Background BUILDING CAPACITY AND SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING FOR COUNTRY OWNERSHIP

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11. BUILDING CAPACITY AND SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING FOR COUNTRY OWNERSHIP

11.1 Background

To ensure strong country ownership and availability of good quality services, PEPFAR must address sustainability and capacity at all levels of society. All of the above sections addressing specific technical efforts should be implemented taking a capacity building and systems strengthening approach. PEPFAR is in the process of developing a broad and flexible capacity-building framework. This framework defines capacity building as an evidence-driven process of strengthening the abilities of individuals, organizations, and systems to perform core functions effectively, efficiently, and sustainably, and to continue to improve and develop over time. Within the context of OVC services , apa it uildi g means strengthening the social service system, including the technical and operational capacities of its individual actors and organizations. While the other sections in this guidance outline strategies to improve technical capacity, this section outlines strategies for strengthening systems and building operational capacity of actors within the system. For definitions of key terms and concepts, see Annex A. The goal of an OVC social service system can be understood as ensuring the welfare and protection of children affected by HIVAIDS. Ensuring welfare refers to alleviating poverty social protection and facilitating access to essential services, and ensuring protection refers to preventing and responding to abuse, exploitation, neglect, and family separation. OVC Social Service System: Ensures the welfare and protection of children and other vulnerable populations Social Protection Welfare System Child Protection System Reduces poverty and vulnerability Protects children from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and other forms of violence Social service systems have formal and informal components, which may not always connect or coordinate. In some countries, coordination between the more formal national or government-led elements of the system e.g., laws, policies, finance, workforce, etc. and the more informal so eti es efe ed to as endogenous family and community practices is complicated by differences in values, beliefs, and expectations. At each level of the social service system and in both its formal and informal components, family, community, government, and civil society actors play vital roles in shaping how the system looks and functions. 190 See Section 2 for an explanation of these roles within the system. Because strategies to 190 Wulczyn F, Daro D, Fluke J, Feldman S, Glodek C, Lifanda, K 2010 Adapting a Systems Approach to Child Protection: Key Concepts and Considerations. UNICEF 63 build family capacity are discussed throughout this guidance, this section will focus on building the capacity of government primarily social welfare ministries, civil society, and community actors. The functions of a social service system include the following: Strong leadership and governance A well-performing workforce Adequate financing Effective information management and accountability systems Effective coordination and networking mechanisms Good service models and delivery mechanisms At this point, collecting evidence to support capacity building can be challenging, as drawing causation from systems strengthening efforts through to outcomes for children is not usually linear or direct. However, systems strengthening and capacity building are acknowledged logical steps in building sustainable, country-owned processes and responses for children. Case studies and isolated research indicate that investments in key building blocks will enable more effective systems. For example, recent system-mapping and capacity assessments in Kenya have led to an increase in public funding for system strengthening and a dramatic expansion of the public social service workforce. In several countries, a larger and better-distributed workforce with lower caseloads enables workers to address protection concerns more quickly and effectively. 191 A recent technical brief introducing a new organizational capacity- uildi g f a e o k otes that go e e ts, do o s, a d NGOs ha e ade sig ifi a t investments in capacity building, but the term is often vaguely defined and operationalized, and impact is diffi ult to easu e. 192 At the same time, the brief notes that support for capacity building continues to grow as the importance of such efforts is increasingly recognized. 193

11.2 Evidence-Based Implementation Recommendations