Unit 2 Capacity Development PDF

Tools for Professional UNIT 2 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Practice Contents 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Capacity Development 2.3 History of Capacity Development 2.3.1 Three Levels of Capacity Development 2.4 Practicing Anthropologists...

Tools for Professional UNIT 2 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Practice Contents 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Capacity Development 2.3 History of Capacity Development 2.3.1 Three Levels of Capacity Development 2.4 Practicing Anthropologists and Capacity Development 2.4.1 Role Played by Anthropologists in Capacity Development 2.5 Elements of Capacity Development 2.6 Summary References Suggested Reading Sample Questions Learning Objectives & After going through this unit, you will be able to: Ø understand what capacity development is; Ø learn about the role played by anthropologists in capacity development; Ø learn about different skills as part of capacity development; and Ø understand how capacity development is important in the different tasks taken up by practicing anthropologists. 2.1 INTRODUCTION Individuals possess capacities in the form of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. In simple terms, an individual’s capacity is her/his potential to perform. It refers to her/his ability to successfully apply her/his skills and resources to accomplish the goals and satisfy her/his clients’/stakeholders’ expectations. Capacity represents the potential for using resources effectively and maintaining gains in performance with gradually reduced levels of external support (LaFond and Brown, 2003, 7). Capacity is the ability of people, organisations and society as a whole to manage their affairs successfully (OECD, 2006, 12). In a nutshell capacity is the ability of a human system to perform, sustain itself and self renew. In this lesson it is this capacity and its development which we will learn about in order to understand how practitioners with anthropological knowledge can perform tasks to bring about positive changes in people, institutes, associations, corporations, nations and society as a whole. 2.2 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT The aim of capacity development is to improve the potential performance of an individual or an organisation. Capacity development is literally, change that deals 21 Transforming Knowledge in capacity over time. It is important to recognise that capacity development is in into Praxis that sense an endogenous and continuous or spontaneous process. The capacity of an individual always changes or develops due to its contact with its surroundings as the environment in which the capacity grows is never motionless. This evolution is either for good or bad. Therefore it is necessary that capacity development should be built to do away with hindrances which restrain individuals, institutions and nations from achieving their progressive objectives. In the process it also improves the capabilities which will permit them to attain considerable and viable outcomes. In the sphere of research and development, capacity development is often equated with training activities and workshops. In management schools, capacity development often means organisational development (Harrison 1994). In non- governmental and voluntary service organisations (NGOs and VSOs) capacity development is often associated with the empowerment of individuals and grassroots organisations (Eade 1997; Fals-Borda and Rahman 1991). At the United Nations and the World Bank, capacity development typically refers to improving national institutions to improve governance and economic management (Picciotto and Wiesner 1998). Peter Morgan (1997) has defined capacity development as the process by which individuals, groups and organisations improve their ability to carry out their functions and achieve desired results over time. This definition highlights two important points. First that capacity development is largely an internal process of growth and development, and second that capacity-development efforts should be results oriented. The process of capacity development has the following common features: 1) Capacity development is an ongoing process. 2) Capacity development aims to increase the ability of an individual or organisation to carry out his/its functions and achieve his/its objectives. 3) Capacity development increases the ability of an individual/organisation to learn and solve problems. 4) Capacity development includes creating the ability to deal with the issues of today and also to remain relevant in the future. Capacity development is built and assisted by advisers, specialists, guides, counselors etc. who act as ‘external actors’ to their patrons. There are other personnel who too are involved in such work, for example supervisors, project squad representatives, field officers and such other professionals who are present in organisations run by the public or the private sectors. Capacity development as an aid, a support tool possesses considerable strength and is an asset. 2.3 HISTORY OF CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Capacity development as a notion or concept, and also as an experiment or empirical procedure, has been created and upgraded continuously, for better performance. Below we read through a couple of stages which talk about its uninterrupted growth and usability. 