4. CURRENT APPROACHES TO HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND A REVIEW OF DELIVERY MECHANISMS

In addition to a review of literature and interviews which generated the findings above, we have also interviewed a wide range of donors to establish up-to-date information on current approaches to capacity development initiatives, to assess how the lessons learned as described earlier are impacting on current initiatives.

This section is divided into three parts. Firstly, we present an overview of the current direction of capacity development in the fisheries and other sectors with personal communication referenced by number to Appendix C (Persons consulted) and Appendix D (Review of HCD Approaches). Secondly we discuss an assessment of training needs assessment and curriculum development - as already identified, the ability to successfully target training needs has proved an essential element in successful capacity development. In the third section we review a wide range of different mechanisms, all in use to varying degrees, and highlight some especially interesting examples in the text.

4.1 Overview

4.1.1 Fisheries sector

Fisheries sciences, research and development: the adoption of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management has changed the requirements for technical skills in a number of ways. Firstly it has widened the skills and knowledge required to include ocean and climate sciences, species and habitat ecology and ecosystem modelling. Secondly it has increased the level of information and analysis required, although an adoption of the precautionary approach to fisheries management might actually reduce this (NMFS, 2000). The ability to compile, analyse and disseminate large amounts of spatially disaggregated data information will also be an increasingly important requirement for ecosystem-based management, especially as ecosystem modelling inevitably moves from academia to practical fisheries management. Capacity development initiatives to fulfil these requirements are beginning to be put in place (see Appendix D-13), but the capacity to define ecosystems and implement an ecosystems-based approach to fisheries management remains far off in many countries.

Fisheries sector management: with the increasing adoption of the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) over the past decade, training areas, targets and delivery have all changed (18, 19, 20, 24, 25). Whilst there is still a strong interest in technical and science capacity development, there has been a recognition that this needs to operate within an improved framework of good sectoral management and better understanding of livelihoods and poverty issues - that fisheries "are managed for people, not for the fish". This in turn has led to more emphasis on sector planning, policy issues, poverty assessments, and the use of the SLA to enable a greater understanding of the many factors affecting people’s livelihoods. There is also greater recognition in theory, and in practice, of the importance of the need to involve and consider the impacts of other sectors on fisheries. This is all representative of a more holistic approach being taken.

Whilst the SLA has been targeted at traditional public sector clients, it has tended to focus on niche groups responsible for artisanal fisheries development rather than mainstream fisheries planning and administration. The reluctance of some fisheries administrations to integrate the sustainable livelihood approach SLA into their sector management responsibilities has meant that a number of donors have increasingly concentrated human capacity development initiatives on proven non governmental organizations (NGOs), especially through short, in-country "training of trainers" courses (24, 25).

With the advent of the SLA, capacity development of societal actors has necessarily gained considerable donor support. Operating largely outside the traditional public-sector client base, this has focused upon community groups and their champions such as NGOs. Many capacity development initiatives are implemented through locally-based NGOs, who are able to rapidly build trust with fishers and mobilize recipient groups. As a result, the NGOs are usually the primary human capacity development recipients in both direct skill development (i.e. stakeholder identification and consultation, relationship building and empowerment) as well as a conduit through training of trainers. As mentioned above, these are usually applied through workshops (3-5 days) as well as in-country training.

In aquaculture too there is now a recognized need to move away from capacity development based purely on biology and technical issues, to cover subjects such as (i) social and economic aspects, (ii) communication skills, (iv) human resource and business management, (v) issues concerning environmental sustainability and (vi) development planning, policy and regulations (De Silva, 2000).

Societal skills and knowledge: Good governance and policy development (see Box 2) in particular have emerged as key concepts (19, 25), driven by globalization, emerging international agreements, greater cooperation^[8], emerging technologies and the recognition that in most cases, present systems of fisheries governance have failed to ensure resource conservation and economic efficiency (Swan, 2000).

Box 2: Governance in fisheries

Rural power structures can have a strong influence on the success of fisheries development initiatives in coastal and inland artisanal areas as entrenched interests may overcome the common good. Approaches to address this at community level, such as the World Bank and DFID Fourth Fisheries Project in Bangladesh or the Integrated Lake Management (ILM) project in Uganda have focused on local empowerment by enabling stakeholders to take responsibility for the development, monitoring and enforcement of fishing rules through co-management. Many initiatives are now beginning to focus conflict resolution as a key issue.

