Why must capacity building practice be transformational?

EASUN's annual OD/ID networking meeting took place in Moshi, Tanzania from 30th June to 2nd July 2008. Thirty participants from civil society organisations (CSOs) in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda attended. They examined current practices in development and capacity building activities, particularly the extent to which these enable active participation in community and organisational development activities.

An important aspect of OD/ID meetings is the promotion of relationships for action on specific issues emerging from the consultations. The meetings are designed for maximum interaction and exchange of experiences by organisations attending. It is an opportunity to reflect on capacity building - the dominant ideology today - and how it shapes activities of intermediary NGOs at various levels.

The theme in 2008 - "Managing Change Through Participation" - was based on three key points of view: 1) public participation is essentially a "benefit" rather than a "cost" in development; 2) interventions leading to sustainable development demand skills for conscious change management; 3) participatory processes enable positive change of systems, structures, relationships and leadership styles, strengthening democratic governance in organisations and other social institutions.

Transformation unpacked

Through assessment of practices that support change management, the meeting characterized the practice of "transformation", and what is involved in "transformational, participatory practices." Transformational practice brings about "deep and meaningful change" in any situation, in particular:

• Transformation addresses structure and values to bring about increased participation of disadvantaged people, and therefore, more equal development and equity;
• Transformation, as a practice, works to bring about equal development where disadvantage is experienced in specific areas, such as language, education, religion, gender, age, disability, leadership, decision-making, income, and other opportunities for individual, community and national advancement.

The meeting noted that interventions of CSOs must be transformational: 1) to bring about alignment of values, systems and activities; 2) to increase accountability; 3) to make "empowerment" a feasible goal; 4) to promote ownership in learning and project activities; 5) to establish leadership styles that increase democratic governance; 6) to bring about sustainability in development.

With that new and shared understanding, participants examined the extent to which their organisations were bringing about deep changes; both internally and in development activities that they support. In addition, they identified areas in which they require new skills and abilities, in order to increase their capacities to facilitate transformative processes in organisations and other social development activities.

Notably, participants recommended a follow-up workshop in 2009 to help them assess their successes in working with new knowledge and techniques acquired from the OD/ID networking meeting of 2008. The workshop should help strengthen their skills, particularly for those who would not have joined the FOD course in November 2008.

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Support for new capacities in democratic governance

EASUN, through its Facilitating Organisational Development Course (FOD), provides training in facilitative leadership skills, including mastery of OD tools and techniques for facilitating change management. Send inquiries for application to the course in November 2008 to:
lydia.bwenda@easun-tz.co.org

EASUN also offers another course in the area of community mobilisation which emphasises facilitation of ownership, participation, complexity in community and organisations, self-awareness and empowerment. This particular course is delivered to field workers of NGOs and is provided upon request. Inquiries and expressions of interest should be directed to:
edna.chilimo@easun-tz.co.org

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NGO Boards trained in strategic leadership

In May 2008, EASUN launched its new NGO board training trajectory with a workshop for 42 Board members and Executive Directors of 22 NGOs from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The workshop was an opportunity for NGOs in the region to be informed about the need / opportunities for training of individual NGO boards through EASUN's consultancy work. Board training as a new strategic area for EASUN comes in the wake of three consecutive years (2005-2007) of sensitising NGOs about leadership transitions and the challenges they pose for both performance and consistency of organisational purpose.

The workshop successfully highlighted the critical roles and responsibilities of NGO boards. One of the key points of the workshop was that roles within NGO boards include managing consistency of organisational purpose and, generally, providing leadership in ways that facilitate NGOs to effectively move in the directions of their vision. These are areas that have tended to be ignored by NGO boards, in rather disproportionate favour of involvement in managerial details of their organisations.

Important questions that arose in the workshop discussions included how NGO boards might strengthen their ability to work with values, as well as how their overall approach to leadership would begin to minimise the kind of conflicts that currently afflict many NGOs in East Africa, thereby undermining performance, institutional development and vision of civil society in the region.

The experience of EASUN's May workshop showed that board training is a deeply felt need by NGOs in the region. For instance, the workshop attendance itself was notably - 97% of planned and expected participation was realised. In addition, a number of inquiries and expressions of interest were made by some individual NGOs regarding possible training of their boards in 2008 and 2009.

For inquiries about training to address your board's specific leadership questions, contact:
apolot.igella@easun-tz.org

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EASUN Centre for Organisational Learning
P.O. Box 6120 Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255-(0)27-2548803
Fax +255-(0)27-2548289
info@easun-tz.org
www.easun-tz.org
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