22 The Era of Technical Cooperation Capacity Development The term ‘capacity development’ as used today has its origins in the fields of technical assistance and development cooperation. During the 1950s and 1960s, financial resources, physical resources and skills were transferred to poor countries in a ‘supply driven’ model of capacity development. The focus was on the supply of inputs and the transfer of technology from industrial countries to less developed areas. Hence from the 1950s to the 1990s, capacity development efforts focused on training individuals, building facilities and infrastructure and organisational development. The Era of the Management Consultant The concept of capacity development started to take shape in the beginning of the 1990s but finally got a footing in the development schema of things after the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness held in 2005. This necessitated the establishment of efficient assistance at a heightened and superior plane in order to toughen governance and upgrade the operations related to development in developing nations. From 1990s till now, capacity development is carried on in the economic, social and political structures at the national level. It was and is now undertaken in research and development organisations, academia, public sector governance, regulatory and monitoring activities. Capacity development has been identified as the single most important UNDP service and is particularly relevant to the needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). 2.3.1 Three Levels of Capacity Development 1) Individual (Micro level) At an individual level, capacity development works as a recurrent process which engages in learning, increasing one’s knowledge and using them when chance allows. 2) Institutional/Organisational/Community/NGO (Meso level) Capacity development at institutional level involves building on existing capacities, encouraging existing institutions to grow. 3) Societal (Macro level) Society as a complete entity is also utilised through its capacities to bring about changes. This involvement promotes varied development. For example, policy development schemes, where openings are created for people as part of the private and public sector in order to contribute their capacities to the maximum. Any holistic approach to capacity development should address all the above three levels. 2.4 PRACTICING ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Capacity development as is evident from the above discussion is a result oriented problem solving tool. For a practicing anthropologist who is out there in different fields solving problems, capacity development becomes an important and integral 23 Transforming Knowledge requisite. From the perspective of practitioners (we will use the term practitioner into Praxis for the practicing anthropologist often in the lesson), it is very important to understand what capacity is all about and what its development entails. The holism pursued by practitioners points them towards a profile of methods, concepts, and competencies that is not limited to certain organisations or sectors. A coherent and holistic professional domain should be discussed to explore the different aspects of capacity development. 2.4.1 Role Played by Anthropologists in Capacity Development Anthropologists have always been involved in capacity development in one form or the other. For example, anthropologists are associated with training and research institutes connected with indigenous issues and communities in different states. They train government officials and elected representatives also working in tribal areas. Administrative officers are trained or oriented in the basics of anthropology on various aspects of culture and society as this can help them associate with people closely to understand their problems and find solutions. Such orientations are being given by none other than people with anthropological training or background. It is also observed that anthropologists who work in grass roots organisations offer training to participatory bodies like self help groups/thrift groups, members of local self government organisations etc. Thus we find anthropologists involved in training and preparation of training material for those who have to deal with people of other cultures. They are equipped to do this because of their cross cultural experience and cultural sensitivity. For example soldiers going to fight in foreign lands are oriented about other cultures and proper conduct in dealing with people in various situations. In fact to probe further, anthropologists have played a distinct role since the very inception of the concept of applied anthropology. They have made themselves available to public development and their capacities as experts offering knowledge. During the colonial times anthropologists have worked with the help of government funding to research and provide information to the administration for better initiatives for the people. Though of course, the main purpose was the establishment of administration of power in colonies, however during such intervention they used to provide information to the government during framing of policies and plans and gave suggestions on the creation of tribal charters and constitutions. This brought an insider’s perspective on effects of policies which can help built their capacity. Anthropologists at this time were hence employed by the government for such works. This actually gave a formal status to the discipline of practicing /applied anthropology. Another intervention by anthropologists during this time was in the form of conducting research in the field where they went and lived with communities to collect information regarding them. Such field research was funded by the government at that time not only to help anthropologists collect information but also to train the communities and help them understand the importance of modernisation. Such training ventures were no doubt directed at the capacity development of these communities and were financially supported by government. Anthropologists were also employed as consultants