincentives for pro-poor development. Such analysis may point to i.a. why resources and authority are not transferred to lower levels of government in spite of decentralisation reforms, why women are not allowed to inherit land, and why poor people's human rights, in particular, tend to be neglected - and what could be done about such expressions of politics of poverty.
Making the New Political Economy Perspective more operationally relevant for development agencies G. Williams, A. Duncan, P. Landell-Mills 2007 Access full text: How can donors more effectively put into practice the principles of the New Political Economy Perspective (NPEP)? This policy brief from The Policy Practice addresses questions of donor legitimacy, underlying principles, and aid programming in relation to this new analytical tool. Rather then seeking to influence governments directly, donors should help to strengthen the accountability of governments to their own citizens. Donors therefore need to address the system of incentives and restraints that affects key change agents.
Survey of Donor Approaches to Governance Assessment OECD 2008 Access full text: Many development agencies are engaged in assessing governance. What are their approaches and how can these be more effectively harmonised? This study from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development surveys donors' use of general and thematic governance assessments. Most approaches are driven by policy dialogue, detailed planning of governance enhancement activities and strategic decisions regarding aid to specific countries. Linkage to a donor's programme, demand from the field and removal of institutional disincentives are important in determining how governance assessments are used.
Managing for Development Results - SourceBook http://www.mfdr.org/Sourcebook/3rdEdition/SourceBook3FINAL.pdf Managing for development results (MfDR) requires leadership to set and achieve goals. More specifically, a serious MfDR process requires committed individuals willing to spend political capital to reform entrenched systems, shape a shared vision of the future, and improve government performance. These are not flashy causes, and they take time to accomplish. They require leaders with the integrity to persist in the face of challenges. The Third Edition of the Sourcebook on Emerging Good Practice in Managing for Development Results is one of the products of the OECD-DAC Joint Venture on Managing for Development Results. The Joint Venture is a group of partner country representatives and bilateral and multilateral donors working together to exchange ideas on global trends in managing for development results (MfDR).
Governance Indicators – A User’s Guide http://www.undp.org/oslocentre/docs07/undp_users_guide_online_version.pdf The guide is written in two parts. The first part provides generic guidance for users of indicators, illustrated with specific examples from the governance arena. The second part of the publication is a source guide, which takes the reader through some specifics about the currently available data sources, including a snapshot of their methodology, some example data, their contact information and the important assumptions underlying the particular source. > Useful Web-sites and partners GSDRC Topic Guide on Political Systems http://www.gsdrc.org/go/topic-guides/political-systems This guide considers some of the key questions about how political systems evolve, how they can best foster democratic and inclusive politics, and - crucially for development practitioners - under what conditions they most effectively promote poverty reduction. It focuses on strengthening the accountability, responsiveness and effectiveness of political systems and political governance, and includes guidance and case study materials.
GSDRC Topic Guide on Political Economy Analysis http://gsdrc.ids.ac.uk/go/topic-guides/political-economy-analysis This topic guide provides pointers to some of the key literature on donor approaches to political economy analysis and its effectiveness in different contexts. It includes examples of analyses and tools applied at country, sector and programme level.
GSDRC Topic Guide on Civil Service Reform http://www.gsdrc.org/go/topic-guides/civil-service-reform This topic guide outlines the issues currently facing reform efforts and introduces the key technical aspects of CSR.
World Bank's (WB) Adminstrative and Civil Service Reform website Provides access to some of the key discussions in the field of public administration. The WB site also lists governments’ own websites
UNDP Public Administration Reform and Anti-Corruption site Provides practice notes, guidelines and toolkits to support efficient, responsive and transparent public service. > Opinion pieces / discussion platforms Capacity Development: A Moving Target - Godfrey Ssebukulu Contribution to the Bonn 2008 Accra HLF preparatory workshop on Capacity Development
Enabling Environment for CD – Joseph Rugumyamheto Contribution to the Bonn 2008 Accra HLF preparatory workshop on Capacity Development > Other knowledge resources: tools, reports, books, ... In Africa, as elsewhere, the paths to development are dependent on historical institutional context, and cannot be imposed from outside. This paper, from the Africa Power and Politics Programme, argues that in African states informal institutions dominate power relations but are not understood, and so development policies lack any real traction. A model of how formal and informal institutions interact is proposed and linked to an analysis of power itself – its basis, reach, exercise, nature and consequences. This shows that conventional models of development planning cannot work in Africa, where the production and distribution of ‘public goods’ are highly politicised and personalised. (source:GSRDC)
Robinson, M., 2006, 'The Political Economy of Governance Reforms in Uganda', IDS Discussion Paper, May, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton.
How can governments ensure that public appointments are fair, transparent and challengeable? This paper presented at the Conference on Public Integrity and Anticorruption in the Public Service explores issues of merit and integrity in the public service. To advance merit, governments should establish a sound institutional framework and upgrade appointment methods. (source:GSRDC)
This short briefing paper sets the context for pay reform by exploring the close links between politics and pay reforms. (source:GSRDC)
How does politics affect public service pay reform? What approaches can increase the prospect of success for pay reform in developing countries? This study for DFID and the World Bank Africa Region Public Service Reform and Capacity Building Unit analyses pay reform strategies since 1990 in eight African countries: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. There is no model approach to pay reform. Technical solutions must pay attention to political context.
Capacity Building, Institutional Crisis and the Issue of Recurrent Costs This report investigates the links between the micro and macro levels of aid financed capacity building. The study looks into the incentive structures—including distortions due to the behavior of the donors—in response to the problem of low salaries in the public sector of poor countries that has constituted a major problem in all efforts to improve institutional capacity. The Expert Group on Development Issues (EGDI), Stockholm, Study no. 2001:1.
Market for African Development Management Professionals http://www.acbf-pact.org/knowledge/books/afdManProfs.asp The flight of highly skilled African professionals to the industrialized countries of the West is one of the major development constraints of most African countries. Both the public and private sectors of these countries are suffering from the flight of human capital, as their best and brightest professionals migrate, a large number of whom hardly return to their countries of origin.
As part of its wider mandate to support the implementation of capacity development themes raised in the Accra Agenda for Action, LenCD has begun developing a set of seven web-based resource corners. Each resource corner consists of six sections: i) a narrative orientation text ii) top ten web-based publications iii) good practice/ case materials iii) list of useful web-sites and partners, iv) opinion pieces/ viewpoints v) list of additional knowledge resources. Eventually these resource corners will be accessed via a knowledge platform offering a range of functionalities that will facilitate interactive sharing and dissemination of knowledge and experiences related to the capacity development themes. Content of each resource corner will be regularly updated with the support of a resource corner adviser, while various interactive events/ facilities such as blogs, ediscussions and working group are also envisaged. |
Enabling Environment - Incentive Systems, Drivers of Change, Political Context |