A conceptual framework for the design, implementation, and monitoring of a sub- national government capacity building strategy Options, Strategies and Lessons Learned in Urban and Municipal Capacity Building Addis Ababa October 2 - 3, 2003

Objectives Propose a platform for considering institutional structure for providing and producing capacity building for local government Define general characteristics of successful local government capacity building programs in their design, implementation and monitoring

Key Words -Design Strategic Entry Point Modular Differentiated by target group Accessible Financially viable

Key Words - Implementation Piloting and applying lessons quickly Critical mass of clients to assure impact Client friendly and engaging to clients Results which are verifiable and

Key Words - Monitoring Permanent Strategic Shared Transparent Objective

Stylized profile of Local and Central Governments administrations Local Level Elected Serves a period of time Accountable to public Will interact with constituents after serving Central Government Appointed Open ended service Accountable to Bureaucracy Unlikely to interact with constituents after serving

Strategic Characteristics of a successful Municipal Building Strategy Recurrent system – Responding to constant inflow of newly elected actors and appointed staff Geographically decentralized- requiring outreach Asymmetric - requiring customized attention to actors and regions Time sensitive - Balancing programmatic assistance with real time assistance

Strategic Characteristics of a successful Municipal Building Strategy Inclusive- Assuring capacity of civic actors Reform oriented - Differentiating between Structural and Performance based limitations Politically neutral - Using political contestability as the primary incentive for excellence Targeted- Establishing typology of municipalities, as well as focusing on key actors Asymmetric - Building a national program assuring early impact in representative areas. Developmental - Assisting performance without building dependency

Content Characteristics of a successful Municipal Building Strategy Defined by diagnostics complemented with expert advise. Addresses key issues with practical solution- oriented training. Content should be tailored to profile of municipality The content must lead to verifiable core competencies (certification) of public officials.

Municipal Technical Assistance must be Asymmetric requiring customized attention to actors and regions A national capacity building program should address two key issues: Minimum standards of capacity for all sub national government to: –Provide services –Fulfill minimum national normative standards of Management Program to assure motivated municipalities can go well beyond the minimum standards and establish early and clear local examples of success

Stylized Role of National Government Establish regulatory framework for capacity building to motivate private production of capacity building Define a viable and sustainable financing strategy Facilitate regional and national practitioners and technology networks Facilitate national information system

Stylized Roles of Key Institutions In Local Capacity Building Civic Groups Public Capacity Building Institutions Private Sector Providers Municipal Government National Government

Stylized Role of Municipal Government Ensure needs assessment is well defined. Develop strategic program for developing capacity within municipality Put capacity as one of key priorities of administration “Contract” and “monitor” technical assistance Evaluate technical assistance providers

Stylized Role of Private and Public TA provides Universities, Training Centers, NGO’s Respond to demand from central and local governments Produce Didactic Material Produce Technical Assistance Innovate and help shape capacity building agenda Build capacity with appropriate profile to ensure endogenous growth of knowledge and

Stylized Role of Civic Groups Accompany Technical Assistance to assure symmetry of knowledge between community and government. Receive technical assistance to hold local government accountable

Role of government in technical assistance should change over time Before Reform Producer of Services Source of didactic active material Typically promotes partisan ideals in capacity building After Reform Provider of services Disseminating didactic material Promotes non-partisan ideals in capacity building

Who can certify the competencies of local government ? International Municipal Associations Regional Institutions National Association of Municipalities National Professional Associations Academic Institutions with Specialized Programs National Government Agencies ISO standards Credit Rating Agencies

What Incentives can the Central Government use to to foment Excellence in Municipal Management? Promote the establishment of non partisan information on performance of Local Governments. Promote competition and award for having excellence in municipal administration Establish comparative information on performance What not to do – Rankings

What should be the origin of knowledge for Local Capacity Building Global Regional National Local Start with Local and National Knowledge and complement with Regional and Global

Municipal capacity strategies must be based on local and national knowledge complemented by regional and global experience Global Regional National Local

The minimum level of capacity within the systems will dictate the performance and reliability of the system. Coordination is essential to assure the overall result of the intergovernmental fiscal system works. This implies that a strategic approach to reduce bottlenecks is required. To identify bottlenecks you need to have a reasonable monitoring system

Use of technology in assuring the Central – Local system of Capacity building First premise is that you need high quality didactic material prior to increasing outreach and applying technology. Technology increases outreach it does not improve technology Use wide band of technology and allow for redundancy and overlap. Do not design a perfect system to work in an imperfect environment.

Key Words ---Design Comprehensive Modular Differentiated by target group Accessible Financially viable

Key Words- Implementation Piloting Critical mass of clients to assure impact Client friendly and engaging to clients Results which are verifiable and

Key Words - Monitoring Permanent Strategic Shared - Transparent Objective