nzsses forum presentation 15 september 2006 how do we build institutional capacity to support...

NZSSES forum presentation 15 September 2006

How do we build institutional capacity to support sustainable

development?

Viv HeslopVivacity Consulting Ltd

09 8467177, 021 [email protected]


My interest

develop legislation,strategy &

policy

implement strategy &

policybut how ?

little attention to building capacity to support implementation


My premise

need to focus more on institutional capacity if New Zealand is to progress sustainable development

capacity building needs to be an explicit focus of policy development & implementation


From 1987 to 2002

need for institutional change recognised in Our Common Future 1987

institutional dimension added by UNCSD in 1995

criticism at 2002 that failure of progress due to lack of focus on institutional arrangements & inadequate governance tools


The institutional challenge

work collectively & to collaborate set policy & make decisions for the

long term be flexible & adaptive in policy-

making integrative thinking


What does governance mean for sustainable development?

“mobilization and management of collective action amongst an array of actors”

“need capacity for collective action” (Healey et al 2002)– challenges existing institutional

arrangements and capacities– sustainable development needs to become

the ‘rules of the game’


Sustainable development as the ‘rules of the game’ - what does

this mean?


A soccer analogy

In soccer you have: the rules - controlling how game is played players - how teams are organised to

play, including use of substitutes coaches - how players get the skills they

need to play the game cheerleaders - those who ‘inspire’ the

players umpires - those who decide if the game is

being played fair


Translating this to sustainable development…


The rules

what it will take to progress sustainable development– long-term – collaboration & partnership– knowledge management– adaptable & flexible policy & processes– ‘soft’ skills - negotiation, conflict resolution,

facilitation– subsidiarity– communication


The players

how we structure ourselves for the collective action challenge– governance mechanisms– adaptive institutional arrangements


The coaches

developing institutional capacity to support sustainable development:– human resource development– intra-organisational capacity– inter-organisational capacity– external institutional rules &

incentives


The cheerleaders

strong leaders being able to inspire on the need for change & to push the change– recognise, develop & support this

talent


The umpires

those who judge & critique progress– PCE– Audit office– DPMC – WSSD– OECD– UNEP– UNCED


Focus on institutional capacity and institutional arrangements…


Aspects of institutional capacity

Human Resources

(i.e. individuals)

Intra-organisational

capacity

Inter-organisationa

l capacity

External institutional

rules & incentives


Human Resources

(i.e. individuals)

The process of equipping people with the understanding & skills, and access to knowledge & information to perform effectively

greater emphasis on process-related & ‘soft’ skills– communication– cooperation– conflict resolution– build coalition infrastructure– facilitation– negotiation– creativity– reflection

how to treat knowledge & skills issues needs to become a key policy concern


To achieve this the organisational environment

must be dynamic & responsive…


Intra-organisational capacity

The process by which things get done collectively within an organisation

increasing demand for more flexible & responsive management styles means new & different organisational structures & relationships

networks - informal, more about process than procedures & structures, based on trust & reciprocity

collaboration - genuine exchange of needs, ideas, responsibilities and control

communication - internal communication critical


Inter-organisational capacity

The process by which things get done collectively between organisations

networks - informal, more about process than procedures & structures, based on trust & reciprocity

collaboration - genuine exchange of needs, ideas, responsibilities and control

on-going learning & reflection needs to be supported

this is where we are experimenting with institutional arrangements in New Zealand


These changes need to be supported by institutional

development…


External institutional

rules & incentives

the legal & regulatory changes that have to be made in order to enable organisations & agencies at all levels & in all sectors to enhance their capacities

sustainable development embedded as paradigm for public policy - Local Government Act, Building Act, Land Transport Act

strategies - Sustainable Development Programme of Action

support & recognise soft skills support informal networks, collaboration promote for open communication promote & support open monitoring &

evaluation


How have our institutional arrangements responded…


Urban Form, Design & Development (UFDD)

part of the Auckland Sustainable Cities Programme

encourage, promote & guide more sustainable urban form, design & development in the Auckland region

central government, local government, research organisations

acknowledged challenge of embedded processes and that it would be a long-term challenge to effect any substantial change


Then why only commit to resourcing a three year

programme?


Successes in building capacity

networking - strengthened individual knowledge, built trust amongst participants in different agencies, became more aware of information available & who to contact

however networking was focused on inter-organisational rather than intra-organisational which considered to limit the effectiveness of UFDD

concerns over impact on network if key individuals left their organisations


Successes in building capacity cont.

coordination - better understanding of what each organisation was doing, identified projects they could influence, commissioned projects in areas not being addressed

thorough understanding of what was happening in the sustainable urban form, design & development area

however this knowledge generally resided with individuals rather than the organisations they represent


Successes in building capacity cont.

built awareness - participants ‘got up to speed’ on issues but was three years enough time to effect any change?

strategic broker - funding a dedicated person to facilitate UFDD contributed to its successes– provide networking opportunities– facilitate the exchange of ideas– look for opportunities to progress initiatives

collaboratively– manage relationships


The lessons & on-going challenges communication

– the lack of this about the wider ASCP to politicians, communities, businesses & other stakeholders seen as limiting success

– need to provide individuals with skills to communicate & ensure intra-organisational processes support communication

collaboration– it takes time - need to develop ways to recognise

the value of collaboration and allow for it to happen

it’s too risky! – risk aversion is an impediment - how can our

institutional arrangements support ‘risk-taking’?


The lessons & on-going challenges cont.

lack of urgency for need to change– how can the change we ‘driven’?

intra-organisational culture was considered a real impediment– while individuals felt collectively more empowered to

effect change, this was often not supported by the organisations they represented

adaptive tools & processes– need for adaptive tools that can respond to emerging

information– adaptive processes than can handle new &

innovative ideas



knowledge management– overwhelming amount of information that needs to

be managed & easily accessible resourcing

– many wanted UFDD to continue because of its value but unless it is resourced then this is not likely to happen

more widely supported by participating organisations– to ensure less reliance on individuals who might

move on



recognising the intangible ‘outputs’– evaluation often focused on tangile outputs such as

publications, number of workshops– needs to recognise the intangible outcomes such as

the strength of relationships & networks

clear path for follow-up– three years too short to effect change, but little

thought given to what would happen at end of the three year ASCP pilot

resilience– how can we embed key ideas so that progress is not

impacted by political or staff changes?


Summary

building institutional capacity to progress sustainable development needs to be recognised as a key implementation task

it needs to be included as an explicit process when considering policy & projects

but building capacity is only the first step…


Institutionalisation process by which changes are sustained means that practices become sufficiently regular

& continuous they they amount to ‘institutions’ accepted as the proper way to do things shift new practices into ‘core business’ - from

pilot to regular practice time-limited projects fizzle out, teams scatter &

momentum evaporates need to look beyond the end of the project,

managing not only an exit strategy but driving the positive features & practices from the project into the mainstream, & creating new ‘institutions’


My next presentation

How can we take the elements of institutional capacity to progress

sustainable development & get them institutionalised?


So how is the START project addressing institutional

capacity?

nzsses forum presentation 15 september 2006 how do we build institutional capacity to support...

Documents

nzsses forum presentation

sustainable development

game slide

talent slide

fair slide

institutional change

new zealand slide

institutional dimension