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1. Specialized Police Teams in UN Peace Operations: A Survey of Progress and Challenges

Author:
Charles T. Hunt
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
Over the past decade and a half, specialized police teams (SPTs) have emerged as an innovative complement to individual police officers (IPOs) and formed police units (FPUs) in UN police peacekeeping. In general, SPTs are comprised of police officers and civilian policing experts focused on “skills transfer” and capacity building through technical assistance and advice, training, and mentoring to host-state police in a specific area of police operations or administration. This paper provides an overview of the benefits and challenges of SPTs as compared to IPOs. Some of the benefits include that SPTs are generally highly capable and meet high standards in specialized areas of policing, provide a more coherent and cohesive approach, and focus on objectives within a specific area. They also maximize capabilities by matching the work of officers to their skill sets, can be quick to deploy and adaptable, and maintain continuity by implementing longer projects. Moreover, SPTs facilitate relationship building with host-state police, use sustainable capacity-building approaches such as training of trainers, provide broader benefits to missions, and are more attractive to some police-contributing countries. At the same time, several obstacles to greater effectiveness have emerged, including that SPTs confront high-level tensions over their development and administration, experience supply-side issues due to their reliance on voluntary contributions and shortages of specially trained officers and civilian experts, and are dominated by countries in the Global North. They also have inconsistent composition, plans, and modalities across and even within missions and phases; lack sufficient guidance on key operational aspects; and lack consistent and sufficient funding. Moreover, SPTs are disconnected from broader efforts, sometimes implement unsustainable programming that focuses on “quick wins,” and often lack adequate frameworks for monitoring and evaluation. The lessons emerging from the experience of SPTs to date emphasize the need for innovation around deployment and implementation modalities for this specialized approach to capacity building. At the same time, they highlight the need for greater organizational flexibility and adaptability to empower and maximize the potential of SPTs.
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Police, Skills, and Capacity Building
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Scaling up locally led adaptation in Bangladesh: three action areas

Author:
International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
Abstract:
Although highly climate vulnerable, Bangladesh in South Asia is known as a pioneer of climate change adaptation. Recent national policies have recognised the vital importance of community-based and locally led adaptation (LLA). Where LLA interventions have been used by international and national nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), they have proven to be both effective and widely accepted by local communities. Yet major gaps remain in implementing LLA nationally due to legislative, administrative and conceptual limitations. Meeting Bangladesh’s ambitious national targets will require better coordination within government and with NGOs, so that each can benefit from the other. Building on recent examples, this briefing showcases existing interventions that are replicable and scalable and presents three key action areas requiring further government support. The lessons are also relevant to LLA practitioners in Bangladesh and other Least Developed Countries.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Local, Community, Adaptation, and Capacity Building
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

3. Education, Training and Capacity Building in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) 2021: Multilateral and Bilateral Ambitions Twenty Years On

Author:
Kenneth King
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
LSE IDEAS
Abstract:
The latest Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) took place in Dakar, Senegal in November 2021. Among the huge range of pledges and agreements, one of the most extensive was capacity building through scholarships, targeted training and people-to-people exchanges. In this Occasional Paper, Kenneth King analyses China’s pledges not just in the sphere of formal education, but across the many different sectors of China’s collaboration with Africa for the next three years. While the impact of COVID-19 can be seen in the reduction of some face-to-face opportunities in China, the extent of what is agreed to be implemented in Africa remains significant. Though these ambitious promises are agreed multilaterally with the whole of Africa, they are delivered bilaterally across the continent in more than fifty different country settings, reflecting how the Africa-China relationship remains strong after two decades of growing engagement.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Education, International Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, Multilateralism, Training, and Capacity Building
Political Geography:
Africa and China

4. Decentralisation in Uganda: Trends, Achievements, Challenges and Proposals for Consolidation

Author:
Elijah Mushemeza
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:
This report examines the inception and implementation of the decentralisation policy in Uganda and proposes somes reforms. It is an outcome of a comprehensive study of how the decentralisation policy was implemented. It seeks to appraise the practice in terms of achievements and challenges in the legal, policy, and institutional framework. Uganda conceptualised the decentralisation policy and programmes to: build democratic governance, responsive and accountable to the public; and promote capacity building at the local level. This was to be achieved by introducing local choices into the delivery of services, and fostering a sense of local ownership. From this perspective, decentralisation was for better services delivery to the people. It was also hoped that once decentralisation was undertaken by government, the local populace would own up government programmes. They would be more willing to participate and possibly contribute to the design and implementation of such programmes and even be ready to pay taxes. The decentralisation policy continues to be relevant for democratisation and political out reach. Nonetheless, study findings show that the decentralisation policy has suffered adverse financing constraints and several other challenges discussed here.
Topic:
Development, Governance, Decentralization, and Capacity Building
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