However, while there is certainly greater awareness now of the need for individual fisheries managers (in the broader sense of "fisheries managers") to possess the skills and knowledge listed in the third pillar/grouping in Figure 2-1 on page 11, so far there has been little actual implementation and delivery of capacity development in these areas. The challenge will be to train managers who recognize the value of different areas of expertise and who possess the necessary professional skills to lead a team towards a management solution. A recent workshop assessed the skills and knowledge required by future fisheries managers and considered that leadership, followed closely by communication, conflict solving, critical thinking and problem solving were the five primary requirements. (see Figure 4-1 and Box 3).

Figure 4-1: Skill requirements for twenty-first century fisheries managers

Source: Jodice, L. et al., 2003. Based on a pre-workshop survey where participants were asked to identify three to five skills essential to the modern fisheries manager

Box 3: Training managers for the twenty-first century fisheries initiative

4.1.2 Other sectors

Over the past two decades capacity development efforts have had to address an increasingly complexity of issues including embedding gender equality, environmental awareness and other societal skills in development. Like ICAM above, these tend to respond to a number of cross-cutting needs and have therefore required a strong pan-sectoral or even non-sectoral approach, often at odds with previous mainstream HCD methodologies. FAO has been at the forefront of developing these new approaches, initially as a unilateral requirement from co-funders but increasingly at the request of recipient countries. For instance the FAO Socio-economic and Gender Analysis programme (SEAGA) promotes a "gender sensitive approach to sustainable development" at three levels - macro (programmes and policies), intermediate (institutions) and field (communities, households and individuals), focusing on policy makers, development planners and field workers respectively (see Box 4 below). The SEAGA programme works with a number of FAO divisions but, significantly, not yet fisheries (22).

Box 4: FAO Socio-economic and Gender Analysis Programme (SEAGA)

Recent developments in forestry, at least within FAO, suggest that the previous provision of capacity development assistance at local level was not as effective as hoped, due to the failure of such efforts to get to grips with the overall political and enabling environment which was hampering development efforts. FAO is thus now beginning to re-concentrate on initiatives at a higher level to effect change in capacity at the sector and enabling environment level (3). At the international level, there has been an initiative to build a solid institutional framework and guidelines for forest-sector-based development under the auspices of the United Nations Forum on Forests, the Intergovernmental Panel on Forest and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IPF/IFF). The IPF/IFF proposals urge countries to include capacity development as an objective of their national forest programmes. Allied to this, are current initiatives to establish the necessary linkages between forest policy, research and education, such as the project "Training and Research Capacities for Forestry Policy Development in Countries with Economies in Transition", jointly run by the United Nations University (UNU), the European Forest Institute (EFI) and the SILVA Network (Jansky et al., 2003).

Table 4-1 overleaf provides a summary of other current approaches to capacity development researched through personal interviews (listed in Appendix C) and the literature review (summarized in Appendix D.

Table 4-1: Summary of current approaches to human capacity development

4.1.3 Training needs assessment and curriculum development

Curriculum development is central to the teaching and learning process, and includes all the planning and guiding of learning by a training or teaching organization, whether it is carried out in groups or individually, inside or outside a classroom, in an institutional setting or in a village or field. (Rogers and Taylor, 1998). The "Develop a Curriculum" (DACUM) approach, developed by Ohio State University, is an innovative approach aimed at allowing corporate entities to determine the main tasks and accompanying skill requirements for a particular job or cluster of related jobs (see Box 5). It relies upon a short, intensive session, facilitated by a DACUM specialist to identify the tasks competencies involved, followed by a process to determine the specific skills, knowledge and abilities required - as such it is similar to the process described by Harte in Section 2.1.

