International

Capacity Building System

for Facilitators

of Pro-Poor Market Development

The Context

• paradigms of pro-poor VC development and facilitation are gaining strength

• increasing demand for field staff who can facilitate sustainable VC development that achieves impact at scale

• strong pressure on organisations to minimise travelling due to Climate Change

The Challenges

• supply of training is not well coordinated and not coping with the demand

• majority of field facilitators work in distant locations

• cannot afford to pay expensive courses and the travel costs to attend

• cannot afford the time to be away from their work and families

The Opportunity

• awareness of the importance of SUSTAINABLE capacity building

• good supply of new knowledge (academics and practitioners)

• existence of sustainable learning and peer-support networks

• ICTs made possible reaching out to large numbers of people in distant locations and at low cost

Central Idea

• a sustainable, international SYSTEM

• that integrates the best knowledge, professionals and institutions

• to build capacity, mentor and connect

• large numbers of field staff

• in different contexts worldwide

• at low costs

A fascinating puzzle

Picture of first brainstorm session, March 2010

Piece #1: The Groove

Piece #2: Donors focusing on VCD

Piece #3: MaFI

Piece #4: Local Learning Groups

Piece #5: Training Courses

Piece #6: Field Practitioners

• Current staff or newcomers

•Working or wanting to work in pro-poor market development

•Who need basic concepts and skills

•Who need to connect and collaborate with communities of experts

•Who come from linear, supply-led, top-down approaches

Piece #7: The “Missing Link”

An entry point into the world of pro-poor market development facilitation for large numbers of current and new practitioners.

Proposed solution : a distance, low-cost, short course with a focus on the very basics of pro-poor market development facilitators in the field.

5 functions of the “Missing Link”

• Integration (of different materials and

techniques)

• Production (of new materials)

• Delivery (of basic content and training)

• Certification

• Mass Access (large numbers of trainees)

• 150,000 undergraduates• 30,000 postgrad students• Nearly all part-time• 50,000+ sponsored by employers• Totally dedicated to distance learning• Experience in students with low qualifications• 25,000+ students live outside the UK• Ethos rooted on ideal of inclusion of low-

income students

A potential partner to build the “missing link”

Milestones of the exploration so far…

• 9 March 2010: exploratory meeting between

Practical Action and Open Uni

• April-Sep: Email discussions with key

stakeholders (trainers, donors, networks,

practitioners)

• Sep 2010: workshop Practical Action, OU and

DFID’s M4P Facility project

The system at work…

• training matl’s

• trends and needs

• joint learning agendas• focus on facilitation• link local-global

• further training (advanced courses)

• training matl’s

• trends and needs

•co-funding (for access to level 101)

Entry-level course•training matl’s• follow-up• mentoring

• networking• peer-support• channel to share new experiences

Typical alumni profile and possible benefits:

• Graduated after 3-6 months (ideally less)• With the basic skills to understand the main elements of

facilitation of pro-poor market development• With the ability to connect to a wider international

community of practice (virtual and face-to-face)• With the drive and peer-support to apply new knowledge

in the field• Fast-track access to MaFI and reduced rates to more

advanced courses such as AFE, ILO, OU and Springfield (incentives for students)

• Projects facilitated by graduates get extra points when assessed by donors who “approve” the training course (incentives for the graduates’ employers)

Key principles of the system

• Economic Sustainability (including the investments made by donors)

• Integration: the system should integrate sources of knowledge and training providers as much as possible

• Win-win: the system’s business model has to provide benefits to all the “pieces” involved

• Continuous Learning: this is not about a one-off course; this is about iterative learning, and sustainable networking and peer-support

Proposed Action Plan

• Create small group of promoters of the initiative (task force?)

• Analyse entry-level course models and requirements/implications

• Survey stakeholders (mainly trainers) to understand their position,

interests and needs

• Review main courses in the market to identify gaps. (To make sure that

entry-level course adds value to existing courses instead of competing

against them)

• Define content for the entry-level course (from 100 to 101)

• Market analysis to find out maximum investments ($ and time) that

typical practitioners are willing to invest to get to 101 level

• Create Advisory Group to maximise coordination of parts of the system

(e.g. trainers, donors, NGOs, networks, etc)

• Design and pilot entry level course (during 2011-2012)