A case study for the project ‘Capacity, Change and Performance’
P. Morgan, ECDPM Discussion Paper 57K, 2005. This case looks at the experience of the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (ESDU) of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) located in St. Lucia. The unit, originally conceived as the regional implementing arm for projects funded by GTZ, has become a facilitating and bridging organisation responding to the needs of the Member States of the OECS. The study explains ESDU’s effectiveness in enhancing its organisational capabilities for performance over the period 1996–2003. ESDU is a story of organisational transformation, and what it takes to get there. The organization changed its mandate, management style, and structure, partly because the director was able to help her staff better situate the organization in the broader system of environmental protection in the Eastern Caribbean. The results were enhanced performance, improved service output, better staff satisfaction and higher credibility amongst stakeholders. The strategies used included: taking ownership of ESDU as an organisation; crafting the role and contribution of the organisation; aligning the direction and design of the organisation; recruiting and developing ESDU staff; creating a collective, team-based approach to its work; finding the right leadership style; learning how to learn collectively; and generating an upward spiral of capabilities and performance.