Box 5: The "Develop a Curriculum" (DACUM) approach

Experience of applying the DACUM approach to public sector support to fisheries is limited, but has been used in Viet Nam (Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, undated), Gaza^[9] and Canada. In the latter case the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA) conducted a "Standardized Occupational Analysis for Aquaculture" in order to develop and deliver programmes and courses which meet the human resource development needs of all sectors in the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry. The project^[10] involved the following three phases:

1. A one-day workshop to identify all of the occupations required for the aquaculture industry.

2. DACUM exercizes to develop a list of all skill requirements for an aquaculture occupation.

3. Validation of the competencies by industry representatives.

Another new approach, which may include the DACUM process, is that of Participatory Curriculum Development (PCD). The PCD approach aims at developing a curriculum from the interchanges of experience and information between the various stakeholders in an education and training programme. Building on lessons learnt from field-based practice, a critical element of PCD is the identification of stakeholders, who may include educationalists, researchers, policy makers, extension workers, fishers and aquaculturists. Rather than belonging to a small select group of experts, PCD involves a wide range of stakeholders in a meaningful way, drawing upon their experience and insights in a structured approach to curriculum planning, implementation and evaluation (Taylor, 2000). They may help identify needs for training, set aims and learning objectives, contribute to the development of the subject matter to be taught, and participate in delivery and evaluation of the curriculum.

The recently completed Fisheries Training and Extension Project (Phase II) project in Bangladesh adopted the SLA approach to assist the Department of Fisheries in increasing aquaculture production by poor farmers. A key activity of the project is supporting and developing Human Resources Management (HRM) and the ability of the Department to plan and manage training (Brown, 2001). This included adoption of systematic TNA methodologies for both staff and beneficiaries. An important TNA tool was the development of a database containing skills, training and career records and information on all Department of Fisheries officers which allowed for a screening of all proposed candidates to ensure that their basic skills, aptitude and career requirements matched training opportunities.

In the Asian Pacific region, a regional expert consultation examined the needs for capacity development for aquaculture education (De Silva, Sim and Phillips, 2000).

The development of curricula, training materials and other tools to support aquaculture education was considered to require:

• Developing databases cataloguing existing curricula and training materials for AE in the Asia-Pacific region, with the scope for timely update;

• Preparation of modules based on existing curricula and training materials for dissemination through a regional Aquaculture Education Program;

• Translation of relevant materials as appropriate;

• Improving existing vocational curricula; and

• Developing separate training streams for extension officers particularly to fulfil the need for training in extension skills as dedicated vocational stream. Such an approach would underpin a special recognition of the need to support more effective extension within aquaculture.

Table 4-2: The ten stages in participatory curriculum development (PCD)

Source: Adapted from Taylor (2001).

4.2 Delivery mechanisms

As already hinted at in the preceding text, there are a wide variety of different delivery mechanisms that can be used to assist capacity development, and which have been adopted. These are explored further and summarized in the text below, along with a summary table/schematic with the key attributes of different forms of delivery mechanisms. The Boxes and Figures in this section also provide some interesting examples of current/practical application of different mechanisms.

An evolution of delivery mechanisms has been facilitated, which increasingly allows recipients to:

• use flexible tools to enhance capacity;

• increase networking and possibilities for information exchange and mutual learning;

• identify and consequentially solve problems;

• develop information processing skills, rather than rote learning;

• learn from real world practical experiences, rather than just based on theoretical learning.

Different types of delivery mechanisms can usefully be divided into those that rely on face-to-face contact, and those that can be delivered remotely. While it is certainly true that developments in the internet and electronic communications have given rise to new and exciting forms of delivery mechanisms for capacity development using remote mechanisms, it would be wrong to ignore all other traditional face-to-face mechanisms as outdated and irrelevant. The use of remote mechanisms of capacity development are likely to require greater levels of motivation by recipients to respond to opportunities and to engage in the capacity development process, although may enable better access to greater numbers of people at better value for money.

The following text highlights that all delivery mechanisms may have a role to play in particular instances depending on the capacity development requirements, and that the selection of an appropriate mechanism(s) must be carefully based on case-specific needs.

4.2.1 Face to face mechanisms

Classroom-based training/education. This represents perhaps the most one-way delivery mechanism with "experts" imparting knowledge, information etc to recipients. Programmes may be either long- or short-term e.g. lectures, diploma courses, undergraduate courses, PhDs, and may be delivered in-country or overseas. Criticism has been based on:

• the over-reliance on such training and the insufficient complementary use of alternative mechanisms;

• the fact that course content is seldom user-defined;

• the focus of such courses on (often outdated) technical issues and facts, and not on wider aspects of capacity development as discussed in this paper;

• removing staff from job functions, especially for long periods of training, can disrupt the functioning of institutions.

