Assignments
the transfer of sets of instructions that can be con-densed in simple manuals, demonstrations, and tests.
The different types of capacity-building program, transfer of knowledge, or simply training will require different scopes and depths of engagement from con-sultants, as well as staff time, effort, and duration. A complex program may require more time and staff re-sources on both sides to be really effective and meet ex-pectations. A simple program may be limited in scope and duration and easy to deliver. The type and com-plexity of the program included in the consultant TOR will also influence the choice of the consultant selection method and contract type.
At the other extreme, the capacity-building com-ponent needs to be deep and wide for those assign-ments that directly contribute to the effectiveness, efficiency, and economy in which the Borrower organ-izes and executes its functions or delivers its output.
The design of the capacity-building components of consulting assignments will depend on the above con-siderations, while their success depends on factors that are either under the Borrower’s or the consultant’s con-trol and ultimately on their willingness to work to-gether, for which they both are responsible.
6.2 Objective and Guiding Principles
It is increasingly obvious to Borrowers, consultants, and donors that for reforms and projects to be sustainable and make a difference, they must be “client-owned”
and “results-oriented” as much as possible. Because capacity is at the core of the development paradigm, 27 If you give a man a fish, he will be hungry again tomorrow.
If you teach him to fish, he’ll never be hungry again.
A N C I E N T P R O V E R B
the consultant objective that used to be called “trans-fer of knowledge” has evolved into hands-on “capacity building.” For a capacity-building program to be effective, it must be “locally owned” (that is, it must help empower the Borrower to make better use of the resources it already has—the skills, know-how, and en-ergies that exist locally—but have not been tapped).
Because capacity building is a process of change, the program must be “results-oriented,” whereby the re-sults must be set in advance, measurable (as much as possible), and suitable for feedback.
6.3 Responsibilities of the Borrower
When preparing the TOR, the Borrower outlines the objectives, scope, and (if possible) approach of the consulting services for the capacity-building program.
If possible, the Borrowers should also provide an esti-mate of the time and effort that the consultant should dedicate to it, including a cost estimate. Because the consultant may be unfamiliar with the Borrower’s in-stitutional framework and organization, it is impor-tant for the Borrower to be as specific as possible in explaining what it expects from the consultant under the capacity-building program.1
A section on capacity building in the TOR will help guide shortlisted consultants to explain better in the capacity-building section of their proposals the services that they plan to provide to help the Borrower achieve sustainable capacity.
The committed Borrower must make available to the capacity-building program (a) staff with adequate levels of readiness and of motivation, (b) a suitable organization, and (c) sufficient physical facilities. If the level of readiness or of prior experience of the Bor-rower staff is too low, the program has little chance of success.
Experience has shown that for a capacity-building program to succeed, the following Borrower-con-trolled factors must be in place:
•
Leadership commitment to capacity development•
Visible management promotion and encourage-ment•
Management availability to organizational inno-vation•
Tangible individual and systemic incentives for staff to sustain motivation•
Quick wins that deepen commitmentExperience has also shown that the following con-ditions generally make capacity development impos-sible:
•
Inappropriate institutional and organizational framework•
Corruption (political and administrative) and nepotism•
Lack of effective stakeholders’ voice and of institu-tional trust•
Lack of human security and presence of armed conflict6.4 Responsibilities of the Consultant
A well-chosen consultant helps the Borrower achieve better results. It is therefore necessary that the con-sultant seek sufficient information on the Borrower’s vision and objectives to understand the Borrower’s strengths and its capacity to produce and own results.
A Borrower-suited and results-oriented approach to the capacity-building component of the assignment requires the consultant to include the following three activities in the work plan of its engagement:
1. Conducting a readiness assessment. This requires discovering the inherent capacity in the Borrower organization to achieve new results. The consult-ant must ask: What does the Borrower wconsult-ant to ac-complish? What human resources are available to the Borrower? What institutional framework and incentive systems are in place that would drive the Borrower organization to tackle the change? What forces would impede the change? The consultant must be expert in asking and answering these questions.
