CONCLUSION Capdev Planning and management

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6. CONCLUSION

A meeting of experts with the combined experience of more than 500 years can be expected to be a forum for rich discussion and some areas of disagreement. Such disagreement results not only from the experts’ different positions and their own more or less successful experiences in CD, but also from the complexity which characterizes CD and the impact of the contexts within which CD efforts are implemented. It may be more instructive in this conclusion to move beyond these disagreements to highlight the points on which the experts agreed. CD only succeeds when individuals and organizations are ready for change. Precisely because CD is linked intimately to individual incentives and organizational cultures, its implementation will unavoidably imply profound change and will therefore encounter resistance. If those who resist change outweigh by far those who promote it, CD programmes may remain superfi cial and generate no sustainable impact. Without internal commitment, external efforts make little sense. Readiness for change depends on the type of leadership at the national level as well as within organizations. External incentives or conditionalities cannot replace national leadership and direction; at most, such factors may help create them. The implication is, therefore, that CD programmes may need to include specifi c interventions to identify prospective leaders and support leadership that is oriented towards change and development. A more general implication is that successful CD programmes cannot be limited to a few one-off training courses, but may have to be comprehensive and multifaceted, focusing on building individuals’ skills, organizational transformation and institutional reform. Training is undoubtedly a part of CD programmes, but training alone does not change bureaucratic practices. CD is intrinsically a complex and challenging endeavour, but without capacity, sustainable development is not possible. International Institute for Educational Planning www.iiep.unesco.org 69 REFERENCES Berg, E. 1993. Rethinking technical cooperation: reforms for capacity building in Africa. New York: United Nations Development Programme. De Grauwe, A. 2008. Capacity development in educational planning and management for achieving EFA – learning from successes and failures. Background document for Experts’ Meeting, Paris, France, 1-2 July 2008. Paris: IIEP-UNESCO. FTI Capacity Development Team. 2008. Guidelines for capacity development in the education sector within the Education For All-Fast Track Initiative Framework. German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ. OECD-DAC. 2006. The challenge of capacity development: working towards good practice. Paris: OECD. Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2008 from: http:info.worldbank.orgetoolsdocslibrary238766HA20 Menu20rev20220English.pdf. International Institute for Educational Planning www.iiep.unesco.org IIEP publications and documents More than 1,200 titles on all aspects of educational planning have been published by the International Institute for Educational Planning. A comprehensive catalogue is available in the following subject categories: Educational planning and global issues General studies – globaldevelopmental issues Administration and management of education Decentralization – participation – distance education – school mapping – teachers Economics of education Costs and fi nancing – employment – international cooperation Quality of education Evaluation – innovation – supervision Different levels of formal education Primary to higher education Alternative strategies for education Lifelong education – non-formal education – disadvantaged groups – gender education Copies of the Catalogue may be obtained on request from: IIEP, Publications and Communications Unit infoiiep.unesco.org Titles of new publications and abstracts may be consulted online: www.iiep.unesco.org International Institute for Educational Planning www.iiep.unesco.org The International Institute for Educational Planning The International Institute for Educational Planning IIEP is an international centre for advanced training and research in the fi eld of educational planning. It was established by UNESCO in 1963 and is fi nanced by UNESCO and by voluntary contributions from Member States. In recent years the following Member States have provided voluntary contributions to the Institute: Australia, Denmark, India, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The Institute’s aim is to contribute to the development of education throughout the world, by expanding both knowledge and the supply of competent professionals in the fi eld of educational planning. In this endeavour the Institute cooperates with training and research organizations in Member States. The IIEP Governing Board, which approves the Institute’s programme and budget, consists of a maximum of eight elected members and four members designated by the United Nations Organization and certain of its specialized agencies and institutes. Chairperson: Raymond E. Wanner USA Senior Adviser on UNESCO issues, United Nations Foundation, Washington DC, USA. Designated Members: Christine Evans-Klock Director, ILO Skills and Employability Department, Geneva, Switzerland. Carlos Lopes Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNITAR, United Nations, New-York, USA. Jamil Salmi Education Sector Manager, the World Bank Institute, Washington, DC, USA. Diéry Seck Director, African Institute for Economic Development and Planning, Dakar, Senegal. Elected Members: Aziza Bennani Morocco Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Morocco to UNESCO. Nina Yefi movna Borevskaya Russia Chief Researcher and Project Head, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Moscow. Birger Fredriksen Norway Consultant on Education Development for the World Bank. Ricardo Henriques Brazil Special Adviser of the President, National Economic and Social Development Bank. Takyiwaa Manuh Ghana Director, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. Philippe Méhaut France LEST-CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France. Xinsheng Zhang China Vice-Minister of Education, China. Inquiries about the Institute should be addressed to: The Offi ce of the Director, International Institute for Educational Planning, 7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix, 75116 Paris, France International Institute for Educational Planning www.iiep.unesco.org The book Capacity development, a very popular concept in recent years, has a fairly mixed record. While successes have been achieved, from which useful lessons can be learned, the overall record remains a source of concern, especially in the least developed countries. In July 2008, IIEP invited international experts for a debate on the reasons capacity development efforts at times fail to have a long-term impact, on ways to overcome common constraints and on UNESCO’s role in this area and how it may be redei ned. This book comments on the differences of opinion between experts but also highlights points of agreement on capacity development strategies which may be more successful than present approaches. The focus should shift from the individual to the organization and action should move from simply providing training to a more complete set of interventions. These can include the development of organizational tools, better monitoring using incentive systems, and stronger accountability, both within the organization and towards civil society. Longer time frames and new evaluation schemes are needed to measure efforts correctly. However, in order to trigger organizational change, a certain number of prerequisites must be in place, such as internal commitment and change-oriented leadership. The authors Steven J. Hite is professor of educational research theory and methodology at Brigham Young University, USA. His expertise is exploring and applying the full range of quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation systems to improve the opportunities and conditions of disadvantaged individuals, families and communities. Anton De Grauwe is Senior Programme Specialist at IIEP and heads the team in charge of operational activities. His research work has focused, among other things, on organization and management of education systems. He coordinated the programme on Rethinking capacity development. International Institute for Educational Planning ISBN:978-92-803-1340-6