in the military, foreign office, colonial office for providing colonial service training. They were even involved 24 as liaisons with the War Relocation Authority. The training given by Capacity Development anthropologists to these persons helped them understand the people they were going to rule or were ruling. In all such training endeavours the anthropologists aimed at capacity development of these people to help them understand the culture of various communities and respect them. The most direct shot at capacity development was taken when anthropologists took to action research methodology in applied research. The action research was practice-oriented, had problem solving emphasis where research finally translated into strategic planning and action. This became the most important go of practicing anthropologists at capacity development till date. Action research in its present evolved participatory form (PAR) has become one of the best methodologies employed by practicing anthropology for capacity development. We will now discuss how a practicing anthropologist can carry out capacity development which will help her/him to work better in organisations and institutions. When a practitioner as an individual shares her/his knowledge, skills, and attitudes with others or when her/his capacities become embedded in group activities and processes, it can be said that s/he becomes a part of the group’s capacity. And when individual and group capacities are widely shared among the organisation’s members and become incorporated into the institution’s culture, strategies, structures, management systems, and operating procedures, they become institutional/organisational capacities. Thus the capacity development of a practitioner and her/his organisation is interconnected. A practitioner can use the following soft skills for capacity development at any level. Communication Among many things communication can mean the act of expressing ideas and knowledge. It almost goes without saying that communication lies at the root of all human development. Communication permeates all aspects of our personal and professional lives. It is the key to having positive interactions and to building and maintaining favourable relationships. It is extremely necessary to have the quality to communicate and also to put across its meaning. Meaningful communication means getting information out to particular audiences, listening to their feedback, and responding appropriately. This is very vital for capacity development of a practitioner and the organisation s/he is a part of. Training on understanding others and increasing communication effectiveness can be very helpful in broadening the skills of a practicing anthropologist. It is often seen that much of what one tries to communicate and others try to communicate to us gets misunderstood. This causes conflict and frustration in professional work. With effective communication skills, practitioners can better connect with friends and co-workers. With effective and meaningful communication the practicing anthropologist working in health, education or any other public or private sector can build consensus through raising public understanding and generating well-informed dialogue among stakeholders improving capacity at all levels. Thus for a practitioner and her/his organisation the communications skills and strategies are a critical ingredient in her/his ability to survive, thrive and develop her/his capacity. 25 Transforming Knowledge Networking into Praxis Networking may be understood as an aiding system which disperses skills, knowledge and information among persons and groups who share common pursuits. It is considered one of the most effective ways for capacity development. Most networking begins through casual everyday conversation. Through networking a practicing anthropologist can learn about career opportunities, specific organisations, institution and industries. Professionals already working in the fields that interest a practitioner are typically the best sources of this type of information. They can offer specific inside views that cannot be duplicated. S/he can be connected to others present in their network the ones who can already facilitate extra help or support. One way to do this is by information interview in which the practitioner has the opportunity to explore her/his field of interest through a structured, longer conversation with someone already working in that field. Information interviewing is therefore a part of the networking procedure. Recently online networking has caught up with the emergence of social and professional networking sites. The practitioners now have greater access to professionals in a wide range of fields. The profile created online for such networking should establish a professional image. Such an online profile should contain appropriate data related to what is being looked for in terms of jobs and internship. Other relevant information can be study, internship/work experiences, and extracurricular activities. It is best to exclude personal information such as marital status, religion, ethnicity etc. Also while connecting with the contacts through an online networking system, one’s message should be error free. Thus through networking any practitioner can collect information on a particular function, industry, or geographic area to improve his skill sets required for his profession. Networking helps in finding out the loose ends in his own organisation, after having conversed with different people associated to similar functional areas and industries. This will ultimately improve his potential performance or capacity. More on networking as a process is discussed in section 2.5. Negotiation Negotiation can be defined as a channel of communication between people or interest groups which aims to arrive at an arrangement or bargain with the help of talks. It can be applied to nearly every aspect of our life. Many times we do not even know that we are doing it for an understanding, resolving point of difference, or gaining advantage in the outcome of dialogue. Our lives and work are designed as such that we survive through relationships, co-operations and interdependencies. As we negotiate with people or groups to achieve what we desire, we can say that negotiation is a process. It is a process which starts at the very beginning, when we embark upon to satiate any pursuit and ends in an arrangement that perfectly fulfils our concerns completely. Negotiation is an intrinsic part of business ventures, non-governmental organisations, government agencies, legal dealings etc., among countries and nations and thus it is important for a practitioner to learn various negotiation approaches for capacity development. In the work environment every associated party, be it an individual or a group, attempts to negotiate to acquire an 26 improvement by the time the process comes to an end. The practitioner can use Capacity Development negotiation as persuasive communications getting others do what s/he wants them to do. Here it is required for the practitioner to use all her/his communication skills, knowledge, insight, diplomacy and tact. For a practicing anthropologist, negotiation provides her/him an opportunity to solve a problem in collaboration with a partner. The practitioner should look at negotiation as a shared problem and strive to solve it collectively with the stakeholders. A good negotiation well played can leave a practitioner feeling fulfilled and rewarded and can develop the capacity of his organisation to survive and fulfill its mission. Facilitation The way by which groups can be facilitated to perform competently and efficiently can be termed as facilitation. Facilitation is more required when persons from different experiences, surroundings, interests and proficiencies work alongside each other. Groups, who are involved in taking decisions or are occupied in any planning process, should employ a trained facilitator to make the process more effective and effortless for all concerned. A practicing anthropologist as a facilitator manages the meeting structure, not content. S/he has the responsibility of helping the group or organisation clarify its goals or desired outcomes. Sometimes these involvements are seen as the practitioner helping the group change directions and redefine its goals and desired outcomes. S/he, as a facilitator, can assist the group concentrate its resources on any assignment or mission and can also put forward ways of working in the form of methods and ideas. He helps find win-win solutions. Communication skills described above are critical for a practitioner working as a facilitator. A practicing anthropologist with facilitation can keep the meetings focused on the subject of discussion or on dealing with the problem at hand. This will increase the capacity of employees to handle their concerns fruitfully. Practitioners with facilitation can also manage the process in the organisation, providing neutral perspective, moving meetings along in a timely manner and thus helping in the capacity development of the organisation. With the capacity developed the organisations will better fulfill their core functions, and achieve their goals. Leadership Leadership is the ability to lead, guide, direct, or influence people. It is the ability to bring like-minded people together to get remarkable things done. The notion of leadership arose from the fact that human beings are social beings and thus have the instinct to build hierarchies. Someone has to be in charge, share a vision, and lead others towards goals. A leader is supposed to have some generic leadership traits like enthusiasm, integrity, toughness, fairness, warmth, humility, confidence etc. In any organisation the leader meets the needs and values of the followers and group. Practicing the principle of leadership means to act rather than to react. The practicing anthropologist can use this leadership skill in defining the task, planning, briefing controlling, and evaluating. As a leader the practitioner assists and helps people in the achievement of a common mission. S/he also defines a direction for the tasks. The practitioner not only takes orders for assigned roles 27 Transforming Knowledge and responsibilities but s/he also takes the initiative and responsibility. At the into Praxis end of the day s/he becomes accountable for the outcome of her/his task. A practitioner as a leader motivates her/his employee, keeping them on task and thus developing their capacity. Leadership depends on relationship building. A practitioner becomes a leader through her/his ability to build relationships among employees, customers, investors, and any other stakeholders thus developing their capacity. The practitioner uses her/his emotional intelligence to handle relationships with her/ his employee. Emotional intelligence includes the ability to understand and work with what another person is feeling; for example the person’s stress level. As a leader when a practitioner relieves the employees of their everyday life stress it results in productive employees with increased capacity. As their leader, s/he lets her/his employees know how much s/he values their contributions. S/he provides a safe and appealing work environment. Safety in the workplace includes both physical safety and emotional well being. Caring enough to provide an attractive, safe working environment and putting the needs of her/his employee ahead of her/his own needs brings about the capacity development of the employee and the organisation. Organising skills