2. Designing the program for success. The capacity-building program must be focused on specific and measurable goals. The size and scope of the program must be within reach of the Borrower’s capacity for achievement, yet sufficient to produce the result.
The Borrower staff and the resources needed for the execution of the program need be identified and lined up. The Borrower must be educated about the rationale for the change. Risks need to be identified, and strategies for dealing with them created.
3. Providing implementation support. Consultant per-sonnel working on the assignment must be able to play dual roles: on the one hand, they must be spe-cialists in their specific field (for example, investiga-28 CAPACITY BUILDING, TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE, AND TRAINING IN CONSULTANT CONTRACT ASSIGNMENTS
Objective and Guiding Principles 6 . 2
tors, financial analysts, or engineers); on the other hand, they must support the implementation of the capacity-building program. The role of implemen-tation support embraces many aspects. Sometimes it means acting as an advocate for change and as a planner in defining assignments (that is, as an organizer, a coach, and a counselor to the project team). Good consultants often advise on ways to overcome obstacles and help coordinate different strands of capacity-building activities. They can stimulate motivation when energy flags or when di-versions intrude. At the same time, they provide ex-pert input as needed.
If the above activities are not part of the consultant plan of work or are underdeveloped, the consultant is not likely to be successful in helping the Borrower achieve the expected results. The most frequently used implementation tools include on-the-job training, for-mal stand-alone training for individuals, and twinning programs when organizations are involved.
6.4.1 On-the-Job Capacity Building
Skills are learned on the job when the Borrower assigns personnel to the consultant to work as members of the consultant’s team. Consultants hired for specific proj-ect preparation or supervision activities often integrate the Borrower’s staff into their teams, retaining re-sponsibility for the quality of the output and sharing responsibility with the Borrower for the capacity-building results achieved by its staff.For capacity building to be effective, the follow-ing factors must be considered:
•
The consultant will respect the value system and fos-ter the self-confidence of Borrower staff with whom it works, because these are at the root of capacity building and empowerment.•
When adopting the capacity-building program, the Borrower should allocate sufficient time and finan-cial resources to the program.•
The consultant’s inputs must reflect the Borrower’s priorities and (to the extent possible) be an integrated part of the Borrower’s processes and systems.•
The TOR and scope of work of the capacity-building program should be clearly specified in the consul-tant’s contract and be commensurate with the level of experience of the counterpart and the training goals to be achieved.•
The scope of work should cover the trainees’ in-volvement, their part-time or full-timeavailabil-ity, the organizational arrangements, and expected results.
•
The consultant and its team should be fully inte-grated into the project or program team and given specific duties and responsibilities.•
The consultant and Borrower staff should be of the same or similar professions to enable effective com-munication and transfer of knowledge.•
Commitment to the program should be encouraged through monitoring and evaluation of progress based on simple and measurable indicators. The Borrower or the consultant (or both) should pre-pare evaluation reports.6.4.2 Stand-Alone Training
Bank-financed operations may include stand-alone training (that is, a specific training component pro-vided to alleviate identified weaknesses in the capabil-ities of the Borrower’s staff, such as training Borrower personnel in the operation and management of infra-structures and utilities). For the training to be effective, it has to match the level of knowledge and prior expe-rience of the trainees.
Stand-alone training can take a variety of forms, including the following:
•
Temporary assignment of the Borrower’s staff to the consultant’s home office. These assignments should set out the specific responsibilities of such staff within the scope of the consultant’s assignment.•
Study tours. Tours can be a very useful way of learn-ing, but to reduce the possibility of training programs becoming “paid holidays” for trainees, mechanisms should be provided to limit unjustified absences or other abuses.•
Formal short-term courses and long-term academic courses. This type of training is administered by educational organizations such as universities and professional schools. The involvement of consult-ants in these cases is usually limited to identification of the institution, planning of the study curricula, and administrative support to the training program.6.4.3 Twinning Agreements
Twinning arrangements between an organization or entity in a Borrower country (recipient) and an entity involved in the same activities from a developed coun-try (supplier) are sometimes used to build capacity.
