Pm - Capacity Assessment For Leadership Development

Facilitator’s Notes Day 6: Development Modules

Session 26 Capacity Assessment for Leadership Development OBJECTIVE

TIME SCHEDULE

Effective capacity development is crucial to ensuring sustainability of development programming and development effectiveness. This module will introduce to the participants the concept of leadership for human development, UNDP’s capacity development and capacity assessment approach, and their application to leadership development. A leadership assessment exercise will be conducted at the end of the session (Slide 2).

The overall schedule for this module is two hours, as follows:

PROCESS This thematic module is divided into three main components (Slide 3): •

• •

• • •

Capacity development and leadership (30 minutes) Group exercise and discussions (1 hour) Open Forum and plenary discussions (30 minutes)

MATERIALS REQUIRED • • •

LCD Projector Flip charts and marker pens Leadership capacity assessment matrix

Capacity Development and Leadership 9 Understanding key concepts of capacity development 9 Understanding role of effective capacity assessments in formulating capacity development programmes 9 Understanding leadership capacities as catalytic components in sustainable capacity development Group exercise on assessing institutional leadership capacities Open Forum and Discussions

Three major reference materials produced by the UNDP Capacity Development Group (CDG) were used in this module: • • •

The Capacity Development Practice Note The Capacity Assessment Practice Note The Leadership for Human Development Resource Guide

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MODULE CONTENT A. Capacity Development for What? What is sustainable capacity development and how can we achieve it? All professional development practitioners perform capacity development in one way or another. How are you passing on your capacity to others? Are you doing it consciously or is capacity transfer something that you take for granted would inevitably happen whenever you communicate, write a paper, conduct consultation meetings, or formulate and manage a project? This session will present UNDP’s definition of capacity (the ability of individuals, institutions, and societies to perform functions, solve problems, and set and achieve objectives in a sustainable manner) and briefly describe the UNDP framework for capacity development. It will emphasize the importance of both short-term and long-term capacity development investments and strategies, and the importance of analyzing and strengthening capacities at the individual, institutional, and societal levels to empower choices and chart sustainable development courses (Slides 4-6). What capacities? We are all equipped with our own technical, professional capacities that we individually focused in. You may be an engineer, an economist, a lawyer, a teacher, or engaged in another profession that you specialized in in college or through post-graduate degrees, trainings, or courses. In capacity development, we have to understand what capacities we really want to strengthen, a question that is directly linked to the further question of “capacities for what?”. Capacity development therefore begins with two questions: whose capacities do we want to strengthen, and what do we want to achieve out of strengthening these capacities.

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UNDP’s capacity development framework focuses on key functional capacities – the soft capacities that are often not taught in formal schools. Through years of active development work, UNDP and other development actors have realized that such soft capacities (versus hard/technical capacities) are equally important in ensuring development effectiveness. These include capacities for: 1) effective engagement and facilitation of multistakeholder processes; 2) mobilizing and analyzing information and knowledge; 3) strategic planning, policy and programme formulation; 4) implementation, effective management and service delivery; 5) monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (Slides 7-8). B. Systematizing Capacity Assessments: Key to Effective, Sustainable Capacity development In your own programming experience, how have you incorporated capacity development? Let us dispel some common mis-understandings of capacity development. One, capacity development does not equate to training. Two, providing individual trainings will automatically solve the knowledge and skills gap in an organization. Three, as professional development practitioners, we already fully know the capacity issues that need to be addressed. How can a systematic capacity assessment improve the empowerment of capacities in an organization, ministry, or country? A capacity assessment is defined by UNDP as “an analysis of the state of current capacities against desired future capacities; this assessment generates a view to capacity gaps which in turn leads to capacity development strategy formulation and costing”. It is a set of “systematic, facilitated processes applied on larger systems, organizations, departments or ministries, using pre-formulated tools that lead to the generation of capacity maps and baselines from which to build and target

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future capacity development interventions….”. In short, an effective capacity assessment will allow decision makers to identify and prioritize critical capacity gaps to attaining the institution’s/ministry’s/government’s targets, formulate short-term and long-term capacity development strategies to address those gaps, and integrate monitoring mechanisms to measure changes in capacity over time. How then do you go about doing capacity assessments? Figure 1 on the next page defines the major steps in doing capacity assessments (Slide 9). Step 1 is the capacity diagnostics exercise, which should define the entry point for the capacity assessment, the functional capacities to strengthen, and the core capacity issues that need to be addressed. There are various tools developed by UNDP and other UN agencies, as well as other development and private consulting firms, that can be used in doing such capacity assessment exercise. The key is adapting available tools to the need and objective of the exercise, as well as the available resources. Very critical is the process undertaken in facilitating the exercise, particularly in engaging the stakeholders in self-assessment exercises, to ensure ownership of the assessment results. Once results are in, capacity development strategies and actions can be defined (Step 2), to include both shortterm or quick responses, and other longer-term initiatives. Costing these capacity development actions (Step 3) not only within project budgets but particularly within longterm budgetary frameworks is critical to ensure effectiveness and sustainability of the capacity development strategies.

desired in the future. The inputs into a capacity assessment will determine the gaps identified. Equally the “desired” capacities do not emerge from the capacity assessment but must be defined prior to undertaking the assessment. Inappropriate inputs and identification of desired capacities will limit the value of the tool for solution design.

