Organizational development

LenCD case stories database

24 March 2012

Case stories are an important and accessible way of sharing experiences and learning lessons. Many organisations publish case stories on their websites, but finding these stories has always required a good deal of research.

LenCD (Learning Network on Capacity Development), has been building up an index of case stories including material from the United Nations Development Programme, the Task Team on South–South Cooperation, SNV, the World Bank Institute, ECDPM, and other sources.

More than 500 case stories have now been catalogued and are searchable by country and by keyword on www.lencd.org/case-stories.

Dealing with complexity through Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation (Praxis Paper 26)

22 March 2012

Published by INTRAC in February 2012, this paper shares initial findings from an ongoing action research project, involving nine Dutch and one Belgian international development organisation, in collaboration with their Southern partners. The objective of the project is to explore if and how more ‘complexity oriented’ Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) approaches can help them to deal with diverse challenges that they encounter in their day-to-day practice.

Capacity, complexity and consulting: lessons from managing capacity development projects

20 March 2012

In recent years, the Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme of the UK-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has increasingly focused on managing large, multiyear processes, aimed at building the capacity of local institutions in developing countries to change the way they engage with policy. This paper draws  on the observations of RAPID staff involved in various projects as well as on primary documentation such as trip reports, after action reviews and project reports. It also includes a ‘ light-touch’ review of some of the grey and academic literature available on capacity development, complexity, managing social change and aid agency behaviour.

Towards common standards in development evaluation

18 March 2012

Few development organizations have the capacity to effectively evaluate their programmes. While there is broad agreement on the need to strengthen evaluation capacity, there has been little consensus so far on how to go about this. With this in mind, the Evaluation Capacity Development Group (ECDG) and the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE) developed a proposal to create an International Workshop Agreement (IWA) on evaluation capacity development that has been approved by the International Standardization Organization (ISO).  During a workshop in Geneva, Switzerland on 17-21 October 2011, ECDG brought together M&E practitioners and standards experts to create a voluntary, consensus-driven agreement towards this end. A report of the workshop, which was supported by IDRC, GIZ and the OECD/DAC Evaluation Network, is now available.

Request for tender: Aid advisory services standing offer

29 February 2012

Capacity Development is a critical factor in both aid effectiveness and sustainable development. In order to ensure that AusAID remains a leader in both theory and practice of Capacity Development, AusAID is establishing the Aid Advisory Services Standing Offer, comprising multiple service categories, to support the effective delivery of the Australian aid program. AusAID is seeking suitably qualified specialists to submit applications to the Standing Offer panel, who are specialists with knowledge and experience in capacity development theory and/or practice in international development, knowledge of international best practice, and with experience in one or more of the following areas: organisational development and behaviour change, human resource development, public policy and program management.
 

Building nonprofit capacity

15 January 2012

This book uses the organisational lifecycle framework to help  the nonprofit sector and its leaders figure out how to effectively shepherd a change process in their organization. The book is based on research by the TCC Group, a New York based consultancy, in the area of organizational effectiveness studies. It also includesd results from the core capacity assessment tool (CCAT) - a 146-question online survey that measures a nonprofit organization's effectiveness in relation to four core capacities - leadership, adaptability, management, and technical capacities - as well as organizational culture.