However such mechanisms serve an important function. When one considers anecdotally how many senior fisheries managers and stock assessment scientists in developing countries have passed through local or overseas fisheries university courses, and the significance of such courses in assisting with their capacity development, we would argue that their continued use is critical. It would also in our view, be a mistake to focus purely on short-term classroom courses at the expense of long-term initiatives. Many of the other delivery mechanisms discussed in this section are short-term in nature, and there is an important role to play for longer-term training and education for institutional capacity development to provide appropriate numbers of people with undergraduate, masters and PhD qualifications.

What is important however is to carefully match the skills and knowledge required in any country for successful management, with the numbers of staff available and their current capabilities. It may be necessary to provide more long-term classroom training with an emphasis on sector and overall societal skills and knowledge listed in Figure 2-1, along with new science and research skills required given recent developments such as an ecosystems approach to fisheries, rather than just the traditional technical science and research skills. It may also be necessary to complement such training with other delivery mechanisms. Of great importance is the need to place strong emphasis on how the training/education is structured and delivered, as well as how participatory course contents are, so that courses are more relevant and useful for the recipients.

Recent discussion in the US on reform of natural resource management education (Rassam and Eisler, 2001) has focused strongly on syllabus change, but how courses are taught can also add many of the desired skills and knowledge to fisheries curricula without adding courses (Berkson, 2002). The use of cooperative learning, writing across the curriculum, discussion groups, and other approaches should increase the ability of students to deal with interpersonal interactions, problem solving, and other "societal" skills (Allison and McBride, 2003). A key lesson appears to be that while training should be flexible and participatory, it must still be carefully planned and not improvised.

Box 6: The SUFER project

Source: Allison, 2003.

Seminars, conferences or workshops. This group of delivery mechanisms are more two-way and participatory than the classroom-based training discussed above. As such they may often be more effective in helping to develop capacity related to attitudinal change, as well as in imparting information. They may also be especially effective in establishing networks and communication between different development actors and practitioners, fishers etc, itself an important factor in capacity development. Sometimes the lack of any immediate impact and the failure of such initiatives to necessarily follow-up with implementation is a cause of criticism in terms of value for money. These mechanisms may be conducted overseas or locally-run, but by definition are usually short-term in nature lasting not more than a couple of days. They are usually supported by academic institutions (in the case of seminars and conferences), NGOs (in the case of workshops) or donors (who support all three forms)

Research programmes. The completion of research programmes should and can play a vital role in capacity development. Sector planning and development must be based on good scientific understanding and evidence, which can be provided by such programmes. What is necessary, but what is unfortunately often lacking, is a good linkage between research and management/planning institutions, and between research institutions in developed and developing countries. Also important is to ensure that research is tailored to meeting the development needs of local populations. Allison and McBride (2003) report that in Bangladesh less than 10 percent of published research work by fisheries faculty in five participating universities is concerned with research on issues faced by rural fish farmers. Research programmes are usually long term in nature lasting between 6 months and 3 years, may be lab- or field-based, and usually conducted by academic institutions or state-funded specialist research institutions. There are few, if any, private-sector research institutions in the fishery sector being able to support themselves by selling the results of their research. Research is generally therefore an activity that must be strongly supported by the State or by donors.

Exchange programmes. Exchange programmes may involve actual job-swaps, or individuals being provided with an opportunity to observe someone else’s activities and job context. Such programmes may be used simply to facilitate information/knowledge exchange, whereby individuals with different capabilities and skills can share these with others. However, they may also be especially effective in enhancing societal skills and knowledge, and in bringing about awareness of different cultural values and attitudinal change. As a result they can be useful for conflict resolution when applied in a practical job-based setting and can assist in increasing understanding and empathy between individuals/institutions previously opposed to each other’s viewpoints or who may be operating from different perspectives. Examples might include a fishers’ representative spending time in a fisheries management authority to gain a better understanding of the need for fisheries regulations and controls, with government officials being exposed to a business operation and the commercial pressures of running fishing vessels. They are generally fairly short-term in nature, but may last up to a year or more in the case of swaps of academic posts. Given increasing emphasis on conflict management as an important issue in fisheries, it might be expected that the use of exchange programmes be more widely adopted in the future.

