Серия "Capacity Development"

The Vanuatu Legal Sector Strengthening Program (VLSSP) was launched in 2002 at a time when «the public was calling for a revamp of the whole judiciary.» This case study describes how VLSSP, which was funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), contributed to Vanuatu's legal sector capacity through professional development of staff, relationship building, administrative reforms, review of laws, and infrastructure improvements. It highlights a number of factors...

The University of the South Pacific (USP), a regional university, has changed its delivery systems for teaching and learning over the years to serve the growing needs for tertiary education of students living on the thousands of small and remote islands in the Pacific Ocean. This case study examines how the university has relied on its communications technology system (USPNet) to enhance its role as a regional capacity development center for students, public and private institutions, and civil...

The Provincial Performance Improvement Initiative (PPII) is an undertaking of the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that seeks to improve public administration at the subnational level. The case study describes how PPII has benefited from «enthusiastic leadership» and a high level of PNG ownership. The initiative has also built on a systematic diagnosis of capacity issues, with PNG stakeholders playing a central role in both the diagnosis and in the subsequent preparation of capacity...

Tuvalu, the fourth smallest country in the world, with an estimated population of 10,440, is an isolated and resource-poor country that relies mainly on royalties received for access to its exclusive economic zone and remittances as its main sources of foreign exchange. This case study describes how the Falekaupule Trust Fund (FTF) was established in the 1990s, with support from the Asian Development Bank, as a mechanism to help build capacity for outer island development, relying on...

A 2001 report by the Australian Agency for International Development and the New Zealand Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade marked the beginning of efforts by both governments to increase their emphasis on aid harmonization in the Pacific. This was followed by a decision to pilot a cofunded program in the Cook Islands which is the subject of this case study. The case is presented through the eyes of Garth Henderson, the senior Cook Islands official responsible for aid management. This report...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a relatively new nation, with half of its population under the age of 18 years. This study tells the story of how the Government of the Marshall Islands, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank, set out to strengthen domestic capacity to improve services for the youth. The case highlights the importance of participatory processes and describes how an innovative approach to outsourcing youth welfare services to civil service providers was...

Emerging from the ethnic tensions that tore the Solomon Islands apart from 1998 to 2003, the country's Ministry of Infrastructure Development faced a number of serious challenges. Given the vast needs in the Solomon Islands, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development was called upon to take a leading role in post-conflict reconstruction and providing some of the foundations for economic renewal. This case study examines how capacity issues were addressed within the ministry in the...

A 2001 report by the Australian Agency for International Development and the New Zealand Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade marked the beginning of efforts by both governments to increase their emphasis on aid harmonization in the Pacific. This was followed by a decision to pilot a cofunded program in the Cook Islands which is the subject of this case study. The case is presented through the eyes of Garth Henderson, the senior Cook Islands official responsible for aid management. This report...

The study contains analyses and recommendations on the approaches to capacity development that work best and the conditions that have been conducive to their success, the unique challenges faced by Pacific developing member countries in addressing capacity constraints, and the implications for future interventions at both the strategic and operational levels.

Capacity development is central to improving standards of living and reducing poverty in developing member countries. It is much more than just training or skills transfer; it is about effective institutions, a sound unpoliticized policy environment, accountability systems, effective relationships, and appropriate incentives. As noted in this study, capacity development should be firmly rooted in a country's political economy. It is a means to an end–the end being improved government...

The Star Mountain Investment Holding Limited (SMIHL) is a Papua New Guinean (PNG) landowner holding company operating in Western Province, in the shadows of the huge Ok Tedi mine. The initiative drew on a Future Generation Fund and was, for the community, a response to years of frustration with wasted opportunities for economic development which were attributed to a lack of organizational and economic development capacity, capture of benefits by local elites, and the absence of a consensus on...

For years, Nauru, a small Pacific island nation (population 10,000), benefited from the considerable wealth generated from its only major natural resource, phosphate. However, when that resource was almost exhausted and national assets held under the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust had been reduced to relatively minor holdings, the Government of Nauru sought and received assistance from the Asian Development Bank and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) to prepare a...

The Community Justice Liaison Unit was established under Papua New Guinea's (PNG) law and justice sector program, with the support of the Australian government, to enhance the capacity of PNG's civil society and facilitate its involvement in policy development and delivery of services in the justice sector. The case study highlights those efforts in a context characterized by broad-based ownership of sector reforms and shared interests among civil society and government actors. In...

A 1993 Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)-funded study reported that water and sanitation problems in South Tarawa, Kiribati had become critical and needed to be addressed in «as comprehensive a manner as possible.» This led to a series of interventions including several Asian Development Bank (ADB)-sponsored projects which focused on the community participation component that the Government of Kiribati had come to recognize as key to sustainability. The case study...

Problems facing Tonga's health care system intensified in the 1990s leading eventually to a decision by the government to address the «core problem», the Ministry of Health's planning, management, and coordination capacity. This case explores how attempts to enhance Ministry's organizational capacity, and improve its organizational culture, were aided by: consistent and strategic leadership and political support, participatory approaches, a clear sense of the capacity challenges,...