Capacity Development Interventions in Africa Need to Be Flexible and Adaptable

23 July 2012
press release

Capacity development interventions in Africa need to be flexible and adaptable to deal with Africa's development challenges, states Dr. Frannie Léautier, ACBF Executive Secretary

Dr. Frannie Léautier, Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), today officially opened the regional training workshop entitled, "Improving skills and competencies in project results management". The workshop will run from 23-27 July 2012.  A total of 75 participants from 29 ACBF supported projects in 17 countries from Central and West Africa are participating in the workshop.  Attending the opening was Ms. Marie Laure Akin-Olugbade, AfDB Resident Representative, Ghana.

The workshop which is jointly organised with the World Bank will address three key issues related to the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of ACBF supported projects and programmes. These issue are: (i) improving the knowledge and understanding on key concepts, tools and procedures for monitoring project results; (ii) enhancing the participants' skills and competencies in the development and operationalisation of the Project Results Measurement Framework (RMF) and M&E Plan in line with the ACBF's results-based monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements and (iii)  developing and testing data collection instruments for  tracking and reporting project performance to demonstrate results in line with the new funding instrument agreed between ACBF and the World Bank.

Welcoming participants at the workshop Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) highlighted the importance of monitoring and evaluation in meeting the commitments made in Busan for achieving development results through country systems.  "It is time to build strong M&E systems at the regional and country level, to enable African countries to pursue development results vigorously" he added.

Dr. Léautier noted that it is not only important to focus on results in the project cycle, but also to track policies and their intended results that lead to impact and change in people's lives for the better. "Very often, monitoring and evaluation can be seen as an excluded effort, when in fact it is central to gauging the overall performance of a project. M&E is the enabler that allows for realistic goal-setting and flexibility in the project implementation cycle as the operating environments shift. ACBF, through its experience, has learnt that capacity development interventions need to adopt differentiated approaches to country and regional interventions in order to ensure relevance and effectiveness.  The ability to track, get results and measure impact leads to learning and innovation."

About the African Capacity Building Foundation
ACBF was established in February 1991. It is the outcome of collaboration between African governments and the international donor community. Its mission is to build sustainable human and institutional capacity for sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Africa. ACBF's vision is for Africa to be recognised for its socio-political and economic capabilities and endowments – a continent with effective institutions and policies acquired through sustained investment in people and institutions. The Foundation is a leader, major partner and centre of excellence for capacity building in Africa.

The African Union currently serves as an Observer on the ACBF Board of Governors.

For further information, please contact:
a.mpunzwana@acbf-pact.org
j.kakooza@acbf-pact.org
r.kambarami@acbf-pact.org

African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
PO Box 1562, Harare
ZIMBABWE
Tel: + 263 4 700208/210

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