Demonstration trials. The principal of this mechanism is usually to get the private sector to adopt changes in behaviour or uptake of new techniques, based on state or donor initiatives demonstrating the success or advantages of such approaches. They are almost always conducted in the field and may be very short-term in nature e.g. a master fishermen demonstrating the advantages of modifying fishing behaviour during the course of a few fishing trips, or longer-term e.g. demonstration of new agricultural cropping patterns and techniques over a growing season. The mechanism is also based on the belief that value-for-money will often be provided (if the initiative is technically and culturally a good one) as once a few people in any area or industry adopt a new and more successful approach, others will shortly follow.

On-the-job training. On-the-job training has the advantage that an individual does not have to be removed from his/her work environment, but that training can be provided either to deal with general capacity development requirements, or to assist in solving specific problems that may arise, thus assisting capacity development through practical experience. By definition it is therefore especially relevant to an individual’s practical needs, as provided in a real-life work setting, whether field-based or office-based. It usually attempts to develop capacity by providing one short-term input, or a series of more than one short-term inputs spread over a period of time. On-the-job training is generally provided through donors for project-based initiatives or programme efforts with donor staff assisting counterparts, or by NGOs, volunteer programmes, or government extension workers. Such training may be supported/complemented by short-term classroom-based training, but conducted in a practical setting that has relevance to the recipients.

Mentoring may be an especially useful form of on-the-job training, as it enables assistance to be provided to deal with specific problems, or just to provide overall advice about career paths. Mentoring as a practice has been used extensively in private sector businesses for some time and may involve one-to-one relationships with an experienced figure guiding and assisting a more junior person, or groups of people mutually supporting each other with advice. They may take the form of a mentor and a "mentee" within the same organization, or of from different institutions. Such initiatives are generally found to be very productive if carefully structured and planned, and have the strong advantage that they generally just involve the giving of time, rather than the commitment of large financial resources. Mentoring can be delivered face-to-face or remotely.

Box 7: Mentoring

Source: Mentoring for Business. http://www.e-mentoring.com/

4.2.2 Remote mechanisms

Budget support. General programme-based support can be provided for sector capacity development through budgetary support, and can be especially effective if institutions face severe budgetary constraints which inhibit capacity development. Provision of finance can at the most basic level enable institutions to function more effectively and to have a greater impact. However, as noted above (UNDP 2003), such a mechanism assumes that there is transparent and accountable government, that checks and balances on government performance are in place, and that the policy of government necessarily reflects the will of the people. The fact that this is not always the case means that such programme-based support is often usefully complemented by specific project-based initiatives.

Publications. Capacity can be significantly enhanced when individuals or institutions absorb information and lessons learned from other contexts, and apply such information to their own contexts. Benefiting from the successes and failures of others, without having to repeat their mistakes, can significantly speed up the capacity development process and result in changes in both awareness and attitudes. Publications may be in the form of grey literature, project reports or conference proceedings, or more formal journal publications. Special journal issues on particular topics can be especially useful.

Case study information can also be of great benefit, and it is thought likely that both small-scale fishers and consultants have considerable experience that could be written up, or which is "lost" in consultancy reports. Given the pressure on academics to publish papers, interesting information tends to originate more from this sector, rather than from consultants who are often under pressure to move on to other fee-paying work. Likewise, small-scale fishers are occupied with the business of making money from fishing, and often have little incentive to prepare case study information that could be of great interest. Furthermore, requirements for particular styles/formats required by "respectable" fisheries journals often preclude small-scale fishers from being able to present case study material (and provide a considerable disincentive for consultants). Nevertheless, it appears a shame that the experiences of such groups are not more widely drawn upon, and more thought could perhaps be given to how it could be. Ideas might include a forum for case studies and subsequent dissemination, prepared in a less formal/polished fashion, perhaps with a simple form with sections covering key areas of interest and lessons learned from the particular case study. This could be Internet-based with the use of categorization/key words to allow searches according to geography, sector, issues etc.