When we arrange things or objects in a particular order by following instructions, we can call this organising. To take it a step further, when we arrange the same in the precise method by using our skills, it is called organising skills. Here we are referring to the organising skill in various work places of practitioners which is essentially a management function. Organisational skill is one of the most important job skills which a practitioner must possess. Through this skill the practitioners organise the work of their employees for their capacity development. The kinds of organising skills that are needed in a workplace are all-purpose, strategising, time controlling, ground-working, scheduling, organising assets and finishing tasks on or before the time limits. It may also include allocating duties, dividing these duties into different branches and also distributing responsibilities with power and of resources throughout the organisation. Organising skills also help practitioner to stay organised so that s/he can manage her/his time keeping her/his workspace clutter-free, prioritise projects thus bringing about the capacity development of the organisation. Most organisations prefer professionals who are organised and focus on the projects at hand. The practitioner’s general organising skills help her/him to organise the work of employees, like to keep them busy, arrange files etc. One of the most important organising skills is the ability to meet deadlines and use time wisely. Here the practitioner should have the ability to prioritise tasks and delegate them properly. To finish particular work on time or meeting a target necessitates time management skills. This on its own is a noteworthy organisational skill. The work of a practitioner is many times centered on certain projects that must be completed within a specific time period. With good organisation skill the practitioner divides the project into many different tasks. Scheduling is also taken to be another important organising skill. The practitioner in charge can assign a particular time period to conduct given tasks or duties to specific employees. One more important organising skill in the workplace is coordinating resources. The practitioner needs to coordinate both internal and external resources. The organising skills discussed above aids in the capacity development of the organisation. 28  Capacity Development 2.5 ELEMENTS OF CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Capacity development not only increases the potential of practitioners but it also helps them to work better in organisations. Following are some recognised elements of capacity development which helps the practicing anthropologist to work better in organisations and institutions. Collaborations and Networking In simplest terms collaboration is the act of working together to accomplish more than any one person or organisation can do alone. Here two or more people or organisations work together to realise shared goals. Collaboration is based on the principle that if we do something together we can do it better. Collaboration is used to gather the ideas, intelligence, data, knowledge, awareness and of course skills of many team members together so as to give more efficiecy as compared to the efficacy of individual team members. This helps in bringing forth the best in the group and assisting in attaining better base. It aids to increasing everyone’s capacities as a whole. Practicing anthropologists make collaborations to multiply each other’s strengths to produce a result that no party could have achieved alone. Collaboration only results in better competencies. Every member works towards the main mutually aimed at goals and purposes. The result is “we did it together”. While working collaboratively, members may share ideas and data which will also aid in the quest of their own individual research objectives. Collaboration is an essential requirement for practitioners to compete in the global arena. In order to stay ahead of the curve, the practicing anthropologist needs to define the rules of collaboration, build trust in new ways, collaborate in virtual environments and partner with those who help make it happen. A collaboration to be a strong one requires that the relationship built between the core-members is based on trust. This will surely facilitate towards the fulfillment of their shared goals. Collaboration is a methodical way of moving from idea to action. The practitioner’s action research is greatly benefitted by it. It is not only the people but also the organisation which learns and gains knowledge in the process of achieving goals and they are needed to complement each other. In fact this combined attempt brings out better achievements. The support of an organisation encourages individuals to function at a continuous elevated level of imagination which in turn builds the actual strength and aptitude of the group. For collaboration to actually work, all group members should be given that bit of individuality and freedom which will support in acquiring the goal. At the same time, all members should possess a powerful sense of dedication so that these individual freedoms can be used for working towards a common notion and goal. Network is a group or system of interconnected people or things. Here we are concerned about a network of people who exchange information and contacts for professional (business network) or social (social network) purposes. Networking is the process that fosters the exchange of information and ideas among individuals or groups that share a common interest. It may fall into one of two categories social networking or business networking. Social networking is a grouping created out of individuals divided into particular groups for a common intention. When