80637 Intermediate Capacity Outcomes Capacity Development Resource for Program Design and WBI’s Capacity Development and Results Practice Monitoring and Evaluation of Change Processes An intermediate capacity outcome (ICO) is an improvement in the ability or disposition of stakeholders (or agents of change) to take actions. This improvement is considered an intermediate capacity outcome, because the expectation is that the stakeholders—thanks to the improved ability or disposition—will act to affect institutional changes toward the development goal of a capacity development program. An ICO is the result of one or several steps (or deliverables) in the capacity development intervention 1 (or initiative). These steps can involve different instruments (or learning approaches), including learning- by-doing. Six standard ICOs provide a typology to guide the formulation of a capacity development program. The ICOs, their definitions and attributes are presented below: Raised Enhanced awareness knowledge or skills Increased disposition to act, Increased ability to act, through, for example, improved through • Understanding, • Acquisition of new • Attitude, knowledge or skills, or • Confidence, or • Application of new • Motivation knowledge or skills Improved Strengthened Enhanced consensus and teamwork coalitions networks Strengthened disposition or Strengthened disposition or Strengthened disposition or ability to act through ability to act through improved ability to act through improved improved collaboration within collaboration between collaboration between a group of people tied by a individuals or groups with individuals or groups with a common task. This may diverse objectives to advance a common interest but not a involve for example, among common agenda. This may formal common agenda for team members, a stronger involve, for example, action. This may involve, for agreement or improved • Stronger agreement on a example, • Communication, common agenda for action, • Improved processes for • Coordination, • Increased commitment to act, collaboration, • Cohesion, or • Improved trust among • Stronger incentives for • Contributions by the team members, or participation in the network, members to the common • Improved ability of the or task coalition members to • Increased traffic or leverage their diverse communication among strengths network members New implementation know-how Strengthened disposition or ability to act, arising from • Formulation of policies, strategies, or plans, or • Implementation of policies, strategies, or plans This may involve, for example, discovery and innovation associated with learning by doing. 1 The relationship between capacity development instruments and ICOs is not necessarily fixed or one-to-one. One instrument may yield several different ICOs in different contexts. Conversely, achieving an ICO may require more than one instrument in certain contexts. July 27, 2011 Development practitioners can use the typology to develop project-specific objectives for capacity development as well as identify key points to observe, monitor and measure change in the capacity areas in need of improvement. By monitoring these points, practitioners can track progress toward the achievement of measurable results. If sufficient progress has not been made, they can revise project activities as necessary in a timely manner. Deciding on the ICOs to be achieved requires assessing what local agents need to advance a change process. Once practitioners identify these outcomes, they can plan capacity development activities in a more concrete way by: • Identifying local agents of change: Who are the local agents that will drive change? For example, agents may be individuals or groups of individuals in an organization, such as senior-level officials from the ministry of finance who hold lead responsibility for budget planning. • Defining learning objectives: What differences are expected after the capacity development intervention is successfully completed? Are changes expected in behaviors, relationships, processes or development actions? For example, improved consensus might be an agreement reached within the ministry of finance among the departments of budget, finance, and accounting on the process for implementing a medium term budget framework. • Developing an implementation approach: What are the most appropriate activities to achieve the targeted ICOs? For example, which activities would be appropriate for enhancing skills in government to implement a medium term budget framework? A conventional approach would be to conduct a training course on budgeting for local officials. However, to achieve ICOs, semi-structured learning activities—such as peer-to-peer knowledge exchanges or an action-learning workshop—might be more appropriate. Thus, considering the outcomes to achieve helps practitioners move beyond conventional training activities toward transformational learning activities that advance results. ICOs Examples of Objectives Examples of Indicators Raised Improve participant confidence and Number and percentage of staff in line ministries awareness motivation to implement budget targeted by a program who report improved reform confidence and motivation to implement budget reform Enhanced Enhance staff ability to apply new Number and percentage of finance division staff knowledge or skills in medium term budget trained in macro-economic forecasting who apply skills planning the tools in planning a medium term budget Improved Improve communication and Improved communication and coordination within consensus and coordination among departments of the ministry of finance among the departments of teamwork the ministry of finance on an action budget, finance, and accounting contributed to plan for implementing a medium move forward the action plan for implementing a term budget framework medium term budget framework Strengthened Advance multiple stakeholders' Joint plan of action to implement a medium term coalitions common agenda for action to budget framework moved forward by ministry of implement a medium term budget finance, planning commission, and line ministries framework Enhanced Strengthen the ability of Application of common technical standards networks stakeholders with varying agendas among community of practice of local budget but connected by common interests directors to apply technical standards New Formulate the ministry of finance Strategy for implementation of medium term implementation and line ministries' implementation budget framework developed by ministry of know-how strategy for the medium term finance and line ministries, based on a learning- budget framework through an by-doing approach experiential participatory process For more information contact the World Bank Institute’s Capacity Development and Results Practice via email at capacity4change@worldbank.org or visit www.worldbank.org/wbi.