Manuals/training material. The use of training manuals, while relatively costly and time-consuming to prepare, then provides a cost effective method of capacity development, as individuals (depending on their current capacity and the level at which the manual is targeted) may be able to use such material with little or no further supervision. Manuals may cover all topics and provide information on specialist technical areas such as HACCP, or more management and process-related advice on how to develop and prepare fisheries sector management plans (see http://www.idrc.ca/cbnrm/documents/CBNRM_Toolkit/manuals4.htm for an interesting list of selected training manuals on accessing and building on indigenous knowledge for fisheries management). FAO has also recently been developing a manual on participatory planning for improving artisanal fisheries landing sites. It is interesting in that it takes the approach of the "new role" of a fisheries officer, namely as a facilitator for development processes, rather than someone who just collects data and provides expertise. The ongoing FAO Sustainable Development Department project on conflict management (see Figure 4-2) has already prepared conflict management manuals. These recent activities highlight the importance of the need to update and/or prepare new manuals and training material to reflect current development thinking. The static nature of the material once prepared can easily lead to their use for many years longer than is ideal.

Radio. Radio has been used extensively in fisheries and other natural resource sectors as an effective method of extension to impart knowledge and to change attitudes. It is especially useful in terms of access to the poor in developing countries given that most people, even if not wealthy enough to have access to televisions or the internet, usually have access to, and listen to, radio. Local or national radio stations may be used as may specially established community radio stations. Communication strategies have generally moved from top-down to more grass-roots approaches using tools such as PRA. The problem for communication is that it is often left out of budgets and usually used as a crisis management tool, rather than programmed into projects at the outset.

Mentoring. Mentoring may be delivered remotely as well as face to face. Discussion on this mechanism is presented above under "on-the-job training". As far as we are aware, mentoring in the fisheries sector has not been widely used, but offers considerable potential for capacity development if carefully planned to match appropriate mentors and mentees, perhaps remotely between developed and developing country partners.

Distance-based training/education. Capacity development using such means has much in common with the classroom-based training/education described above in terms of courses taken, but also many important differences. In particular, the benefits of distance learning are increasingly being realized in terms of the ability to fit ongoing training and education with job functions and activities. Also, the use of modern communication systems for the delivery of such training (see below) helps to ensure that the content and approach of such education is kept up-to-date and relevant to recipients. Distance training also provides the host institution with the opportunity of expanding its client-base and thereby making itself more sustainable through the generation of greater revenues. Overseas institutions generally provide courses, but distance learning also has application in countries where travel is difficult because of distance, practical or cost implications. However the motivation and supervision of distance-learning students is variable and have a profound influence on the outcome of the training.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT is generally a remote capacity development mechanism, but may also be delivered face to face. It cannot act as a panacea for all development problems, but by dramatically improving communication and the exchange of information, it can create powerful social and economic networks, which in turn provide the basis for major advances in development. By enabling these new networks to collect and share local knowledge and information, ICT can provide new and more efficient methods of production, bring previously unattainable markets within the reach of local producers, improve the delivery of government services, and increase access to basic social goods and services (International Institute for Communication and Development, IICD, 2002).

The development of ICT requires development practitioners to think creatively about its uses for capacity development, as well as the practical requirements. For example, a community may have just one PC, but this PC may be able to be used by, and to serve many people in the community. But practical requirements are as important as exciting opportunities. One needs good bandwidth for on-line web-based distance learning and many small-scale coastal fishing communities won’t have it, although they may have access to a PC. This means that the use of CD-ROM-based training may be especially appropriate in such cases - see Box 8 for an interesting example of CD-ROM training. It also requires initiatives to involve/encourage those with the ability to use ICT to access those who can’t - for example, most NGOs are likely to have access to internet-based information, and can then act as a conduit for passing information to those in the field who may not have access.

The internet may facilitate distance-based learning (see above), as well as networking and information exchange based on email-contact, list-server mailing/e-bulletins (e.g. fishfolk), search functions and storage of documents/information, and discussion boards. The ability to establish servers with large information storage capacity offers exciting potential.

Whilst most institutions have developed an Internet presence, greater potential certainly exists for use of the internet as a training and capacity-building tool. FAO have been one of the more innovative organizations and have developed proven approaches for internet-based distance learning, where a number of generic tools are developed centrally in Rome and then made available to regional offices for adoption to local circumstances. This has proved versatile, cost-effective (22) and allows material to be developed in a number of different languages. FAO also supports distance learning initiatives though short (<2 weeks), locally-based workshops that provide participants with a learning framework and ensures that they are armed with the necessary tools for on-going remotely monitored development.

