During the Fall 1997 annual meeting of the Food Aid Management Title II Cooperating Sponsor Organizations at Coolfont, W.V., FAM member representatives identified themes/capacities that further the objectives of the Institutional Strengthening Assistance funds. The dialogue focused on those themes that would be enhanced by collaboration among the Title II CS Organizations. The three themes include: Monetization, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Local Capacity Building and working groups were formed for each of these themes. These working groups will continue to meet over the life of the next ISA grant.

Local Capacity Building is distinguished from Monitoring and Evaluation and Monetization capacities in that Local Capacity Building is a newly identified theme that would benefit from collaboration. This area has not been worked on jointly among the Title II PVOs. General development philosophy has moved in the direction of promoting local capacity building in its many forms, and it is important that Title II programs participate in this trend to identify best practices. Developing indicators in the arena of local capacity building provides an opportunity to assess the multi-faceted aspects of food security in an integrated way. Defining and looking specifically at local capacities in agriculture, infrastructure, and health/nutrition, and how they are interrelated, can provide key insights and be a powerful tool in planning long term food security actions at indvidual, organizational and institutional levels.

Working Group Purpose Statement

As PVOs we are committed to building capacity with local entities, using principles of partnership and collaboration, to enhance services and initiatives that promote food security and other development objectives in a sustainable way.

The working group conducted an informal survey of Title II PVOs to discover how each organization defines capacity building and how Title II resources are currently being used to increase local capacity. From the seven responding organizations it was clear that a myriad of approaches are being tested with a variety of local entities (NGOs, municipal governments, country offices, etc.) The working group is convinced that additional effort is required to consolidate this information, develop a way to articulate and disseminate best practices and thereby enhance the overall capacity of the food aid community. Also identified were the need for results indicators and the need for a systematized manner for monitoring local capacity building initiatives. FAM will assist in the coordination of the Working Group’s activities in conjunction with the WG Chair and secretary. The Food Security Resource Center at FAM will play an important role in providing resource materials to working group staff in support of their initiatives and also ensuring that the FSRC acquires relevant new materials on local capacity building.

Identified Areas for Collaboration

A. Development of a PVO Position on Local Capacity Building

Given the emergence of local capacity building as a new theme for collaboration among Title II Cooperating Sponsor Organizations, the working group identified the development of a PVO Position statement on Local Capacity Building as a first essential step. The statement would provide the basis for disseminating information/best practices and create a framework for measuring results. Supported by Institutional Strengthening Assistance funds, the PVOs would undertake a collaborative process to achieve this objective including the following activities:
 

1. Complete and expand the collection of survey information from all Title II PVOs.
2. Collect information related to partnership and local capacity building initiatives among the working group and the FSRC be involved with dissemination to the greater FAM membership.
3. Research and build upon linkages with other local capacity building initiatives such as Private Voluntary Cooperation partnership initiative and the International Working Group of the World Bank, among others.
4. Synthesize the above information into a workshop format where the PVO Position would be formally defined and best practices and materials would be presented. FAM will collaborate with the group to develop a brochure to support disseminating the PVO Position to networks and in the regions and placement of this information on the world wide web will be explored.

In the first years of the grant, in concert with developing a PVO position, best practices in local capacity building will be collected with the purpose of sharing this information among the PVOs. The target audience for the first workshop would be headquarters and country director staff where the Position Paper will be articulated as well. As an outcome of this workshop the PVOs would identify and jointly create training initiatives around the principles of partnership towards an improved food security outcome. The trainings would be developed and improved so that in the following years the material would be presented in the field on a regional basis.

As a possible addition to regional workshops, an assessment will be made of the feasibility of developing a formal relationship with a university(ies) to develop a distance learning program with an accreditation/certification process for those participating in the series of trainings. The trainings would build on the development of the PVO Position and may include as potential themes:

1. Food Security Analysis Capacity (Adapted depending on the nature of the local entities targeted for involvement)
2. Constituency Building: Sustainable Program Practices
3. Addressing Emergencies
4. Local Commodity Management Systems

C. Identification and Collaboration in the Regions: Dissemination of Best Practices

From an informal survey conducted of Title II PVOs it was shown that the individual PVOs are targeting different and diverse levels, or points of intervention, in their efforts to build local capacity. The collaborative activity will be important as the group discerns which strategies have the most impact. Specific efforts will be made to better understand the impact of targeted activities whether at the institutional, organizational or individual level.

Many government entities (ministries, municipalities), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community based organizations (CBOs, communities) and other targeted local entities are currently collaborating in partnerships with Title II PVOs. In order to focus local capacity building efforts, Title II PVOs will target these groups, as appropriate, as the constituency for disseminating information and attending trainings. The purpose is to ultimately create a representative presence in a regional setting of diverse local organizations emphasizing best practices to address food security.

A key element in the development of this work is creating regional linkages and networks in the south focused on food security, as well as developing relationships with national and regional representatives who have authority in the policy realm. These activities go hand in hand with the recommendations coming from the World Food Summit declarations. As a vehicle of collaboration and to disseminate the best practices information, it is envisioned that a series of meetings would be held at the regional level and national levels in the outer years of the grant. This networking, both nationally and regionally, leads to continued building of local capacity and constituencies that are motivated to support food security action. The meetings will address long-term Food Security, focusing on viable, sustainable practices.

D. Development of Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators and Capacity to Measure the Impact

In collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation initiative of the Food Aid Management Title II Cooperating Sponsors, the working group on Local Capacity Building would identify, test and further develop specific indicators for measuring the results of Local Capacity Building efforts as they relate to long-term food security impact. Many PVOs have developed strategies to work for time-limited periods in targeted countries with the purpose of developing local capacity to undertake food security initiatives for the long term. New methods of evaluation will need to be designed to assess what capacities are essential to develop and what sustainable impact is created as local entities take responsibility for their future.

Resources/Budget

The working group will request support for the above initiatives from the Institutional Strengthening Assistance funds. Food Aid Management will include a request in their proposal to cover consulting costs for specific research and workshop activities. The FAM request will also include travel to support their participation with the working group and support for general coordination to provide for the dissemination of information to the members.

Funding requests, as agreed among the PVOs, will focus on assuring that representatives from each organization are supported to participate. The funding requests will be incorporated into each organization’s ISA proposal and will primarily include travel and staff time (i.e. .1 FTE in personnel).

Specifically, FAM will secure consulting services to:

Year One: Complete research on initiatives focused on local capacity building and complete the survey work of the Title II PVOs in support of the Local Capacity Building and support Working Group to develop a policy/position statement.

Currently there are no recognized and accepted indicators for measuring the impact of Local Capacity Building. In addition to the identification/development of specific LCB indicators, a process of evaluation will be defined to capture the success of the activity for the PVOs in the LCBWG.

Outputs include:
 

1. PVO Position/Definition of Local Capacity Building specific to addressing food security
2. Publication and dissemination of Best Practices of Local Capacity Building to address food security.
3. Regional meetings to consolidate position, share best practices and develop local constituencies focused on food security capacity (specific training may be developed)
4. Monitoring and evaluation indicators related to Local Capacity Building focused on addressing food security.

The Plan of Action for the (1) Distance learning component and the regional trainings (whether meetings or specific themes) will be developed over the course of the first 2 years of the grant. In the proposal, language will be included about commitment to raise external funds for these activities.