website/internet is used for social networking it is called online social networking. Such websites are termed social sites. These 29 Transforming Knowledge social sites work through an online group of internet surfers. These groups of into Praxis people share with each other their common interests like hobbies, religion, social activism, politics, ways of living etc. After a formal registration access is granted to a social networking site, the website allows the user to socialise. Socialising on such internet social networking sites starts with going through the profile pages of members who are already there and if there is any commonality found, even going ahead and getting in touch with them. An apt example of a social networking site is Facebook. On the other hand, a business networking site on the internet purely deals with creating and maintaining professional relationships which will help in improving one’s career and job prospects. Here sharing of information between individuals and groups or institutions is completely to do with discussion or exchange on concerns related to occupations and business relationship between such groups are purely platonic. An apt example for such a business networking group is LinkedIn. The practicing anthropologist can practice networking events within her/his professional organisations. This can link her/him up with other bodies to stage a joint event. It builds a supportive system of sharing information and services among practitioners having a common interest. Business networking has received a tremendous boost in participation thanks to the burgeoning popularity of business networking sites such as LinkedIn. The advantages of networking have already been discussed above. Language skills We all know what language is but for the purpose of textual clarity, we may define language as something which is used to characterise what is spoken or written by us as a means to communicate. But to speak or use language in a way to impress, influence and inspire others is a skill. Language skill starts in an individual’s life when s/he is still an infant, learning the nuances of speaking. Language, is as much a social process, as it is technical. So that language fluidity develops meaningfully, children must be allowed to converse socially as much as possible. Socially conversing would include interaction with family, teachers, peers, mentors etc., wherein there should be involvements like participating, reflecting, understanding and concentrating. Four language skills recognised are: 1) Listening 2) Speaking 3) Reading 4) Writing When we learn a language, it is the above four skills we learn. It must be noted that we usually learn to listen first, then to speak, then to read, and finally to write. These four language skills are needed for effective communication. Effective communication is a fundamental part of all professions a practicing anthropologist undertakes. Hence a practicing anthropologist needs to develop her/his language skill for entry into or advancement within a profession. It is a fact that employers look for and accordingly rank a prospective employee on the basis of the language skill s/he may possess. It is an eligibility that they seek 30 while taking into consideration candidates where the need for use of language Capacity Development skill is a must. With a good language skill the practitioner can not only demonstrate her/his competence in her/his profession, but the ability to communicate her/his knowledge, explaining her/his problem solving methods, and asking incisive questions. The solution to successful interaction lie in creating diverse language knacks like building concepts, designing strategies, situating and developing enough support resources and adjusting these resources in a comprehensible way. Language skills open up a whole world of opportunities. While career in interpretation and translation is one excellent profession, the practitioner can apply language skills in an enormous range of careers because communication is any employer’s number one requirement. A practitioner with good language skill can automatically adjust this use of language to suit the context and the people he is with, altering his conversational style to take account of differing communication demands. Competencies The capacity to perform something ably can be viewed as competency. It may be identified through the capability gained from practice and experience. Success at work has less to do with our intelligence than with competencies which include how we handle ourselves with others, the initiative we take, and our ability to win support for our ideas. David McClelland, was one of the first to make the case that competencies, rather than intelligence, was what differentiated successful people from their less successful peers in the workplace. He defined a competency as a personal characteristic, motive, behaviour, skill, or knowledge that is proven to drive superior job performance. (McClelland, 1984) These competencies are the most critical to practitioner who as a leader try getting results through others. Competencies among practitioners at the leadership level can trickle down through the organisation, positively impacting morale, motivation, commitment, and ultimately business results. The way the leaders in an organisation acts is the way the employees identify with their organisational background or its culture. A practitioner sometime struggles in his profession not because s/he lacks the technical skills or knowledge to do the job, but rather because s/he has a competency deficit (for example, being unable to delegate or motivate others), which ultimately undermines his leadership. Specialisation in Contacting Agencies and Request for Funding All projects and organisations require