C. Leadership Capacities The present concern for leadership comes from the drive for participatory governance and the realization that the effectiveness of development practitioners depends on local level ownership and links with national development policies, plans and budgets. Participatory governance calls for the creation of new roles and leadership at all levels from local to national and across sectors (Slide 10). Specific contexts make specific demands on leaders. Linking leaders to global knowledge (e.g. networks, international think-tanks) is instrumental for facilitating change. The skills needed for leadership of human rights-based leadership of capacity development are likely to include personal and interpersonal attitudes and skills—e.g. self-awareness, empathy, and skills such as the ability to lead groups in systems thinking for strategic analysis. Ability to bridge the communications gap between people of different worldviews and cognitive ability is likely to be vital. These skills can be coached and learned.

The benefits resulting from a comprehensive and well executed capacity assessments are significant. However, it should be noted that capacity assessment is a tool, not a solution. It requires a prior understanding of the political context within which capacity is deployed and a clear rationale for why certain capacities are

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Process Steps Description

Assess Capacity

Define Capacity Development Strategies/Actions

Cost Capacity Development Actions

An assessment that includes needs assessment, environmental and gender analyses, economic and financial analyses, among others. Conducted along three dimensions: point of entry, functional capacities and core issues.

The development of an strategy suggested by capacity assessment data, evidence and analysis. Includes medium- to long-term strategic initiatives and shortterm quick impact initiatives.

Costings of the proposed strategies / actions. Could include discussion of partnerships, resource requirements and source of funds.

Figure 1. Integration of Capacity Assessment and Planning & Programming As a leader, what leadership skills can and should you learn? Much is asked of a leader. The table below shows some of the leadership skills that are very important to respond to and anticipate the emerging development issues, particularly in contributing to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Slide 11). Leadership Skills Evoking all contributions

Reality testing

What is it about? ability to create an atmosphere of trust and awareness. Inclusion of, and respect for, different values perspectives and legitimate interests may be essential to finding resolution. The ability to generate a productive tension without undue stress is a major leadership skill requirement. requires the ability to lead people to seek, absorb, and find valid interpretation of

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Bridging cognitive and values gaps Leading reflection

Learning Strategizing Understanding and working effectively with

facts; using exposure and orchestration of dissonance/conflict as leverage for learning; testing the relationship between means and ends. the ability to communicate to others whose cognitive development and worldviews are significantly different on values, worldviews, behavior, and the demands of integrity. Getting people to clarify what matters most. Balancing tradeoffs is a central task. requires the ability to formulate significant questions. requires the ability to lead others in open systems thinking. Leaders must be able not to take things personally and defensively and to manage their ego—using it to serve

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projection Exercising responsibility Exercising authority

Managing power shifts

Meeting constituency needs and elevating them Coaching teams

Managing the Managers

the task not using the task to serve the ego. following through on commitments and agreements, and not abusing privilege. requires the ability to establish and maintain boundaries that serve the task, as well as the ability to mobilize and direct the use of resources to support and carry out the task. requires the ability to accept and ease the recasting of roles to preserve the dignity and significance of people and groups. implies empathy and compassion and sensitivity to the needs and development of healthy social systems. whose job is to organize system-wide dialogue through multi-level networks of workgroups assigned tasks in the design and implementation of change. while leadership needs to be linked to effective management, the leadership role is one of direction and the management capacity that is necessary to give effect to direction need not be in the same person.

them to become participatory, may be all that will be supported in a given context. In such a case, existing processes—and who plays what roles in them—may need to be largely accepted. Leadership development will coach key managers especially in imaginative and systems skills. Where there are opportunities for bringing to bear influence from outside the organization, the support of champions may also be effective (Slide 12). Leadership Assessment Exercise Each participant will be given four matrices [ i) organizational direction and visioning; ii) management systems; iii) motivation and staff support; iv) partnerships) to assess the leadership capacity in his/her own organization. If applicable to you, you may also opt to assess your own leadership capacities using this matrix. Each matrix has specific indicators (Slide 13), and each participant should provide a rating for each indicator, as follows: Rating 0 1 2 3 4

5 Assessing Leadership Capacities What then makes a good leader?

No evidence or only anecdotal evidence of an approach An approach is planned An approach is planned and implemented An approach is planned, implemented and reviewed An approach is planned, implemented and reviewed on the basis of benchmarking data and adjusted accordingly An approach is planned, implemented, reviewed on the basis of benchmarking data, adjusted and fully integrated into the organisation

We start by asking who should be performing what leadership roles. Institutions and systems at different stages of development will provide different answers to this question. Leadership development programmes, designed to develop the leadership capacity of consultative managerial systems rather than transforming

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