Access to information, decision-support and learning tools through the internet enhances the ability of self-development. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a series of downloadable decision-support tools that are designed to be used and if necessary adapted at local level. Allied with a support network and partnership-based, in-country short courses, this has proved an effective approach that permits regular feed-back from field workers (see Appendix D). Information itself is also important - the World Conservation Monitoring Centre has developed an internet-based information forum and biodiversity clearing house mechanism, providing decision-makers with current information and providing a portal for information exchange.

Box 8: The FAO Information Management Resource Kit

Source: FAO WAICENT

In a workshop organized by the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (De Silva et al., 2000), the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) provided a paper on their experience of the use of their Intranet in aquaculture education. This shows that whilst some students (and staff) have problems adapting to an electronic interface, it has provided an important new medium to teaching which has an increasing appeal to new generations of computer-literate and Internet-aware students (see Box 9 overleaf).

FAO’s Fisheries Department and SIFAR, (Support unit for International Fisheries and Aquatic Research), in cooperation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Secretariat and the European Commission (EC), are undertaking a feasibility study for an initiative aimed at supporting the development of fisheries policy and of fostering improved institutional capacity for fisheries management. The initiative is entitled "A programme for Strengthening Fisheries Management in ACP Countries", or ACP Fish II. The indicative core funding for ACP Fish II is €11.5 million. ACP Fish II will be the second phase of an earlier programme on "Strengthening of fisheries and biodiversity management in ACP Countries", also known as "ACP Fish I". The first phase comprised a four-year project best known for the FishBase database it developed. The ACP Fish II project is exploring the possibility of using the FAO Community Development Server^[11], to establish an internet-based knowledge exchange system. While in the early stages of project design, the system is expected to be demand driven in structure and content, but to include on a central site/portal, discussion groups, case studies, publications, useful links etc. Importantly, a major challenge is seen as the need to move beyond one-way information and service delivery, towards a two-way or "many to many" system that facilitates the exchange of information, knowledge and experience. In this regard, it is envisaged that the ACP Fish II programme will need to adopt a neutral yet responsive and facilitatory role, rather than becoming an "expert gatekeeper". An important goal will be to create "communities of practice" around key themes.

Box 9: Experience of intranet use in aquaculture education

Adapted from De Silva, Sim and Phillips (2000).

SIFAR is itself also creating an open knowledge marketplace on the Net specifically to serve the needs of the global fisheries research and development community. Called the OneFish Community Directory http://www.onefish.org/, this open directory portal brings together, under one virtual roof, a broad cross-section of stakeholders interested in raising the profile of research in fisheries and aquatic resources and reinforcing its impact in responsible fisheries, particularly in the field of development. Like SIFAR, Onefish is also funded by contributions from donor groups http://www.sifar.org/Donor%20graph.htm and organizations with a fundamental interest in improving communications and knowledge sharing in fisheries and aquatic resources research and development. OneFish allows users to contribute information in electronic form to specific subject areas, and to search and retrieve information, files and other linkages across the whole OneFish domain. Institutions and special interest groups are able to use OneFish to develop discussion groups and create virtual offices. Subject-specialist topic editors assist in the administration of specialized topics by editing and adding information submitted to them.

4.2.3 Partnerships and service providers

Whilst many training institutions have developed focus areas of expertise, there is increasing understanding that (i) a large range of skills and knowledge are required and (ii) that the needs of different individuals may range widely, depending upon the level and nature of their job requirements. The response has increasingly been the formation of partnerships that allow a holistic approach to capacity development, supported by a mixture of delivery mechanisms (see below) and different service providers. This has resulted in recognition of the need for more partnerships in academia, in donors, and in the NGO community. The United Nations University (UNU) is a good example (see Appendix D), where a network of proven specialist institutes provide practical and applied postgraduate courses within a wide-ranging framework covering governance, natural sciences and development. FAO too depends on a network - gender-analysis mainstreaming is facilitated through over 120 institutions worldwide.

The University of Western Cape (www.uwc.ac.za/ics/) provides another practical example and has established a knowledge environment for web-based learning (KEWL), which is an open source learning management system. Involved in establishing distance learning course are the following:

• DFID Regional Fisheries Information System’s Project (RFIS)

• International Ocean Institute in Southern Africa, and the

• Benguela Environment Fisheries Interaction and Training (BENEFIT) programme.

