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

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> Introduction

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Technical Cooperation (TC) is the principal instrument that is used by donor agencies to support countries develop their capacity, and consumes approximately 25% of all ODA. Despite notable successes, TC has been the subject of considerable critique with respect to cost and effectiveness. These have become points of discussion within the broader aid effectiveness agenda. A considerable body of literature on the topic has also emerged in recent years. Discussions and research revolve around issues of demand, supply and delivery/ management of TC services. Particular interest has been expressed in promoting greater use of national expertise and south-south cooperation, in assuring better quality control of CD service providers, and in exploring alternative ways of addressing capacity development that rely less on the deployment of TA personnel.

 

The Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness includes two specific indicators that address capacity development and technical cooperation. Indicator 4 addresses the issue of fragmented support and calls for a more harmonised and aligned approach to the design and delivery of capacity development. Indicator 7 addresses concerns about the widespread use of parallel project implementation units that risk undermining local capacity and calls for a substantial reduction in their use.

 

The AAA argues that to enable developing countries to exercise ownership of capacity development through technical cooperation, external partners need to a) facilitate the joint selection and management of technical cooperation service providers so as to support local priorities and b) expand the choice of technical cooperation providers to ensure access to sources of local and South-South expertise.

 

Related issues that are the subject of policy discussions and which have been explored in recent studies include the following:

 

·         Capacity development is not the same as technical cooperation - the latter can only serve as an input to a locally owned and managed CD process. More creativity is needed in addressing CD challenges that go beyond the standard provision of technical assistance personnel.

·         Decision making about and management of technical cooperation remains in the hands of donors, and needs to move substantially to country partners consistent with aid effectiveness principles.

·         Insufficient attention is given to/ use is made of locally and regionally available CD resources such as training and research institutions, local consultants and NGOs, and  more effort should be made to encourage south-south cooperation.

·         More needs to be done to raise the quality of service providers in the area of capacity development. Effective support to CD needs to integrate state-of-the-art approaches including change management, process facilitation, coaching, training and expert services that combine technical, contextual and stakeholder engagement competencies. CD practice should not only be tailor-made to context, but practitioners should be held to the highest standards of professional rigour.

 

This knowledge corner highlights a selection of resources that tackle the various dimensions of this topic.

 

With respect to the further development of this resource corner on Relevance, Quality and Choice of CD support, the following is noted:

·         Much of the available literature on this theme focuses on issues related to technical cooperation and capacity development. However, besides the ECs recently established website on technical cooperation (http://www.capacity4dev.eu/) there do not appear to be any dedicated resource corners on this topic.

·         Greater effort is needed to address some of the sub-themes such as south-south cooperation and quality standards. Possible sub-pages could be developed around such themes. 

> Editor’s Choice

> Good Practice / Case Materials

European Commission. Guidelines on Making Technical Cooperation more Effective. 2009

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/delivering-aid/aid-effectiveness/documents/guidelines_on_tc_final.pdf

These guidelines are a key element in of the EC strategy to reform how it will work with Technical Cooperation (TC) in the future. They will be updated based on lessons learned and reactions from partners, EC staff and donors. The guidelines cover TC funded by the EC. They apply to all EC modalities of support, including centralised and decentralised management as well as country system procedures (see annex 6 on procedures). They cover TC support to government, civil society and the private sector. The guidelines are also intended to help guide staff in situations where the EC is actively engaged in dialogue about and overseeing TC functions. This may be TC delivered by others or TC procured by a partner receiving budget support for a programme from the EC.

 

DFID. 2006. How to provide Technical Cooperation personnel. How to Note. http://www.dfid.gov.uk/mdg/aid-effectiveness/tc-how-to.pdf   (URL problem)

The purpose of this paper is to improve the impact of DFIDs Technical Cooperation (TC). It is aimed at country offices but may also be useful for other parts of DFID that are involved in TC. It takes the reader through the different stages of TC, from identification and design to procurement and monitoring, and provides a set of good practice principles that should be applied across these. The common thread is for partners to have a central role at all stages and to lead TC policy and implementation where there is capacity.

 

Government of Cambodia. 2008. The Provision and Management of Technical Cooperation in Cambodia, Government Position Paper for Consultation, June 2008

http://www.cdccrdb.gov.kh/cdc/aid_management/Technical%20Cooperation%20Position%20Paper%20(June%202008).pdf

The general objective of this position paper is to support the translation of the RGC's capacity development priorities into effective technical cooperation policies and programmes. The specific objectives are as follows: (1) To clarify and reinforce the link between technical cooperation and capacity development by focusing first on process issues related to management of technical cooperation and second on the required collective actions to improve support to capacity development; (2) To build consensus on the role of technical cooperation and modalities for its effective management based on principles of RGC ownership and leadership of the development agenda; and (3) To inform a Guideline that establishes technical cooperation management and monitoring arrangements.

 

And:

 

 Government of Cambodia, 2008. A Guideline on the Provision and Management of Technical Cooperation.

http://www.cdccrdb.gov.kh/cdc/aid_management/Technical%20Cooperation%20Guideline%20(September%202008).pdf

 The objective of this Guideline is to support the translation of the Government's capacity development priorities into effective technical cooperation programmes by: (1) Reinforcing the technical cooperation-capacity development linkage through improved management and collective actions to support capacity development. (2) Establishing technical cooperation management standards that are based on: (i) Government approaches to human resource development; (ii) public administration reform; and (iii) aid effectiveness principles based on ownership and leadership of the development agenda.

 

A Market-Based Approach to Capacity Development: How Uganda's Local Governments are Breaking New Ground. World Bank Institute May 2007, Issue No. 22

 For many developing countries, capacity development means donor-sponsored training programs and outside experts. But a noteworthy example in Uganda shows that capacity development may work better and be more sustainable when local market forces are unleashed to provide for local capacity needs. The Uganda case spotlights an approach supported by the World Bank and other partners that has focused on improving the capacities of Uganda’s local governments, which since the 1990s have been part of one of Africa’s most ambitious decentralization processes. In that program, Uganda’s Ministry of Local Government has used World Bank and other donor financing to create a set of incentives aimed at improving the performance of the country’s local governments. Part of the approach was not only a system to reward high-performing local governments, but actions aimed at stimulating both supply and demand for capacity development at the local level.

 

South-South Capacity Development: The Way to Grow? World Bank Institute, Feb 2007, Issue No. 20

 A growing body of evidence suggests that learning and cooperation among developing nations is increasing in both frequency and complexity and expanding from just economic cooperation to include a variety of topics: health, education, communication, research, and development. Due to shared backgrounds and challenges, people in developing nations are banding together as peers to find new and innovative solutions to development issues. Reviews of technical cooperation suggest that South-South learning is often more effective in developing capacity than one-way knowledge transfers from the North. This brief identifies trends in this phenomenon for practitioners of capacity development and highlights some successful cases of South-South learning and cooperation. 

 

Bridging State Capacity Gaps in Situations of Fragility

http://www.oecd.org/document/42/0,3343,en_39406396_39406575_42426026_1_1_1_1,00.html

This first volume of the PDG Experts’ Series investigates whether using technical assistance in core government functions and services has been conducive to capacity development. Each case study (Afghanistan, Haiti, South Sudan and Timor-Leste) identifies specific bottlenecks and successes and aims to find new ways of thinking about the use of interim personnel for service delivery in core government functions. 

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> Useful Web-sites and partners

> Opinion pieces / discussion platforms

Capacity Development: from Top to Bottom - Jenny Pearson

Contribution to the Bonn 2008 Accra HLF preparatory workshop on Capacity Development

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 > Other knowledge resources: tools, reports, books, ... 

Brain Drain is Not Irreversible (Human Development Viewpoint)
Brain drain can virtually rob the future of the poorest countries. By developing creative strategies for collaborating with their diasporas, by promoting knowledge networks, market access, facilitating direct investment and supporting return migration, this process may be reversed.

 

Developing Capacity Through Technical Cooperation (Executive Summary)
Developing Capacity Through Technical Cooperation: Country Experiences is the second in a series of studies exploring the fundamentals of capacity development and the role of external cooperation. It provides concrete inputs to rethinking technical cooperation for today's challenges based on six country studies - Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Philippines and Uganda.

 

Developing Capacity? An evaluation of DFID funded Technical Cooperation for economic management in Sub Saharan Africa. Technical Cooperation for economic Development DFID (2006).

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/evaluation/ev667.pdf

This evaluation of DFID technical cooperation (TC) for strengthening economic management in Africa is based on four country case studies (of Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia) and focuses mainly on the period 1999-2004. The evaluation sought to understand the contribution of technical cooperation to the development of organisational capacity for economic management – that is the ability of the key organisations (Ministries, Departments) involved in the economic management process to discharge their functions

 

Technical assistance and capacity building: Timor-Leste

This AusAID paper draws on an evaluation of the facility, which explored the effectiveness of technical assistance as a form of development assistance. The paper discusses a number of issues including: long term vs short term technical assistance; the role of technical assistance;  building on existing capacity; the importance of conflict analysis; coordinating technical assistance.

