BOTSWANA GHANA TANZANIA UGANDA

Overview Strategies The Toolbox Photo Gallery Related Links Contact Us AYA Home

INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING AYA-supported programs help to ensure that youth, and the institutions that serve them, are equipped to maintain and expand initiatives that support young people. Rationale Governments in many developing countries are increasingly turning to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society as partners in meeting their countries' development needs. This expanded role for the NGO sector has been accompanied by heightened expectations of accountability and requirements for demonstrable evidence that NGOs can significantly contribute to development. Organizational sustainability is critical to the continued existence of the NGO sector, and their ability to become a viable partner with government and the donor community in bringing about sustainable development. Definition Institutional capacity building (ICB) is defined as the provision of technical or material assistance designed to strengthen one or more elements of organizational effectiveness. The elements of organization effectiveness include governance, management capacity, human resources, financial resources, service delivery, external relations and sustainability. The goal of ICB is to strengthen an organization in terms of its overall sustainability. Sustainability has three components: organizational or managerial sustainability, program or technical sustainability, and financial or resource sustainability. ICB efforts can address one or more of these sustainability components Key Program Elements Elements of Organizational Effectiveness There are seven elements of organizational effectiveness, as described in the literature surrounding the Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool developed by Pact. Governance — the provision of leadership and direction to an organizationManagement practices — the mechanisms intended to coordinate activities and facilitate processes within an organizationHuman resources — Management, staff, communities, donors and board members who have the skills, motivation and opportunity to contribute to an organizationFinancial resources — the resources to purchase goods and services needed to conduct an organization's affairs, track financial transactions and report on financial statusService delivery — the programs and services carried out by NGOs that are appropriate, cost-effective and of high qualityExternal relations — interaction between an organization and other development partners Sustainability — the long-term continuation of an organization, program or project Each of the elements outlined above contribute to one or more of the three components of sustainability, and each of the above represents an area in which AYA can provide technical and financial assistance to NGOs. The Organizational Development Continuum Organizational development is a long-term, interactive and iterative process. The process includes several distinct stages through which an organization passes — Start-up or nascent stage — the NGO is in the earliest stages of development. Management components are nonexistent or at their most basic level Development or emerging stage — structures for governance, management practices, human resources, financial resources and service delivery are in place and functioning Expanding, growth or consolidation stage — the NGO has a track record of achievement which is recognized by its constituency, the government, and other agencies Sustainability or mature stage — the NGO is fully functioning and sustainable, with a diversified resource based and partnership relationships with national and international networks Where an organization falls along this continuum essentially depends on the strength and maturity of each of the seven components of organizational effectiveness described previously. Strategic Approaches/Guiding Principles A three-pronged approach to the ICB component has been adopted by AYA. 1. Basic Technical Assistance Many AYA implementing partners (IPs), working in any of the program components, are likely to be nascent NGOs in need of basic assistance focused on strengthening their program and management capacity. AYA will commit the resources necessary to ensure that these NGOs are capable of successfully implementing the youth-friendly service, behavior change communication (BCC), and/or policy and advocacy projects for which they receive funding. Rapid assessments of their capacity to implement these programs will be conducted, and technical assistance will be provided to ensure that the NGOs have the basic program and managerial skills needed to plan, implement and manage AYA-funded efforts. This assistance can be tailored to individual NGOs, but will also be provided through IP workshops bringing together multiple partners to address a common project management issues. All AYA IPs would be eligible for this level of support. 2. Intensive Technical Assistance Key NGOs — specifically those established as important partners in each country's respective reproductive health programs — will be selected by AYA for intensive institutional development assistance designed to ensure their long-term program, management, and financial sustainability. It is expected that these NGOs will be an implementing partner under at least one, if not all, AYA program components. NGOs in this category are likely to have a mature organizational structure and culture, and already be committed to fielding the financial and human resources necessary to provide services. These NGOs will conduct intensive self-assessments of their organizational capacity, and work with the AYA team to develop focused ICB technical assistance plans. The objective of these plans will be to identify those organizational components in need of additional attention that, with some improvement, would move the NGO into the upper end of the developmental continuum and leave them well-positioned in terms of program, management and financial sustainability. Is is anticipated that assistance to these NGOs will focus on strengthening their management and financial capacity, including strengthening their planning and program functions, human resources management, finance and administration, and its management information systems. 3. Strengthening Public Sector Capacity Institutional capacity building with the public sector will focus primarily on strengthening public sector capacity to support AYA program goals. Issues of sustainability tend to be somewhat different when dealing with ministries and ICB initiatives will therefore focus on strengthening planning and information systems around adolescent reproductive health issues, and on partnering effectively with the NGO sector in each of the AYA program areas. In decentralized settings, ICB initiatives with the public sector will include working with local government and district representatives to strengthen joint planning, monitoring and implementation, and to promote NGO and community-based organization contracting for adolescent reproductive health services, BCC and policy and advocacy. Evaluation Methods for Assessing Program Interventions Organizational capacity assessments typically seek to evaluate an organization's strengths and weaknesses in various areas of organizational effectiveness, while organizational development plans usually then seek to strengthen one or more of these components and move the organization to a point farther along the organizational envelopment continuum. Within AYA, primary interest is in an instrument designed to not only assess progress in one organization's capacity over time, but that is designed to promote participatory development of an institutional capacity building plan rather than an external assessment. After reviewing three such instruments, it was concluded that with some modifications, the Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT), developed by William Booth, Radya Ebrahim and Robert Morin of Pact (http://www.pactworld.org), would be most appropriate. A complete volume with all the necessary worksheets, forms and instructions, entitled Participatory Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting is available at http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/pnack432/pdf. The tool has been used extensively in South Africa, Ethiopia and Angola with a variety of local NGOs. As described above, OCAT is a participatory assessment instrument that enables an NGO to score seven essential components of organizational effectiveness along a four-stage organizational development continuum. NGOs can then devise technical assistance plans to strengthen any or all of the seven components, and reassess themselves periodically.