• The impact of donors on capacity development (Abby Riddell): While the three country studies gave some attention to the role of donors, their focus was on governments. Two separate studies (on Guyana and Bangladesh) therefore specifi cally examined the role of donors and their impact on capacity development.
• An analysis of the functioning of ministries of education: Constraints on the development and use of capacities are at times the result of ineffectively functioning ministries (for example, unclear mandates, lack of communication and insuffi cient or unhelpful staff monitoring). Somewhat surprisingly, few institutional analyses have been undertaken of the functioning of ministries of education. This brief paper summarizes the fi ndings of a comparative analysis of seven such ‘audits’ (Bolivia, France, Grenada, Nepal, Niger, Palestine and Zanzibar).
• The role of NGOs in capacity development (Inger Ulleberg): In many countries, particularly where the state’s resources are limited and its effectiveness subject to much criticism, non-governmental organizations play a key role, at times even supplanting the government. This analysis of the literature examines how NGOs interpret capacity development and what impact their action has on the government’s strategies in this regard.
• Transforming a ministry: the examples of Argentina and Chile (Inés Aguerrondo): The Argentinean Ministry of Education has gone through signifi cant change in the past two decades, which has allowed it to become a more effective leader in education in this increasingly decentralized country. This study (in Spanish) analyses this change process and highlights key factors. A second study looks at a similar though quite different process in Chile. A synthesis compares the two experiences.
• The status of educational planners and managers: an international survey (Anton De Grauwe and Inger Ulleberg): In many countries, educational planners are not a group with a clear professional identify and are not part of a professional corps, other than the
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teaching corps. Eighty planners from about 50 countries responded to a survey.
• Capacity development in teacher training with new technologies: the experience of South Africa (Temechegn Engida, Monica Mawoyo and Neil Butcher): IICBA has worked intensively with South African institutions in developing innovative models in capacity development in teacher training, relying on new technologies to widen their impact. This paper examines the impact of this experience and draws lessons from it for capacity development strategies in general.
• Incentive structures as a capacity development strategy in public service delivery (Inger Ulleberg): Country studies have confi rmed that in order to attract competent staff on a long-term basis to the public service, present incentives may not be suffi cient. However, budgetary limits on government spending make it diffi cult to render these posts more attractive. Governments and international agencies have tried to create special incentive schemes. This analysis of the literature identifi es different schemes and examines their results.
• Learning purposefully in capacity development. Why, what and when to measure? (Alfredo Ortiz and Peter Taylor): Many capacity development programmes and processes aim at long- term, sustainable change, which depends on seeing many smaller changes in at times almost invisible fi elds (rules, incentives, behaviours, power, and so on.). Yet, most evaluation of capacity development tends to focus on short-term outputs and on clearly visible changes. This paper offers some ideas on how to deal with this paradox by examining how monitoring and evaluation could make a difference to capacity development.
• A historical analysis of UNESCO’s action in capacity development (Maud Juquois): Since its creation, UNESCO has undertaken work which can be considered ‘capacity development’. This paper, prepared on the basis of an analysis of UNESCO documents, describes the evolution of the organization’s action and refl ections with regard to capacity development.
• Public management reform and education sector planning
and several thematic studies have emphasized the important relationship between capacity development within ministries of education and the rules and regulations which characterize public service management. These studies have also shown that public administration reform has not yet had a signifi cant impact on the functioning of ministries of education. This paper looks at this relationship with specifi c attention to the impact of new public management.
• Decentralization and capacity development: Increasingly, planning and management tasks are undertaken at the district and regional levels, where challenges may be more daunting than at the central level. The responses may also have to be different. The three country studies show the diversity of scenarios. In addition, a specifi c study was undertaken on Hungary (by Ivan Bajomi), which has gone through a radical decentralization process and where several initiatives were undertaken to overcome local capacity constraints. A brief position paper on capacity development in a context of decentralization has been prepared by Candy Lugaz and Anton De Grauwe.
• Capacity development in fragile states (Lynne Bethke): A paper has been prepared on the specifi c context of fragile states. It is based mainly on the author’s experiences, on an analysis of the literature and on a few interviews with key informants.
• Capacity development in a state in transition: the example of Moldova: IIEP undertook a specifi c study, through a fi eld mission, on capacity development in Moldova. Some key fi ndings are available in a mission report.
• The role of universities in capacity development in Africa. One signifi cant constraint to capacity development in many countries concerns the absence of a suffi ciently large pool of well qualifi ed people. This can in part be explained by the incapacity of universities to provide such staff. Brief country studies (Botswana, Ghana and Nigeria) were prepared.
• The fi ve opinion papers prepared for the experts’ meeting are: Capacity development through training in the education sector, by Fadimata Alainchar
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Can training bring about organizational change? by Claudio de Moura Castro
Capacity development and the role of external actors, by Ingemar Gustafsson
Lack of planning capacity: a persistent challenge to the Ethiopian education system, by Tesfaye Kelemework
Capacity development for educational planning in Caucasus Region: challenges and perspectives, by Giorgi Machabeli.