heaps of resources to be paid for. Getting the funding for an organisation is always a daunting prospect. More so, as funding structures are complicated and differ significantly between branches of study, spheres and nations. Nevertheless, there is some generic specialised knowledge for bringing funders which once acquired, always helps. Some categories of funding agencies are: 1) Government research funding organisations 2) Government contract research (for Ministries and agencies) 3) Foundations and charitable trusts 4) Private sector corporations 5) International funding/aid agencies 31 Transforming Knowledge Many funders have restrictions on which individuals and organisations can apply. into Praxis Some have funding rounds at certain times of the year. Others follow very precise and specific application procedures and decline applications which do not fit the bill. Some funders have nominated areas of focus or priority and hence are particular about the sort of research they fund. Some include in their funding programmes, research that is directed to the production and dissemination of new knowledge. Others place much more emphasis on research likely to have an immediate impact and which has an action and change orientation. As indicated earlier, this is called applied research which comes under the purview of practicing anthropologists. After finding the appropriate funding organisation practitioners need to gain information about it. For this s/he may ask for the brochure of the organisation which can tell her/ about their philosophy and the specific eligibility requirements. With this an application form will be usually added. To know more about particular funding organisations and the way they perform, their latest annual report and a catalog of earlier grant receivers can be checked. Also these organisations have their information uploaded and published on their websites, which is more up-to-date. They also have application forms available online. The practitioner after contacting the funding agency and gaining as much information as s/he can about that organisation can begin the proposal writing process. The process of writing an application is long and taxing. The most important rule thus at the very beginning is that s/he should not expedite the process of filling up the grant application. An application written in hurry is shoddy and highly unlikely to get funded. They are also bad for the organisation’s reputation with potential funders. Hence a practitioner should take time with her/his application requesting for funds. S/he should meticulously collect and put together references and transcripts. Enough time should be made use of to device a logical and sound project. It is found that often application material consists of elaborate and long directions to fill out where information about eligibility prerequisites and other prescribed contracts are needed for a positively efficacious proposal. The practitioner should fully understand the requirements and restrictions of an application before s/he begins. It is pertinent to adhere to instructions methodically while filling it out. Advice may be sought critically from peers from different perspectives which can result in rewriting the proposal several times before actually submitting it. The reviewers not only help the practitioner to catch and correct errors of grammar and spelling, but also asses objectively the conceptual feasibility and practical worth of his project. Report Writing Skills Report gives detailed information about research or an investigation the practitioner undertakes. The ability to write effective reports is an essential competency for any successful practitioner. A good report can make a huge difference to how a practitioner is perceived and how well s/he gets on in her/his organisation. For a practitioner it is essential to carefully prepare and plan her/his report. Good report writing is often more about what to leave out than what to put in. Before writing a report a practitioner should be crystal clear about her/his objective. S/ he should be clear in her/his mind about why s/he is writing the report and what 32 effect does s/he wants it to have on its readers. S/he should have all the Capacity Development information. S/he needs to write the report. While it is quite possible to write a bad report after completing a good investigation or project, it is impossible to write a good report until one has successfully located, obtained, sorted and grouped, evaluated, prioritised and checked the right amount of relevant information (Bowden, 2004). A practitioner should not include anything in the report unless it is relevant and it helps her/him achieve her/his objective. It is the key to effective report writing. A practitioner should spend as much time as is necessary in designing, testing and revising the skeletal framework of the report. It should not only cover the structure and content of the report, but also the relative significance and relationship between the main findings. According to Bowden (ibid) the steps involved in writing and revising a good effective report can be enlisted as: 1) Pre-write (targeting, outlining, structuring, developing and checking). 2) Draft the main body and appendices, beginning with a section, subsection or appendix you feel particularly confident about. 3) Review the main body and appendices. 4) Draft the conclusions, recommendations, introduction and summary, in that order. 5) Check and amend the report with the assistance of a colleague and your line manager. 