Presentation one in a series from Humentum's Capacity for Humanity conference in Arusha, Tanzania, February 2018. By Robert Ndiritu.

1. Capacity
Development
in Fragile
Contexts
Challenges and
Opportunities

2. • Fragility and its
characteristics
• Comparing conventional
L&D and Fragility
• Our experience in World
Vision Somalia
• Available space for
innovations
Outline

3. WHO WE ARE
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and
advocacy organisation dedicated to working with
children, families and communities to overcome poverty
and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values, we are
dedicated to working with the World’s most vulnerable
people. We serve all people regardless of religion, race,
ethnicity or gender.
OUR OPERATIONS
• 15 districts in Somaliland, Puntland and South West &
Juba land.
• Working with partners in the Global Fund TB, Somalia
Resilience Programme (SomReP) and WFP.
• Sectors - health, nutrition, resilience & livelihoods,
child protection, shelter & WASH.
World Vision Int. Somalia

4. Background
Capacity building has varying
perspectives. In this session, we shall
focus on staff capacity building –
specifically, learning and development.
While this session may present new
ideas, my key intention is to trigger a
discussion on L&D in fragility with an
aim of coming up with greater ideas.

5. Fragility and
Fragile contexts
Common characteristics in fragility:
• States are unwilling or unable to provide
an enabling environment e.g. education.
• Social, political & economic characteristics
- poor governance, violence, repression,
corruption, inequality and exclusion,
• Fluid and transient actors
• Acute, longstanding humanitarian needs
• Predominantly short, grant funded projects

6. Fragility in
numbers
• 2 billion (30% of the World’s
Populations) live in Fragile context
• By 2030, 46% of global poor will be living
in fragile contexts (up from 17% today)
• 80% of all humanitarian needs are in fragile
contexts (particularly conflict affected).
• 30% of Official Development Assistance
(ODA) is spent in fragile and conflict-
affected contexts.
• Basic governance transformations may take
20-40 years.

7. Crop
Price
Crash
Refugee
influx
Terrorist
Attack
Failed
Election
Disaster
stabilityeconomic
turnaround
economic
stagnation
aid
effort
Relief >> Recovery >>
Development
Crisis
Often Fragile contexts are described in a linear framework like this:
When in reality, fragile contexts tend to be much more
unpredictable:
UNDERSTANDING FRAGILE CONTEXTS

8. Conventional Learning and
Development
Analysis
Design
Development
Implementatio
n
Evaluation
Innovations
• Technology, LMSs,
Course authoring tools
• New delivery methods
e.g. Flipped classroom.
• Democratization of
knowledge.

9. What affects L&D in
Fragile Context?
• Fluidity and transience of staff: will they sit
through a 6 – 12 months leadership development
program?
• Urgent humanitarian needs: will there be time
for a 10 days, in-person training amidst the
humanitarian emergencies?
• Characteristics of humanitarian aid grants: do
they provide space for learning and
development?
• Subject Matter Experts: Do we have sufficient
local SMEs in Fragile contexts or do we have to
outsource? What are the pros and cons of this?

10. L&D in Fragile Context
With the context in mind, how can L&D
better adapt for sustained impact?

11. Technology &
“Quick-bites”
learning
programs
Capacity
development
pipeline not
courses
Looking
outwards
A go-to place
KM system
In-house SMEs
Capacity
development
for local staff
Innovations in WV Somalia

12. Launch of WV Somalia KM hub

13. Space for
innovation
• Macro level
• Stir conversations about L&D in Fragile
Contexts
• Inter agency collaboration in L&D
• Fragile-context sensitive funding models
that accommodate L&D
• Micro level
• SAM not ADDIE
• “Quick-bites” type of learning programs
• Engrain learning to work
• Capitalize on shared knowledge
• Identify and support the go-to places
for staff
• Reinforce key behaviours

14. Successive Approximation Model