5. Social Inclusion and Service Delivery in a Fragile and Post-conflict Environment in Africa

Author:
Joseph R. A. Ayee
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The post-colonial state in Africa has attracted great interest from scholars and development partners because of the recognition that no development can take place without a proper functioning state. The state is expected to provide and deliver goods and services to its citizens in order to promote its legitimacy before its citizens. However, in fragile or post-conflict states, the capacity of the state to deliver services to all citizens is not possible because of weak infrastructure, weak public service delivery and weak state institutions which lack the capacity to deliver service and thereby become illegitimate. This has led to the increasing recognition that service delivery interventions or initiatives in fragile states should aim to ameliorate the negative effects of social exclusion of marginalized and vulnerable groups. Against this backdrop, this paper discusses how social inclusion can be promoted and improved by service delivery in fragile states in Africa in the light of the fact that their different contextual variables (such as history, politics, culture and geographical location) affect their ability to develop their capacity to deliver services to their citizens. In other words, why is social exclusion in service delivery in fragile states challenging and what are the reasons for it? The paper shows that a combination of the inability of fragile states to perform their governance functions as a result of their peculiar circumstances and the adoption of the “one-size-fits-all” strategies to deliver services have largely contributed to social exclusion in service delivery. It ends with some policy recommendations.
Topic:
Governance, State, Legitimacy, Inclusion, Post-Conflict, Fragility, Capacity Building, and Service Delivery
Political Geography:
Africa

6. The Challenges of Knowledge Harvesting and the Promotion of Sustainable Development for the Achievement of the MDGs in Africa

Author:
Kobena Hanson and George Kararach
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
In the present global economy, knowledge production is taking place at a fast pace. Knowledge is also becoming obsolete rapidly. For Africa to compete globally, it is imperative that it not only has access to global knowledge, but more importantly, it needs to harvest and harness existing local knowledge systematically. While a wealth of information and knowledge exists on the continent thus shaping local development daily, such knowledge tends to be fragmented and often inaccessible to local development partners. Drawing on the ACBF's operational experience, this article argues that seeking ways to creatively make this knowledge readily accessible to key decision/policy-makers is central to managing innovation, promoting sustainable development and the achievement of the MDGs in Africa.
Topic:
Globalization, Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, Capacity Building, and Knowledge Management
Political Geography:
Africa

7. Development Drivers in Africa: Role of Innovation

Author:
Kobena Hanson and Frannie A. Léautier
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
Africa has recovered from the 2008-2009 financial crisis and posted high growth levels as seen before the crisis. The region has also been able to generate a sizable middle class of over 300 million people, who are educated, connected, and aware. Such success was possible partly because of the discipline in putting in place the right macroeconomic policies and managing to stick with difficult reforms despite the crisis. The key issue now is how to speed up development that reduces poverty and creates jobs in a sustainable manner. This paper argues that innovation in development is an additional factor underpinning Africa's development and that it is important to see how pro-poor innovation can further contribute to resolving the remaining challenges. We interrogate the work that is needed to spur innovation and conclude with the role of capacity development institutions such as the African Capacity Building Foundation to support innovation systems
Topic:
Development, Economic Growth, Youth, Innovation, Capacity Building, and Knowledge Management
Political Geography:
Africa

8. Measuring Performance of Interventions in capacity Building: Some Fundamentals

Author:
Genevesi Ogiogio
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The paper is an attempt to define a set of fundamentals around which generic measures can be developed to assess performance of interventions in capacity building. The development of performance measures in capacity building is a complex exercise. The complexity arises from a number of conceptual and methodological issues, including the fact that the benefits associated with capacity building are not readily quantifiable and the rate of return to investment in capacity building cannot be derived without a significant margin of error. The paper notes that most measures are derived with respect to inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes/results and impacts and that there is an inordinate preoccupation with impact in the measurement of performance. Starting off with the input-process-output-outcome-impact framework, the paper presents an approach, which examines measures from the point of view of the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, ownership, impact and sustainability of an intervention – elements, which it considers as the six fundamentals in the measurement of performance in capacity building.
Topic:
Performance Evaluation, Monitoring, and Capacity Building
Political Geography:
Africa

9. Capacity Building in Post-Conflict Countries in Africa: A Summary of Lessons of Experience from Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda

Author:
The African Capacity Building Foundation
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:
The paper presents a Summary of a Report of a Study on Reconstruction and Capacity Building efforts in four Post-Conflict African Countries, namely, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda. The main objective of the study is to draw lessons that could provide a guide to policies, strategies and instruments for post-conflict capacity-building initiatives by the Foundation. The four country studies highlighted the fact that the root causes of conflicts are different in different countries at different times and that they require context-specific approaches to bring countries back onto the path of peace and development.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Reconstruction, Peace, Post-Conflict, and Capacity Building
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda