BUILDING AN AFRICA LEARNING PLATFORM ON CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT 

Prepared by Lawrencia Adams, Consultant, Ghana

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This initiative has its origins in an emerging partnership among the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD) and the Southern led CD Alliance to support the implementation of the capacity priorities of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) through to Seoul 2011. The objective is to promote practice change in capacity development (CD) through an African platform for learning, exchange of knowledge and resources on capacity development with key development actors and institutions working in the region.

Understanding the CD Landscape in Africa: There is a great diversity of institutions, networks, initiatives and programmes in Africa that relate in one way or another to capacity development. The CD landscape mapped during the consultations points to the different groups that can be expected to take a stake in and benefit from the proposed learning platform. Five principal stakeholder categories are identified:

1.   “African organizations with CD as focus”: Examples include the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), whose core mandate is indeed to promote capacity development.

2.   “Horizontal / related communities” that focus on particular dimensions of capacity development which may include human resources development and organisational development.

3.   “Vertical/sectoral/thematic communities” consist of groups representing specific sectoral or thematic areas of expertise.

4.   “Africa focused external partners” consist of development agencies with a presence in Africa that are engaged on CD issues technically and/or through funding

5.   “Individual interested practitioners”: It will generally be individuals who will make a difference by consciously taking the effort to connect communities.

Added value: The consultations undertaken in preparation of this report suggest that the proposed CD learning platform can add value in the following ways:

·     make CD knowledge and practice in Africa more transparent and accessible

·     help to demystify capacity development recognising the many practical initiatives

·     connect Africa internationally to bring the international good practices on CD

·     serve as a conduit that can feed African experiences and insights into the global debate

·     foster cross-regional learning exchange

·     encourage greater interaction among diverse communities of practice

·     facilitate the codification, exchange and dissemination of CD-related knowledge

·     Create a continent-wide network of competency/expertise

The platform should then incrementally offer products and services that correspond to demand. Such may include: a Capacity Development Monitor featuring ongoing initiatives relevant to the CD community: Capacity Development Learning Initiatives at country level; Capacity Development Resource Corners; Dialogue and Exchange: through video conferences, e-discussions, workshops etc.; a Hotline for CD support: access to online support for practitioners seeking advice; a Market place and expert localization services as well as Evidence building on capacity development: identifying and codifying experiences.

The focus and content of the platform should remain flexible and responsive to demands expressed by stakeholders and users. However, to set the process in motion, the platform may initially focus on the priorities identified in the Accra Agenda for Action commitments.

Three principal options have emerged for the operational arrangement of the Africa capacity development and learning platform: In the first option, the platform is a virtual forum with a resource base (virtual library). The arrangement may be fairly light with global reach but could be quite removed from African realities for lack of real engagement. Option two is a physical presence embodied within an African regional/continental institution with a broad focus on capacity development e.g. ACBF or NEPAD or an association of universities. Advantage here is that national level initiatives will be quickly amplified and facilitate cross fertilization and use of best practice. However, there is the risk of it becoming dormant/captured/sidelined if the issues evolving within the platform do not relate to the core function of the network. Option three is a multi-stakeholder platform facilitated by LenCD. LenCD as a multi-partner effort is a suitable facilitator. Risks, however, relate to anchoring in regional institutions and operational challenges.

The analysis actually points to a fourth option that offers potentially the most advantages. It is a hybrid arrangement that can mobilize the respective strength of key players while avoiding the weaknesses inherent in each option. This fourth option is built on an equal partnership between core stakeholders who put, from the start, a premium on synergies and strengthening existing arrangements while making use of the impartiality of LenCD to facilitate this coming together of energies. Responsibilities can be shared out according to comparative advantages of core partners and an arrangement that surmounts issues of institutional turf for the benefit of a collective effort to maximize CD Learning in the region. This option is further developed in section 5 of this report.

What is proposed here is at the very core, a tripartite relationship governed by an MOU to define respective roles and responsibilities, the flow of information and resources between ACBF, NEPAD and LenCD. It is critical that this core partnership remains active in facilitating connection between generating knowledge, influencing CD practices and policy change – “closing the learning loop”.  Any arrangement should allow the learning platform to be opportunistic in partnering with organizations or institutions willing to put the CD knowledge products into practice as well as those institutions with a credible convening power to reach the political leadership in Africa and beyond. .

The time is conducive now to forge a close partnership as core of a CD learning platform in Africa. NEPAD is about to launch its CD Strategic Framework and is redefining its role and work plan. ACBF is revamping its role as CD service provider in Africa focused more on knowledge management. LenCD is operationalizing and will establish a coordination function in Africa.  This should constitute an excellent opportunity to discuss concrete collaborative arrangements between the suggested core partners to start with. As cautioned throughout the consultations, it should be wise to move where specific opportunities arise, concrete initiatives are ongoing, in particular supporting country level learning. Arrangements could initially be around a few specific products and services and may eventually be formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).  A face to face meeting of the core partners should be envisaged as early as November 2009.