CAPACITY BUILDING, TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE, AND TRAINING IN CONSULTANT CONTRACT ASSIGNMENTS 29
Twinning Agreements 6 . 4 . 3
Twinning differs from normal consulting as-signments both in approach and in the nature of the services provided. The recipient agency learns by ob-serving concrete examples and practical applications of principles and procedures that it will adopt for its own operations. The supplier taps into a large reservoir of operational experience and in-house resources to ad-dress the recipient problems in a manner rarely possi-ble with traditional consultants.
Twinning can be deeper and broader in scope than regular consulting services. The nature of twinning implies a relationship of trust and a shared culture between organizations that go beyond the normal Borrower-consultant relationship. Before entering into a twinning agreement, the parties must be clear and sincere about the actual objectives of the agree-ment: this may involve, for instance, the transfer or sharing of managerial, financial, and technical skills to or with the recipient’s organization, or perhaps even a merger of the two organizations. The TOR should clearly establish the objectives and scope of work of the agreement, the activities to be executed, and the coop-eration arrangements needed to ensure the success of the relationship.
Under twinning arrangements, capacity building or transfer of skills can be undertaken with flexibility in a variety of ways. Specialists from the supplier twin may work within the recipient’s organization as advisers or in-line positions for short- or long-term assignments or make periodic visits to the recipient twin according to an agreed-on schedule. The recipient’s management and staff may also visit the supplier’s offices and instal-lations. The training offered can be formal or
on-the-job and can be carried out locally or in the supplier’s country, usually available at various skill and technical levels.
For the selection of a twinning partner, given the unique and complex characteristics of twins and of most twinning arrangements, SSS or CQS (see chapter 9) may be the most appropriate methods of selection.
Justification for the choice includes existing close affini-ties, relations, or strong cultural similarities of the twins in the type of institutional framework and organization, method of operation, and activity. Formal competitive selection methods may in most instances be ill suited or misleading for the identification of a twinning partner.
Twinning arrangement contracts can be prepared by adapting Bank standard consultant contracts to the specific case. Twinning contracts are generally time-based, but can vary considerably, depending on whether the organizations are public or private, utilities or research institutions. Some organizations sign agree-ments that can lead to long-term cooperation, under which services are provided at or near cost. Other or-ganizations provide a choice of administrative and cost arrangements, depending on the nature of the task.
When twinning projects succeed and the initial con-tractual assignment is successfully completed, organi-zations frequently maintain informal links with each other, establishing long-term relationships with the po-tential for follow-up, including additional contracts.
Note
1. Para. 1.19 of the Consultant Guidelines.
30 CAPACITY BUILDING, TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE, AND TRAINING IN CONSULTANT CONTRACT ASSIGNMENTS Twinning Agreements
6 . 4 . 3
7.1 Introduction
Borrowers and the Bank often need to engage the serv-ices of consultants before the approval of a loan and during project implementation. These services may in-clude the usual ones under the Project Cycle,1such as feasibility studies, project design, and supervision, as well as consulting services related to adjustment lend-ing operations or self-standlend-ing assignments. Borrowers should plan the nature, scope, and timing of the services needed; estimate their cost; and secure the necessary financing. Common sources of financing for consulting services in Bank projects are discussed below.
7.2 Reimbursable Funds
Several options are available to Bank Borrowers to fi-nance consulting services with reimbursable funds. In all cases, consultants are selected and hired in accor-dance with the Consultant Guidelines.
7.2.1 IBRD Loans or IDA Credits
IBRD loans and IDA credits are the main sources of financing for consulting services by the Bank. The Borrower and the Bank may agree to finance consult-ing services needed under a project by includconsult-ing them in the Loan Agreement and in its Procurement Plan.
Financing for consulting services directly related to a downstream or a complementary project can also be
“piggybacked” (that is, the services can be funded under the loan for the upstream project).