For aquaculture in Asia, De Silva, Sim and Phillips (2000), suggest the development of a "Regional Collaborative Aquaculture Education Programme", based around the formation of a regional "Aquaculture Educational Consortium. This network would engage the leading academic and training institutions in Asia and Oceania to engage in institutional capacity-building and the delivery of aquaculture education through improved collaborative activities and synergies, strengthen the channels of communication, improve human resources and capacity, evaluate aquaculture education needs of the region regularly; maintaining and updating databases of available resources.

In summary, a key aspect of the need for more partnerships is that there is a requirement not just for donors to talk more with other donors, for NGOs to talk to each more, etc, although this is certainly important, but equally importantly for capacity to be delivered through partnerships between different groups of service providers e.g. between Government and NGOs, between donors and research institutions etc.

4.2.4 Mixed use of mechanisms

For individuals to manage the process towards capacity development as described in Figure 1-2, it may be especially effective, and indeed necessary, for different types of delivery mechanisms to be used together. For example, the acquisition of knowledge and understanding may be best provided by face-to-face training, academic programmes or the remote use of manuals. This can then be followed up by accompanying field-based activities, workshops, or on-the-job training/mentoring providing skills and knowledge and support to changes in attitude and experiential learning. The use of radio provides another example with radio now being linked innovatively with the internet, for example by stimulating discussion and radio station operators then using a PC and the internet to access web-based material to find and publicize answers to questions posed by listeners which are of special interest to their daily lives. Although not without its critics^[12], the "Training and Visit" model for example, is a World Bank approach in which a continuously trained village extension worker regularly visits farmers in their fields - this highlights too the importance of training trainers so that capacity developed at one level can be used to enhance capacity at other levels.

The box overleaf shows how the UNDP Train-X model is also an approach that incorporates a wide variety of different mechanisms from manuals, face-to-face instruction, networking etc.

Box 10: TRAIN-X

Source: http://www.undp.org/seed/trainx/overview.htm

An ongoing FAO Sustainable Development Department "Livelihood Support Programme" on conflict management, largely implemented by FAO forestry and fisheries staff, provides another interesting example of mixed mechanisms. A generic conflict management module has been developed, along with sector specific ones for land tenure, forestry and fisheries. An advisory committee supervises the structure and implementation of an initial 10 day training course/workshop. The length of the workshop is agreed by consensus as being long enough to be useful, but not so long as to became unattractive to participants and the institutions in which they work. Participants then spend 2-3 months in the field in their normal job, but with national mentors visiting them and providing support. During their field time, participants are also required to keep a "learning journal". A second 10-day workshop is followed by another 2-3 month period in the field before a final workshop, also of around 10 days. This last workshop generates case study material relevant to the local context based on the learning journals, which can be used for the next round of participants to enter the process. The process can be viewed figuratively as shown overleaf.

Figure 4-2: FAO Livelihood support programme

Source: Adapted from Braakman and Lenselink (2003).

4.2.5 Summary of delivery mechanisms

! The above discussion can be summarized by way of a table of different delivery mechanisms. The table attempts to categorize the mechanisms based on:

! The level of capacity development to which they are best suited (e.g. individual = 1, institutional = 2, sectoral = 3, enabling environment = 4 as per Figure 1-1).

! What aspects of the process of capacity development they are most likely to influence (see Figure 1-2. Awareness of needs = N, acquiring knowledge = K, increasing understanding = U, development of skills = S, changes in attitude = A, putting into practice = P, acquiring experience = E).

! What skill areas of capacity development they are most suited to e.g. Fisheries Science, Research and Development = R&D, Fisheries Sector Management = SM, or non-fisheries specific societal skills = SS (see Figure 2-1).

! Where they take place (In-country = IC, overseas = O).

! Whether they are face-to-face or remote mechanisms (F, R).

! Who is best placed to provide them (Donor staff = D, Academic institutions = A, research institutions = R, NGOs = N, Government departments = G; RFBs & intergovernmental orgs = F).

! Some additional notes where appropriate, especially on strengths and weaknesses.

The categorization of different delivery mechanisms shown below is not intended to be hard and fast, and there are likely to be exceptions to the categorization presented. However, we have attempted to characterize the mechanisms based on what we view to be their principal characteristics. Thus specifying that a mechanism is normally best delivered by an NGO, does not mean that in some cases such a mechanism could not be, or perhaps already has been, used effectively with delivery provided by donor project staff.

Table 4-3: Characteristics of different delivery mechanisms