Purpose
Successful and sustainable capacity development can only occur when there is commitment from individuals who invest in the process from the design stage onwards. Engaging stakeholders to build consensus from the time of designing the capacity development process is vital to ensure that all country partners are kept informed, consulted and engaged as necessary. Each organization will have a different role and view of the capacity development effort. UNDP works with organizations to bring country stakeholders together, along with tools to outline the scope and process for the capacity development.
UNDP approach
UNDP carries out both informal reviews and formal evaluations of capacity development plans and supports processes to inform learning and next steps, such as planning for follow-on.
UNDP also develops case studies documenting capacity development processes over a number of years to show the changes in national health systems, such as improvingĀ health information systemsĀ andĀ strengthening procurement and supply chains in Zimbabwe.
- Prepare for evaluation: confirm the scope and timing of the evaluation, organize documentation, and select the evaluation team.
- Manage the evaluation: brief the evaluation team, review inception reports, and review evaluation draft reports.
- Leverage evaluation results: present and disseminate the evaluation results, share lessons learned and ensure the findings are used in future planning.
Tools and guidance
The sample terms of references below outline standard duties and responsibilities for a consultant to conduct a capacity development plan evaluation. Additional guidance and good practices can be found in the document āMonitoring and Evaluation of Capacity Developmentā.
The following points should be considered when evaluating a capacity development intervention.
- Use existing data and information. Evaluations should use information available from a variety of sources, such as reports from other donors on their support to programmes organizations.
- Integrate capacity development evaluations. Conducting evaluations of capacity development initiatives are no different to carrying out any other evaluation. Therefore, where possible, capacity development evaluations should be integrated with programme evaluations.
