Capacity Assessment and Capacity Building/Development
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What does "capacity" mean? - A combination of all the strengths and resources available within a community, society or organization that can reduce the level of risk, or the effects of a disaster. Capacity may include physical, institutional, social or economic means as well as skilled personal or collective attributes such as leadership and management. Capacity may also be described as capability. (UN/ISDR, Words Into Action: A Guide for Implementing the Hyogo Framework, Switzerland, 2007, p. 153)
What is "capacity assessment"? - "A capacity assessment is an analysis of desired future capacities against current capacities; this assessment generates an understanding of capacity assets and needs, which in turn leads to the formulation of capacity development response strategies. Capacity assessments provide a systematic analysis of what key capacities exist, and a point of dialogue and negotiation on what additional capacities may be required to reach a desired development outcome. Capacity assessments can take many forms. They can be used to analyze the "enabling environment" or to assess a specific sector, inter-connected organizations, peer organizations or an individual organization." (UNDP's definition)
- Capacity assessment is a tool, not a solution. It requires prior understanding of the context in which the capacity is to be deployed and a clear rationale for why certain capacities are needed for the future. The methodology selected for the capacity assessment - self-assessment, interviews, etc. will determine who participates in the assessment exercise and where and how the assessment will be conducted.
What is "capacity building"? - Efforts aimed to develop human skills or societal infrastructure within a community or organization needed to reduce the level of risk. Capacity-building also includes development of institutional, financial, political and other resources, such as technology at different levels and sectors of the society. (UN/ISDR, Words Into Action: A Guide for Implementing the Hyogo Framework, Switzerland, 2007, p. 153)
Key considerations in disaster preparedness & response capacity assessment
Building a preparedness capability requires an assessment of current systems and resources. Capacity assessments can reveal hidden assets and resources in governmental agencies and civil society that can be built upon to strengthen preparedness and lead to a more predictable and efficient response and recovery process. Mayor deficiencies can also be uncovered and made known, spurring corrective actions. (Source: Guidance and Indicator Package for Implementing Priority 5 of the HFA: Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response, OCHA-UN/ISDR, 2008)
The capacity assessment should
- be based on the relationship between hazards and the levels of vulnerability in a particular contexts
- consider available resources, existing capacities, operational plans and procedures, as well as communications and coordination systems at every level in order to identify gaps and capacity building needs and to plan accordinglys
- assess material resource needs, and the availability of funds in comparison to needss
- be used as the base for developing a comprehensive capacity building programme which will likely include training courses, but also research, evaluation and other activities to enhance preparedness capacitys
- include activities to analyze responses to previous disasters and lessons learnt incorporated into future capacity building strategies
Some fundamental messages on capacity development
- Capacity development is an endogenous change process. Any meaningful capacity development support needs to start from existing capacities and work with the assets that any country brings to the table. It should support and engage with processes that ensure local ownership and that, as much as possible, are driven by country-level initiative.
- Technical cooperation and capacity development are not the same thing. While carefully designed technical cooperation can support country driven capacity development efforts, there are other ways that development partners can support capacity development. It may be helpful to distinguish capacity development as a process and technical cooperation as one of several possible ways to support it.
- While attention often focuses on developing "missing" capacity, or attending to capacity "gaps", the first order of business must be to recognise, safeguard and build on existing capacity.
- Capacities grow over time and evolve in different ways. It follows that capacity development approaches need to be highly contextual, iterative and flexible for "good fit".
- Just as all learning is voluntary, ownership is not an option but a fundamental condition for capacity development. It follows that leadership for change is equally critical.
- Accountability is a critical driver for capacity development, and an important link in translating an increase in capacity to improvements in performance or in service delivery. This means that tax-payers and civil society need to have a voice and a right to receive answers.
- The country level is the epicentre of capacity development. Multi-partner arrangements to support capacity development need to be shaped at the country level in the context of wider initiatives to promote harmonisation and alignment.
- Capacity development efforts can rarely if ever be limited to technical dimensions. Because capacity development is about change, it is also about the political economy and the realities of interest and power.
