Internal viewpoints in a governmental organization on two capacity development initiatives

Abstract: Capacity development in the field of disaster risk reduction is suggested by the Sendai Framework to be the primary tool for obtaining the goals of globally reduced disaster risk. However, ownership in capacity development initiative is often skewed towards the external organization. This thesis aims to understand the perceived success factors and challenges for the personnel in a governmental organization during implementation of two capacity development initiatives. Eight semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with informants ranging from technician to unit director. Five success factors emerged when the results were analyzed. These were: soft skills, local context, accountability, commitment and continuity. Operative and strategic levels saw soft skills and continuity as success factors for establishing relationships with the local organization. Operative informants saw the local context as very important for success while strategic informants had poor acknowledgment of the local context. Strategic and operative informants had different perspectives on accountability where strategic informants felt accountable towards the donor and providing visible results. Operative informants felt more accountable towards the local organization. Operative and strategic informants saw the lack of commitment from the local organization as a challenge and responded with taking over responsibilities from the local organization. Any response made by the external organization during implementation should not create dependencies, because that will negatively affect local ownership. The external organization needs to consider, 1) Acknowledge the existence of different internal accountabilities. 2) Address internal communication and learning during implementation. 3) Value internal and external relationships. 4) Importance of local ownership.