6) Issue the report, possibly after discussing, clearing, circulating and agreeing a draft report. Documentation A document comes from somewhere in time and space and leads toward somewhere else. Documentation is defined as the process of accumulating and classifying documents and making them available to others. It can be understood as documents collected together as evidence or as reference material. It is defined as a piece of information which has been derived from an information flow, dynamically evolving, and then converted into a more stable form (Tonfoni 1996, 1998). The practitioners begin with collecting information in any task or project they undertake. The amount of work involved in collecting information is so huge that it initiates new requirements and new demands for diverse plans, viewpoints and ways to adjust to the everyday effort to endure the information workload. The practitioners thus face a complex information environment and have to cope with overwhelming quantity of documentation. The technological and conceptual tools they have are useful but not sufficient. Thus it needs to be balanced with the inclusion of novel imagination and effective ways of viewing such useful information. The practicing anthropologist must possess the skill of analysing the unprocessed information to be shaped later and documented. A good documentation promotes accurate and effective decision making based upon reliable information derived from consistent interpretation. Even an accurate report is the result of accurate transport of one or more conversational interactions into documental format. 33 Transforming Knowledge Representing Oneself through Portfolio or Résumé into Praxis To be a successful practitioner, s/he has to devote a good amount of time to create her/his marketing document which is what we call a résumé. A résumé is to be made in such a way that it exhibits a perfect combination of practical skills, creative skills and writing skills. It is important to bring out the spirit of who one is and convince the employer that s/he is better than others in the job competition. The practitioner needs to make a portfolio that reflects her/his personal brand and appeals to employers’ specific needs, such as the need to generate income, save money, or solve a problem. Such resume should have a formal communication that indicates her/his command of vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation. It should display information catalog that clearly talks about her/his knowledge capacities, skillfulness, striking degrees from colleges, universities etc., association with known organisations, knowledge of computers, both software and hardware. Moreover the resume should be designed in such a way taking into consideration appealing font, layout, and format that it has visual charm. While writing her/his resume the practitioner is writing her/his future. That’s why s/he needs to update, advance, and reimage who s/he is. It is while creating the resume s/he needs to put in expressively her/his zeal, dedication and dexterities in it. Hence s/he should visualise her/his future career and distinct vocation. 2.6 SUMMARY Capacity development efforts by practicing anthropologists need to be carefully planned. These efforts should have a clear objective and it needs to be monitored and evaluated along the way. Monitoring involves continuous, systematic observation and checking on activities and their results while capacity building work is still in progress. Finally to end it is important to make certain that capacity developing actions move forward as strategised. This will help to present a document of how feedbacks are to be utilised and to chuck out unconventionalities from the preliminary aims and anticipated results. Hence from the unit we have learnt that with the use of the various techniques and methods of capacity development, practicing anthropologists can go a long way in bringing about changes in society in various forms at various levels. References Bowden, J. 2004. Writing a Report: How to Prepare, Write and Present Effective Reports (7th edition). Oxford: Spring Hill House. Eade, D. 1997. Capacity Building: An Approach to People Centered Development. Oxford: Oxfam. Fals-Borda, O. and Md. A. Rahman (eds.). 1991. Action and Knowledge: Breaking the Monopoly with Participatory Action Research. London: Intermediate Technology Publications. LaFond, A. and Brown, L. 2003. A Guide to Monitoring and Evaluation of Capacity- Building: Interventions in the Health Sector in Developing Countries, MEASURE Evaluation Manual Series, UNC, Chapel Hill: Carolina Population Center. 34 McClelland, D. C. 1984. Motives, Personality and Society: Selected Papers. Capacity Development New York: Praeger Publishers Inc. OECD. 2006. The Challenge of Capacity Development – Working Towards Good Practice, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (A Report). Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Picciotto, R. and E. Wiesner (eds.). 1998. Evaluation and Development: The Institutional Dimension. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Tonfoni, G. 1996. Communication Patterns and Textual Forms. Exeter: Intellect. Tonfoni, G. 1998. Information Design: The Knowledge Architect’s Toolkit. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Suggested Reading Bryson, J. 1995. Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organisations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organisational Achievement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Eade, D. 1997. Capacity Building: An Approach to People Centered Development. Oxford: Oxfam Sample Questions 1) Explain capacity development. 2) How does a practicing anthropologist make use of capacity development? Discuss. 3) Discuss two elements of capacity development. 4) Examine the role played by practicing anthropologists in capacity building. 5) Write short notes: a) Eras of capacity development b) Levels of capacity development c) Language skills d) Process of collecting funding 35