- Capacity can be considered an end - a development outcome - in itself (for example, a capable state). Capacity provides the basis for making development policy choices, not only a means for achieving certain goals.
Useful tools and resources
- The Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI): CADRI was created in March 2007 and launched in June 2007 at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction to succeed to the UN Disaster Management Training Programme (UN DMTP) which trained United Nations, government and civil society professionals for their disaster roles, between 1990-2006. CADRI is an inter-agency initiative between UNDP/BCPR, OCHA and the ISDR Secretariat. CADRI aims at advancing knowledge and practices for the development of sustainable disaster risk reduction capacities in high-risk countries for Governments and the UN system and serves as the vehicle through which the ISDR Secretariat, OCHA and UNDP/BCPR can achieve a more synergistic approach to disaster risk management. For more information about CADRI, see at http://www.unisdr.org/cadri/index.html. The four expected outcomes of CADRI are:
- UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinators understand their strategic role for disaster risk reduction and have access to required tools to help them execute their role
- Selected UN country teams in high risk countries can effectively undertake their disaster roles, consistent with humanitarian coordination and disaster risk reduction principles
- Selected countries have enhanced their capacity to make disaster risk reduction a national priority, with a strong institutional basis for implementation (HFA priorities 1 and 5)
- Increased access to and availability of tools, knowledge products and materials for capacity enhancement of Resident Coordinators, UN system organizations, UN Country Teams and governments
UNDAC Disaster Response Preparedness missions, managed by OCHA's Field Coordination Support Section (FCSS) The UNDAC team can carry out emergency response preparedness missions in requesting countries to evaluate their disaster management and response capacity and make recommendations for capacity building in this area. The following presentations provide more detailed information on what these UNDAC missions are offering. 1) UNDAC Disaster Response Preparedness Mission - Part I - Strategy and Framework, and 2) UNDAC Disaster Response Preparedness Mission - Part II - Practical Guidance.
IASC In-Country Team Self-Assessment Tool for Natural Disaster Response Preparedness.The Self Assessment Tools was elaborated by the IASC Task Force on Natural Disasters and adopted by the IASC Working Group in 2005. It provides a checklist to assess the level of disaster response preparedness according to minimum international standards, and a list of selected tools and resources to support the assessment and identification of key concerns and priority areas. See also the Guidelines on how to use this tool.
ImpactAlliance.org: The Impact Alliance is a global action network committed to strengthening the capacity of individuals and organizations to generate deep impact within the communities they serve. It is a dynamic space for partners and members to share, learn and collaborate to define and develop standards of excellence in the art and practice of capacity building. It brings together a diverse yet complementary group of organizations and individuals who seek to leverage their respective strengths and pool resources to attain goals they could not achieve alone. We facilitate access to local and international providers of innovative capacity building programs and services.
- The Impact Alliance has developed a methodology for organizational capacity assessment and strengthening (OCA) that helps organizations anticipate and overcome barriers to organizational change and growth. Through a guided self-assessment and planning process, organizations reflect upon their performance, and select the tools and strategies they need to build capacity and broaden impact. For more information, click here
Inventory of Capacity Assessment Tools, Methodologies and Resources. CADRI, 2007. This is a list of 20 capacity assessment tools/ resources organised into 5 categories: a) Capacity Assessment Tools for NGOs, non-profits: 1 - 6, b) Capacity Assessment Tools that are disaster or sector specific: 7 - 11; c) Capacity Assessment Tools developed by or for donor use: 12 - 14; d) Capacity Assessment Tools for organizations and systems: (UN, Government, Non-Government) 15 - 18, and e) Others: 19 -20)
The Emergency Capacity Building (ECB) Project: The ECB Project is a collaborative effort of seven humanitarian agencies that are jointly tackling common problems in emergency response and preparedness. Over a two-year period, these agencies and their strategic partners are addressing issues pertaining to staff capacity, accountability (primarily to affected populations), impact measurement, risk reduction, and the use of information and technology in emergencies.