 

The International Mobility of Talent and its Impact on Global Development: An Overview

Human talent is a key economic resource and a source of creative power in science, technology, business, arts and culture and other activities. Talent has a large economic value and its mobility has increased with globalization, the spread of new information technologies and lower transportation costs. Well educated and/or talented people are often more internationally mobile than unskilled workers and face more favourable immigration policies in receiving countries, typically high per capita inc

 

Morgan, P., 2002 Technical assistance: correcting the precedents, UNDP Development Policy Journal, 2, 1-22.

http://content.undp.org/go/cms-service/download/asset/?asset_id=1634599

Unlike many of the recent proposed action plans for improving technical assistance, complete

with careful recommendations and operational steps, this paper takes a step back half a century

to concentrate on why technical assistance became a problem rather than a solution. Looking

at the features that made development cooperation revolutionary in the history of international

relations, it examines TA from the perspective of the organisational pressures and dynamics it

involved. It also asks how the current cycle of reappraisal and reform began – and looks ahead

to the latest proposals for change.

 

ADB. 2007. Special Evaluation on Performance of Technical Assistance.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/SES/REG/sst-reg-2007-02/SST-REG-2007-02.asp

Several reviews and evaluations carried out over the last decade found that technical assistance (TA) had not reached its full potential in achieving development results, and identified concerns over the approach to TA management and the effectiveness of many TAs. This evaluation study undertook an assessment of past reviews and evaluations, an analysis of the evaluation database on TA performance, and country case studies of purposefully selected sample TAs in selected sectors. About two-thirds of ADB's TA activities were successful and many generated strategic impacts that transferred best international practice to developing member countries. On the other hand, still about a third of TAs activities were not successful.

 

Baser, H. and P. Morgan. 2002. Harmonising the Provision of Technical Assistance: Finding the Right Balance and Avoiding the New Religion (ECDPM Discussion Paper 36). Maastricht: ECDPM www.ecdpm.org/dp36

This study is part of the ongoing reflection within international development organisations on ways to harmonise their management procedures. The overall aims of such initiatives are to encourage country ownership, to reduce the fragmentation of externally funded development activities, and to reduce the administrative burden on all development partners. The present paper is a short version of the full report of a study, entitled The Pooling of Technical Assistance: An Overview based on Field Experience in Six African Countries, published in 2001, reworked for a field-level audience with the specific purpose of providing background material for consultations with African policy makers and practitioners.

 

IMF. 2005 Evaluation of the technical assistance provided by the International Monetary Fund. Washington: International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/np/ieo/2005/ta/eng/013105.htm

This evaluation examines the technical assistance (TA) provided by the IMF to its member countries. The evaluation is based on desk reviews of a broad sample of countries, analyses of cross-country data on TA, six in-depth country case studies, reviews of past evaluations, and interviews with IMF staff and other stakeholders. In trying to assess the effectiveness of technical assistance, we distinguish between the impact at different stages of the results chain—the immediate improvements in the technical capabilities of agencies receiving TA, the ability of agencies to then apply and enforce that increased capability; and whenever possible, ultimate outcomes on the ground. Attribution of results to the effects of TA clearly becomes more difficult the further out the results chain we go. While such assessments inevitably rely heavily upon qualitative judgments, we have drawn upon various performance indicators and benchmarks wherever possible.

 

Morgan, P & Land, A, 2008 Technical Cooperation for Capacity Development in Cambodia: Making the system work better

http://www.cdc-crdb.gov.kh/cdc/aid_management/TC%20Cambodia%20report%20FINAL%20(Jan%202008).pdf

The Royal Government of Cambodia and its development partners continue to collaborate on improving aid effectiveness.Part of this effort has focused on the specific implications of the Paris Declaration for aid design and management in the Cambodian context.Part has been about more general improvements to the design, management and monitoring of technical cooperation (TC) that could be implemented by the RGC, by individual DPs or by actors from both sides coordinating their activities. These perennial topics of TC in general and technical assistance personnel (TA) in particular present particular challenges. Cambodia as an aid-dependent country with continuing gaps in capacity has received a high proportion of its development assistance in the form of TC. No serious effort at improving overall aid effectiveness can make much headway without addressing this issue. To do this, the Partnership and Harmonization Technical Working Group agreed to sponsor a review of TC in the Cambodian context. This report sets out our findings, conclusions and recommendations.

 

Project Implementation Units (Human Development Viewpoint)

PIUs, though holding promise for efficient project management and operations, may over time exacerbate the very problems that made them necessary to begin with. If still employed, it must be ensured that they are compatible and integrated with the broader reform processes and have an explicit exit strategy with effective safeguards.

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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.