Capacity Building

The establishment of appropriate institutional structures and management systems are fundamental in adapting to changing circumstances.

Institutions are constantly evolving as economic and political circumstances change, as technology advances and as management systems develop. During periods of rapid development, enormous demands are placed on government, communities and private sector organisations to effect change, often coupled with increasingly stringent financial controls. Decentralisation to regional and rural communities brings organisations into areas of responsibility that may be entirely new to them.

The success of any development process is ultimately dependent on the people who will implement and sustain this process. Investment in these people is essential in the public and private sectors and in civil society. This entails developing an in-depth understanding of the nature of local governance and the existing skills within the system, as well as identifying the gaps and areas of weakness which need to be rectified in order to enable the institutions to perform effectively. Once the requirements are properly identified, programmes must be tailored to meet the very specific needs of the organisation and the individuals within it.

Harewelle can offer a broad-based view of institutional strengthening needs and how these can best be achieved in theory and in practice. We recognise that there is no single mechanism that meets all the needs. The management of change, and the restructuring and strengthening of institutions, requires a mix of support which may include in-service coaching and training, formal education both long and short term, and periods of secondment to similar organisations. We are able to offer all these elements through our own resources and additionally through well-established connections with leading academic and industrial training bodies.

Examples of our capacity building projects include:

Zambia - Capacity Building for Private Sector Development
Africa - Capacity Assessment of the African Development Bank's Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative