Module 5: Human Capacity Development

  Overview

• What skills – technical, administrative, management – are needed to implement ECR?
• How will these skills be developed, upgraded and maintained?

The HIV/AIDS pandemic demands a rapid assessment of the need for capacity development – and an appropriate response – particularly in high-prevalence countries. Not only are existing human and material resources being eroded by the impact of the epidemic, the functions of such resources are changing, often in response to a broader and more urgent range of needs.

Examples of decreasing capacity due to HIV/AIDS are becoming all too commonplace. For example, the mortality rate among teachers in Zambia is 70 percent higher than among those aged 15 to 49. Teachers die of AIDS almost as rapidly as they can be trained (Kelley 1999). In Malawi, 16 percent of the Ministry of Agriculture staff is living with HIV/AIDS, in a country where 87 percent of the population earn their living from agriculture (Malindi et al. 1999).

Module 5, Human Capacity Development:

• Defines capacity development
• Outlines components of capacity development
• Discusses how to assess capacity
• Presents strategies for capacity development
• Describes implementation strategies
• Lists key questions for stakeholders to consider in implementing capacity development for ECR
• Provides references and resources for further reading

Defining Capacity Development for ECR

Capacity development planning takes into account all factors – human, organizational and environmental – and is based on a clear idea of the ultimate functions to be carried out by targeted participants. Capacity development is a continuous process requiring two- to three-year cycles of rapid assessment and response that should view functioning, as much as possible, from a cost-effective viewpoint. Local and regional databases of organizations and information can help, as can networks of technical support providers. If these systems are not established, programs will be slow to respond to important changes in the programming environment, such as (for instance) the need in Africa now for effective, sustainable antiretroviral therapy guidelines for health care providers and PLHA.

Key challenges in ECR capacity development include:

• Addressing the short- and long-term skills development of implementers and service providers
• Developing systems for improving performance and ensuring quality
• Ensuring multi-sectoral collaboration among government and private institutions
• Ensuring functional, basic infrastructure that helps individuals communicate and network
• Developing resource pools of local trainers and facilitators
• Recognizing and responding to the need for management of institutional change
• Recognizing the effect of socio-cultural and religious influences

Specific technical skills to be improved through capacity development include:

• project management, monitoring, and evaluation skills;
• communication and conflict resolution skills;
• resource mobilization skills;
• social mobilization skills;
• operations research skills, including data gathering and dissemination; and
• advocacy skills.

Components of ECR Capacity Development and Implementation Issues

Capacity development consists of some or all of the six components described below. To be sustainable, capacity development requires identifying existing systems or developing new ones through which one or more of these six components can be made operational. For some of the components, practical examples of challenges and responses to implementing capacity development strategies are described.

• Human capital is the development of human skills capacity and the effective use of managerial, professional and technical staff and volunteers. It involves identifying the appropriate people to be trained; providing an effective learning environment for training and education; in-service and field supervision for continued skills transfer; and long-term mentoring for directional, emotional and moral support.

Response: Develop a district- or national-level database of regional consultants available to provide technical assistance (TA) in specific skills areas (such as behavior change or home-based care), and match this to requests for upgrading existing skills and training needs for new project staff (National AIDS Coordinating Agency, Botswana, 2001).

• Organizations and their management look at how organizations, their culture, and their management styles influence use, efficiency and retention of skilled human resources.

Response: Make use of training curricula and professional courses to upgrade skills in areas such as organizational change management and conflict resolution.

• Public sector institutional context examines how the policy and institutional environments affect civil service and government operations, including the roles and responsibilities of different sectors in differing contexts. For example, in decentralization, the laws and regulations that affect hiring, promotion and wage policies must be examined.

Responses: Develop school-by-school HIV policy as a preliminary step to support work with student-peer educators and teachers on HIV prevention and other related health promotion activities for youth; create national (or sectoral) human resources policy that addresses impact of HIV/AIDS and offers strategies for restructuring public institutions.

• Networks and linkages work to optimize resources and broaden the coverage of actions. These include multi-sectoral alliances of public and private sectors.

Responses: 1) Develop a knowledge management system in the Baltic Sea Region for youth, injection drug users (IDUs ), and sexually transmitted infection (STI) regional goals, coupled with intra-regional program twinning (USAID/FHI Centers of Excellence Project, 2001). 2) Engage in South-to-South technical support networking among National AIDS Control Programs (Horizontal Technical Cooperation Group [HORIZONTEC] Latin America and Caribbean). 3) Develop South-to-South training institution networks (Regional AIDS Training Networks [RATNs] Nairobi, Kenya).

• Social capital and community participation. Social capital refers to the mutually beneficial interactions that establish networks, norms and trust between people, and which facilitate coordination and cooperation. Community participation concerns complementary actions and the strengthening of social accountability and advocacy systems.

Community Response: Experienced implementers for one community-based program serve as facilitators for start-up community-based programs in new geographic areas (Unpublished case study in scaling-up is available from the Salvation Army International Headquarters, London).

• Human resources policy reform. As countries grapple with rising AIDS death rates, an accelerated effort is needed to consider policy options for responding effectively. Institutional restructuring and transformation may be needed to address a radically altered population structure. Countries also must carefully monitor civil service reforms that are common elements of structural adjustment programs, because the reforms can weaken the capacity of key sectors to respond. For example, structural adjustment retrenchment and staff layoffs frequently do not consider how a sector will be affected by or respond to HIV/AIDS.

Assessing ECR Capacity

When assessing the need for capacity development for ECR, three important steps must be taken: 1) define key functions, 2) assess human capacity development options, and 3) strengthen human capacity development programs, is also important.

Step 1: Define Key Functions
Key functions to be carried out by the human resource professionals or concerned institutions must be defined clearly at the beginning of the assessment process. For example, a function might be to expand a home-based care program's reach from two to five districts, or to operate in a more comprehensive manner with stronger referral networks and agreed-upon standards of care.

Step 2: Assess Human Capacity Development Options
When trying to strengthen the human capacity development around a specified function, the various capacity development strategies (described below) must be reviewed to determine the best strategy for your environment. It is useful to consider priorities and ask: how the capacity-building process will be achieved; what capacities and resources are needed to get there; and whether a short- or long-term strategy for capacity development is best. Capacity development may be required in only some of the six components. Many tools can be used to assess capacity according to specific functions (see Further Reading).

Step 3: Strengthen Existing Human Capacity Development Programs
As new priorities for capacity building are identified, programs and strategies must be thoroughly reviewed to identify ways they can be strengthened in the context of ECR.

ECR Capacity Development Strategies

Adopting a participatory process for designing a strategy for capacity development is as essential to success as the strategy itself. It is important to match needs and available resources to the strategies and methods adopted. Strategies for capacity development are described in the accompanying chart.

ECR Human Capacity Assessment Tool
Human capacity needs are assessed and strengthened to support effective implementation of ECR. The ECR Human Capacity Assessment Tool is designed to help stakeholders consider and prioritize human capacity needs for implementing ECR.

Key Questions for Implementing ECR Capacity Development

The box at right lists key questions for planners and stakeholders to consider when developing and implementing an ECR capacity development process. These questions are relevant for both government and NGO sectors.

Further Reading

1. Berg, EJ (coord.). 1993. Rethinking Technical Cooperation: Reforms for Capacity Building in Africa. New York: Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme and Development Alternatives, Inc.
2. Hilderbrand ME, Grindle, MS. 1994. Building Sustainable Capacity: Challenges for the Public Sector. Prepared for the United Nations Development Program Pilot Study of Capacity Building by the Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
3. Kelley M. 1999. What HIV/AIDS Can Do to Education and What Education Can Do to HIV/AIDS? Paper presented to the All Sub-Saharan Conference on Education for All, 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa.
4. Malindi G, Nyekanyeka M, Bota S. 2000. Malawi: Factoring HIV/AIDS into the Agricultural Sector. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
5. Singh, JS (ed.). 2000. South to South: Developing Countries Working Together on Population and Development. Washington: Population 2005.
6. UNAIDS. December 2000. Putting Knowledge to Work: Technical Resource Networks for Effective Responses to HIV/AIDS. Geneva: UNAIDS.