Evaluation of Dutch support to capacity development

The purpose of the evaluation was to respond to the demand of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dutch NGOs and their partners in developing countries, for knowledge and insights that may contribute to capacity development policy.

Its primary focus was therefore on learning. For this reason, the evaluation draws no conclusions about the overall effectiveness of the programmes, but presents pertinent findings and draws lessons which may be used to improve the effectiveness of future interventions in support of capacity development processes.

The report presents the synthesis of the findings of seven single evaluations conducted under the umbrella of a general terms of reference document. The seven evaluations cover 26 case studies.

Main findings

The main findings of the evaluation are as follows:

• Most of the Southern organisations strengthened all or some of their core capabilities.
• The extent to which positive changes in the core capabilities helped Southern organisations achieve their goals remained largely unclear. This is chiefly because Southern organisations gather too little reliable data about their outcomes.
• Donor funding was relevant to all Southern organisations, both public and non-governmental. Donor funding was a vital lifeline for Southern non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and they are aware that their ability to deal with dependence on external funding is of great importance.
• Dutch support for capacity development contributed to positive changes in core capabilities of the Southern organisations. However, these changes were often caused rather by contextual factors and circumstances specific to the internal operation of the organisation than by Dutch support.
• Dutch official government policy for development cooperation can be beneficial to supporting the capacity development of Southern organisations. Yet its potential has thus far been only partially realised, mainly because the Ministry is slow in developing its own capacity by operationalising and mainstreaming this policy. This has resulted in a lack of concerted attention to and effective management of support to capacity development processes on the ground.
• The analytical framework developed for this evaluation is, in principle, a sound methodology, but for it to become suitable for broader application, Southern organisations, their development partners (donors) and other actors need to improve and customise it.

The report gives a good overview of the evolution that has taken place in the theory and practice of capacity development of Southern partners. It concludes that demonstrable results have been achieved, but that some steps must be made in order to be able to speak of effective capacity development.

The report also states that capacity development is a very complex process in which the influence of the external context, the quality of the internal organisation and a systematic learning process play an important role. In order to make aid to capacity development more effective, all available experience needs to be analysed and shared with a wide audience. In this light, the evaluation should not so much be seen as the final destination but as a beginning of a quest.

Evaluation of NPT and NICHE

That next step could well be the planned external evaluation of two cooperation programmes, financed by the Netherlands and managed by Nuffic, that focus on strengthening the capacity of post-secondary education and training organisations in developing countries:

• The Netherlands Programme for Institutional Strengthening of post-secondary Education and Training Capacity (NPT) with 175 projects;
• Netherlands Initiative for Capacity development in Higher Education (NICHE) with 70 projects to date.

These two programmes have started in 2002 and 2009 respectively and are the most recent in a long series of Netherlands-funded development cooperation programmes in higher education which started in the 1960s. This series also shows a clear evolution from individual projects to a more programmatic approach in which sustainable organisational development occupies a central position and with a clear connection between capacity building and needs in the society.

Critical issues

In the NPT and NICHE programmes attention is paid to a number of elements which in the IOB evaluation are regarded as critical for effective capacity development. NPT and NICHE projects are formulated on the basis of an analysis of the external context and internal capacity of the organisation, of national policy priorities and needs in the labour market. The ownership of the Southern partner is stimulated by placing the responsibility for the design of the projects with the Southern partner. Organisational learning is integrated into the project approach and monitoring focuses on achieving sustainable results and effects.

The external evaluation, which is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2012 will need to demonstrate the extent to which these attributes and attention points in the NPT and NICHE programmes have helped not only to strengthen the capacities of the organisations but also to achieve sustainable effects. In this sense, the evaluation of the NPT and NICHE is a welcome addition to the IOB evaluation and which will enrich the process of improving the effectiveness of capacity development programmes.

More information

Download a copy of the IOB report (3.4 MB)

About this blog post

A slightly adapted version of this blog appeared in Dutch as a commentary to an article by Vera Hendriks in ViceVersa entitled IOB-rapport over capaciteitsontwikkeling: effect Nederlandse hulp moeilijk te bewijzen.