A conceptual framework for the
design, implementation, and
monitoring of a sub-national
government capacity building
strategy
Options, Strategies and Lessons Learned in
Urban and Municipal Capacity Building
Addis Ababa
October 2 - 3, 2003
Objectives
• Propose a platform for considering
institutional structure for providing and
producing capacity building for local
government
• Define general characteristics of successful
local government capacity building
programs in their design, implementation
and monitoring
Key Words -Design
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Strategic
Entry Point
Modular
Differentiated by target group
Accessible
Financially viable
Key Words - Implementation
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Piloting and applying lessons quickly
Critical mass of clients to assure impact
Client friendly and engaging to clients
Results which are verifiable and
Key Words - Monitoring
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Permanent
Strategic
Shared
Transparent
Objective
Stylized profile of Local and Central
Governments administrations
Local Level
• Elected
• Serves a period of
time
• Accountable to public
• Will interact with
constituents after
serving
Central Government
• Appointed
• Open ended service
• Accountable to
Bureaucracy
• Unlikely to interact
with constituents after
serving
Strategic Characteristics of a successful
Municipal Building Strategy
• Recurrent system – Responding to constant
inflow of newly elected actors and appointed staff
• Geographically decentralized- requiring
outreach
• Asymmetric - requiring customized attention to
actors and regions
• Time sensitive - Balancing programmatic
assistance with real time assistance
Strategic Characteristics of a successful
Municipal Building Strategy
• Inclusive- Assuring capacity of civic actors
• Reform oriented - Differentiating between
Structural and Performance based limitations
• Politically neutral - Using political contestability
as the primary incentive for excellence
• Targeted- Establishing typology of municipalities,
as well as focusing on key actors
• Asymmetric - Building a national program assuring
early impact in representative areas.
• Developmental - Assisting performance without building
dependency
Content Characteristics of a successful
Municipal Building Strategy
• Defined by diagnostics complemented with
expert advise.
• Addresses key issues with practical solutionoriented training.
• Content should be tailored to profile of
municipality
• The content must lead to verifiable core
competencies (certification) of public officials.
Municipal Technical Assistance must be
Asymmetric requiring customized attention to
actors and regions
• A national capacity building program should
address two key issues:
• Minimum standards of capacity for all sub
national government to:
– Provide services
– Fulfill minimum national normative standards of
Management
• Program to assure motivated municipalities can go
well beyond the minimum standards and establish
early and clear local examples of success
Stylized Role of National Government
• Establish regulatory framework for capacity
building to motivate private production of
capacity building
• Define a viable and sustainable financing
strategy
• Facilitate regional and national practitioners
and technology networks
• Facilitate national information system
Stylized Roles of Key Institutions In
Local Capacity Building
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Civic Groups
Public Capacity Building Institutions
Private Sector Providers
Municipal Government
National Government
Stylized Role of Municipal Government
• Ensure needs assessment is well defined.
• Develop strategic program for developing
capacity within municipality
• Put capacity as one of key priorities of
administration
• “Contract” and “monitor” technical assistance
• Evaluate technical assistance providers
Stylized Role of Private and Public TA provides
Universities, Training Centers, NGO’s
• Respond to demand from central and local
governments
• Produce Didactic Material
• Produce Technical Assistance
• Innovate and help shape capacity building agenda
• Build capacity with appropriate profile to ensure
endogenous growth of knowledge and
Stylized Role of Civic Groups
• Accompany Technical Assistance to assure
symmetry of knowledge between
community and government.
• Receive technical assistance to hold local
government accountable
Role of government in technical
assistance should change over time
Before Reform
After Reform
• Producer of Services
• Provider of services
• Source of didactic active
material
• Typically promotes
partisan ideals in capacity
building
• Disseminating didactic
material
• Promotes non-partisan
ideals in capacity building
Who can certify the competencies of local government ?
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International Municipal Associations
Regional Institutions
National Association of Municipalities
National Professional Associations
Academic Institutions with Specialized Programs
National Government Agencies
ISO standards
Credit Rating Agencies
What Incentives can the Central Government use to
to foment Excellence in Municipal Management?
• Promote the establishment of non partisan
information on performance of Local
Governments.
• Promote competition and award for having
excellence in municipal administration
• Establish comparative information on
performance
• What not to do – Rankings
What should be the origin of knowledge for
Local Capacity Building
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Global
Regional
National
Local
Start with Local and National Knowledge
and complement with Regional and Global
Municipal capacity strategies must be based on local
and national knowledge complemented by regional
and global experience
Global
Regional
National
Local
The minimum level of capacity within the
systems will dictate the performance and
reliability of the system.
• Coordination is essential to assure the
overall result of the intergovernmental fiscal
system works.
• This implies that a strategic approach to
reduce bottlenecks is required. To identify
bottlenecks you need to have a reasonable
monitoring system
Use of technology in assuring the Central –
Local system of Capacity building
• First premise is that you need high quality didactic
material prior to increasing outreach and applying
technology. Technology increases outreach it does
not improve technology
• Use wide band of technology and allow for
redundancy and overlap. Do not design a perfect
system to work in an imperfect environment.
Key Words ---Design
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Comprehensive
Modular
Differentiated by target group
Accessible
Financially viable
Key Words- Implementation
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Piloting
Critical mass of clients to assure impact
Client friendly and engaging to clients
Results which are verifiable and
Key Words - Monitoring
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Permanent
Strategic
Shared Transparent
Objective