78
3. Contracting out and capacity development pdg Partnership for Democratic Governance
Box 3.4. Three basic requirements for sustainable capacity development
Sequencing: appropriate sequencing is essential to the long-term success and sustainability of pdg capacity development. Capacity cannot be developedPartnership simultaneously in all areas where gaps have for Democratic beenGovernance identified. Overcoming capacity gaps in certain areas is often a prerequisite to commencing successful capacity development in others. For example, an institution cannot implement a law or a policy effectively unless it has adequate institutional capacity to do so, in the form of resources, skills and management systems. Coherence: Capacity development initiatives are often undertaken by different partners in an ad hoc manner, targeting certain gaps in government capacity but not others. However, fragmented initiatives tend to amount to less than the sum of their parts. For example, installation of a financial management system will not increase government capacity for financial management if government lacks trained staff to run the system. A key risk is that fragmented capacity development initiatives focuses on “soft” targets which are relatively
The sooner recognition of the need to plan for the transition is incorporated into the contracting out of service delivery, the easier it will be to avoid: (1) the development of parallel and disconnected service delivery systems (one dominated by international NGOs and contractors, the other operated by the government); and (2) dependence on an unsustainable level of external resources (Brinkerhoff, 2010). Unless the government can build capacity to assume responsibility for service delivery once a contract ends, those contracts will need to be extended, which continues dependence on donors and third-party contractors to support the functions of the state. In many cases a contract for government services in a fragile state should therefore require that the
straightforward to implement, such as the provision of equipment, whilst neglecting more complex tasks. Joint development by government and donors of a capacity building plan in the context of a decision to contract out can help ensure the coherence of various capacity-building initiatives. Commitment: Capacity development needs to be sequenced, continuous and coherent. This inevitably means that it takes time. There are no quick fixes, particularly in a fragile state. Long-term commitment is essential. Unfortunately, donor support in a fragile environment often has fairly short time horizons which are inconsistent with the long-term requirements of a sustainable programme of capacity development. Likewise, government commitment for a long-term process can sometimes be tenuous, depending on the shifting dynamics within government. Joint development by government and donors of a capacity-building plan in the context of a decision to contract out certain functions and services can help confirm commitment to the capacity-building process.
contractor helps to develop capacity in certain government institutions and/or employees. Concerns are sometimes raised that service providers have little incentive to develop government capacity, because the less capacity government has, the more likely it is that the providers’ services will continue to be required and their contracts extended or renewed. However, if capacity development is clearly specified as an output in the service provider’s contract, the service provider can be held to account for its performance in developing capacity (see Case Study 8: Mozambique). If the government eventually intends to resume responsibility for the function, the third-party contract could specify how services will be handed back to government over time, once the government’s capacity has been
OECD PDG HANDBOOK ON CONTRACTING OUT GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS AND SERVICES IN POST-CONFLICT AND FRAGILE SITUATIONS © OECD 2010