Effective capacity development in and with the Global South

By Jon Harle

How to do capacity development well in the research and knowledge for development sector? And since the pandemic pushed everyone online, how can capacity development be done well digitally too? In particular how to avoid making the same mistakes, with disappointing results and frustrated partnerships?

As an international development organisation, INASP has been doing this work for the last thirty years and while it isn’t easy, we think it is possible to do it well. There are also very simple starting points: we have to listen carefully, start with what already exists, and see ourselves as enablers and partners, who are also learning in the process, not experts with all the answers.

We recognise capacity building is an imperfect term too – and a contested concept, with origins in colonial and in post-war technical projects to accelerate development and ‘catch-up’ the South.

The INASP approach is summarised in our learning and capacity development framework shown in the figure below.

Throughout, our work has been values-led:

• That we are ‘in it together’ with partners, co‐designing initiatives with them, recognising that they hold significant expertise and that it is our duty to understand how we can best contribute. It means speaking up when we need to and remaining open to being challenged by others.
• That we strive to ‘make change last’, so that the capacities that we seek to support are not ephemeral and fleeting, and that organisations and individuals can sustain and extend them beyond projects, and beyond our cooperation.
• That ‘every voice counts’, and that we must strive to embrace difference and diversity, requiring us to listen attentively, and to address power and equity in our work actively.
• That we must ‘do things right’, by striving for the highest standards in our work, and being fair, open and accountable in the decisions we take and the work we do.

INASP has the following five principles, developed from a combination of learning, evidence, and values. They encompass the entry points for change, as well as making sustainable and lasting change.

1. Capacity always already exists (Enhancing existing capacity in the figure above)
   It’s common to start with deficits: what doesn’t exist, where are the gaps? But capacity always exists. Helping individuals or groups see their strengths and build on them is far more effective than pointing out what they lack.
2. Technical expertise is never sufficient (Beyond technical capacity)
   Technical capacity is important, but never sufficient. Instead, developing capacity is fundamentally about change. It’s about grappling with the way things are done, in specific places and organisations, and with the incentives, interests and cultures that underpin those practices – and that enable or prevent change. That’s about power and politics – whether writ large, or the day-to-day struggles within organisations.
   Understand the problem requires us to understand the context in which change is happening, as well as understanding that change is complex. It tends to require people to work together, generate new knowledge, nurture new skills and competencies, rethink how things are done, and create new structures, processes and policies. By recognising that complexity, and being pragmatic, we’re less likely to be disappointed.
3. The best approaches seek to work across multiple levels of change (Working across all levels of change)
   As shown in the framework, there are three entry points for change or levels at which capacity can be developed – individual, organisational and system or ecosystem level.
   At the individual level, it’s helpful to be specific to understand where to begin. Is there an agreement about what needs to be learnt or developed? Is there some foundational knowledge to be built? Are there skills to develop or strengthen? Are there competencies to master to enable knowledge and skills to be put into to practice?
   At the organisational level there might need to be a collective process to identify strengths and decide how to develop these. Relationships across departments or teams might need to be strengthened, or processes, structures and policies might need to be changed so that new capacity can be sustained.
   Systems change might involve facilitating dialogues that bring together people from many different organisations and across sectors or professional groups, to build or strengthen relationships, co-define problems, formulate collective initiatives, or learn and collaborate across countries and regions.
4. Real partnerships and mutual learning are critical (Real partnerships and mutual learning)
   Real partnerships are difficult and messy. They take time, investment, determination, commitment and courage to confront problems and find solutions and initiate the difficult conversations that are needed to do that. For all the tools, and there are many, perhaps the most important starting point is mutual respect.
5. We should be technology-enhanced but learner-led (Learner-led and technology-enhanced)
   Digital and other technologies enable us to do a lot, but we need to ensure that it is the learners, or those who are trying to solve a problem and strengthen capacity, who are centred so that technology is used to enhance the learning and change process, rather than determine what is done and how.

As shown in the framework, the outcome that capacity development aims for is sustainable and lasting change. In other words, good capacity development enables individuals and institutions to independently and sustainably work towards their desired changes in policy and practice beyond the life of the capacity development project.

And to do all of this, and well, our own learning is central. That means systematically monitoring the difference that work makes, with partners, and recycling what we observe and what we learn into adaptations and adjustment to projects, and to future design.

How does this sit with your own experience of capacity building in the Global South? Are there elements that you think the INASP framework misses?

To find out more:

Harle, J., Nzegwu, F. and Wild, J. (2022). Setting the scene. In Joanna Wild and Femi Nzegwu (Eds.), Digital technology in capacity development: Enabling learning and supporting change. African Minds, Cape Town, South Africa and INASP, Oxford, United Kingdom. (Online – open access): https://www.inasp.info/publications/digital-technology-capacity-development-enabling-learning-and-supporting-change.

Biography: Jon Harle MSc is Executive Director of INASP in Oxford, UK and leads its growing global team of research and higher education experts. INASP works in partnership with universities, researchers and academics across the Global South, to ensure that youth can secure meaningful work, communities and countries can generate the knowledge they need, and so both women and men can lead change to create more inclusive systems and institutions. Jon has worked at the intersections of research capacity, higher education and international development for the last 18 years.