 "Capacity
Development": The educational component needed
for all policy options
Establishing effective policies is not the final step
in reaching our goal to enhance the renewable energy
market. There are many stakeholders, or groups of people,
who influence the success of the policy. Stakeholders
are people involved in the policy making, the generation
and delivery of energy services within the energy sector,
and those who take part in the economy and society in
general. It is important for all these people to increase
their capacity to implement the policy, whether this
means showing local community members how to maintain/repair
new energy infrastructure or teaching policymakers to
modify the policy to maintain its effectiveness. |
Capacity development is a broad concept associated with a relatively wide range of actions aimed at ensuring a country's management of development policies and programsUnited Nations Development Program |
Three broad categories of stakeholders, government, private productive sector and society, can be broken down into 12 types of stakeholders that each have different functions. The follow table outlines each group's function in capacity building.
Click to Enlarge Table
| STAKEHOLDER | FUNCTION/ACTIVITY |
Stakeholder Needs
Capacity development should take place at three levels:
individual, institutional and systemic. The specific
efforts at each level can be called capacity building,
and the tasks should focus on both the short term needs
of problem solving and the long term ability to create
an environment in which changes can take place. At the
individual level, this process includes teaching people
skills, maximizing participation and changing attitudes.
Developing institutional capacity involves how the organization
runs and its ability to adapt and change. The primary recipient of capacity development is the public sector at the national and local levels, including local regulatory agencies, public sector institutions and local stakeholders. Policies can not reach their potential if local agencies are not capable of enforcing and maintaining the new laws/programs.
Developing the linkages between public and private sectors is needed to enhance new energy infrastructure - they should work together to introduce new clean technologies. In developing nations, specifically where these groups are disconnected, this capacity building is essential.
Introducing new technologies without teaching the rural community members how to use them would be futile. Women especially need to taught a new skill set, as their daily activities depend on using energy for cooking and cleaning. Organized women's groups can help a lot to build the community's capacity. In addition to education, rural energy users should be taught how to use the new resources for their economic pursuits- learning how to create new job opportunities and to benefit from enhanced development.
NGOs and civil society can define a community's needs and initiate development programs. In addition, they should make sure that the education continues, so that the stakeholders who were the recipients of training further develop the capacity of others.
International organizations have a role in capacity building as well. First, independent research groups that share information with similar communities in other nations help to establish South-South and South-North collaboration and should be funded more. Also, international organizations that support energy projects in developing nations must set aside some of the funding for capacity development, as their projects may not reach their full effectiveness without it.
Implementing Issues
Steps to an effective capacity development program:
- Outline your goals
- Assess capacity
- Choose eligible participants
- Design the process
- Implement and operate
- Monitor progress
- Evaluate and assess the program
Understanding the capacities that exist within an established community furthers the process. Capacity assessment helps determine what more is needed, how the stakeholders function, change and interact with each other. Since there are usually limited funds for the development, the next step is to choose eligibility criteria that narrow the range of participants. There should be a reason based on the project's goals, for the people chosen to be involved: be it age, education, experience, etc.
At this stage, it is time to negotiate between stakeholders and specialists to determine how the resources, education and funding will be distributed. It is important to involve people in federal, regional and international organizations, all who have experience and expertise in training and management. Engaging the stakeholders with others who have the experience, and providing hands-on learning helps facilitate the capacity development process.
Now it is time to implement the programs, using the knowledge gathered regarding the community and stakeholders. Communication and transparency is key - sharing information on experts, financial resources, commitments, challenges and successes. Throughout the process, monitor the progress and determine where changes should be made. Utilize modern information systems, and connect with people who control the budget and policy, to determine if modifications are needed.
Evaluate the development efforts! Independent assessors are beneficial because they are not responsible for the success, so can be more objective. Critique the program's design as well as implementation to determine whether the process is reaching its goals. Look at short-term outcomes and longer-term systems ability to function and make a change in capacity, as this is the ultimate goal.
Resources:
Energy for Sustainable Development, A Policy Agenda UNDPEmail this page to a friend
