Capacity Building

The phrase “capacity building” has started popping up all the time during meetings I attend about computers in Lusaka. It has taken me quite some time to fully understand this bit of development/NGO speak, but I think I finally have a decent understanding of it, described below.

Here’s the background information: In the US and other countries that have huge economies or are highly developed, there are certain skills that we assume are readily available in our communities. For example, if we need someone to manage a computer network we can just put an ad in the paper and find a suitably trained and experienced network manager available (although possibly at a high price). We also assume that we will be able to find trained accountants, and program managers, and that anyone we hire will have good communication skills and be computer literate. With these basics in place, it should be relatively easy to communicate and/or train people as needed so that new employees understand the mission and goals of the institution, and can perform additional specialized tasks (such as grant or report writing, for example). These assumptions, however, are not valid in Zambia (and other developing countries too I am sure). The result is that in Zambia we can’t assume that a local organization (or an organization working with locals) will have the capacity (meaning trained person-power) to carry out all the desired tasks. The reasons for this are many, and some of them are described (to the best of my knowledge) below.

First, there are many fewer educational opportunities for Zambians. Pupils are not guaranteed a place in high school, and post secondary opportunities are even more rare. There are only four universities that I know of in Zambia (the University of Zambia, Copperbelt University, Northrise University and Zambia Open University) as well as a few opportunities for distance learning with foreign universities. These few universities represent the only opportunities for Zambians to earn bachelors degrees or higher. All other institutions (colleges and training centers) offer certificates (usually a one year program) or diplomas (two or three year programs). These colleges and training centers are useful for those who can afford them, but since the programs are shorter than degree programs, the depth of knowledge is less.

Second, there are fewer Zambians with experience in the fields they are educated in. The reasons for this are many. One main reason is that the economy is small enough that there are fewer job opportunities for Zambians, so fewer opportunities to gain experience. A second example is that educational materials are more scarce, so you might find that someone has been trained on how to use a piece of equipment, but had little hands-on experience with the equipment. An additional example is with the written English language. All secondary instruction occurs in English, but yet the documents I see written by many Zambians show a lack of experience with the language. Not only is it everyone’s second or third language, but the scarcity of books makes it likely that most Zambians have not spent much time reading the language. In addition, the large school class sizes make essay grading by teachers practically impossible.

Third, is the challenge of common understanding. Even if someone is well trained and experienced in the field that you would like them to work in, they may not share your understanding of the vision of the organization or the details of their work. There are myriad cultural differences that could cause this. Perhaps they have never seen a functioning example of what you envision. Or perhaps they see other priorities for themselves or the organization, and they are too embarrassed to communicate these fully to you. It can be very hard, for example, to ask someone who has had a lifetime of scarcity to continue to be frugal for the sake of the long-term success of a project. It’s much easier for them to consider it reasonable to ask sponsors for gifts and allowances that many would think unnecessary. Even the idea of long-term planning can be foreign to many Zambians who have grown up in a culture where daily challenges made it nearly impossible to do any preparations for the future.

On all these points, I continue to learn more about the issues every day. I also see signs that (slowly but surely) capacity is building in Lusaka. I hope the progress continues.