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OUTCOMES OF THE MEETING


8. The Working Party reviewed the first of the two main working documents, “Discussion Paper: Human Capacity Development in Fisheries” (ACFR/WP/HCB/I/2). The main outcomes of the review are the following:

Vision Statement

9. The Working Party first elaborated a Vision Statement for human capacity development in fisheries as follows:

“A society that has the ability, means and conditions to achieve the sustainable development of fisheries, at local to global levels, for the benefit of all, and to meet the targets of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) ‘Plan of Implementation’ as well as the Millennium Goals.”

10. As an overarching principle, the Working Party agreed that human capacity development is a national responsibility that should be supported by global, intergovernmental, regional and non-governmental organizations.

Definition of human capacity development

11. The Working Party modified the working definition of human capacity development provided by UNDP, 1997 as a basis for further elaboration in the revised draft Strategic Framework document as follows:

The process by which individuals, groups, organizations, institutions, and societies develop their abilities - both individually and collectively - to set and achieve objectives, perform functions, solve problems and to develop the means and conditions required to enable this process”.

12. The linkages between human capacity development and sustainable development are further elaborated in Appendix E.

13. Based on this definition, the Working Party recognized that there are two important attributes of human capacity development. Firstly, human capacity development should address at least four levels - (i) individuals (ii) organizations, (iii) sector/networks, and (iv) the broader enabling environment. Importantly, it was noted that the overall capacity is not just the sum of individual/institutional/sector capacities but also included the opportunities and incentives for people to use and extend their skills within an enabling environment. Human capacity development, therefore, takes place not just within individuals, but between them and in the institutions they create. Capacity-development initiatives must take a holistic view of the context in which individuals operate.

14. Secondly, human capacity development is a process, whereby individual development becomes embedded in a sustainable shift in performance and collective behaviour. This process includes identifying needs, building knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes that can be implemented through practice and experience of individuals that lead to sustainable changes in the collective performance of institutions, sectors, society and the enabling environment. The Working Party recognized that this is a not a simple linear process and that capacity cannot be solely developed from the outside but should be acquired over time, with external support facilitating the process. It was also recognized that this was a two-way process whereby an individual’s capacity-development needs, knowledge and experience would closely reflect the requirements of the institution - be it an organization or a household - in which they operate.

15. This means that individuals/organizations/sectors that require or request assistance should be involved in the design and evaluation of the capacity development. Because human capacity development is a process, it has to some extent, uncertain results that are not easily measurable, although it was felt that some evaluation of performance was necessary to promote continual improvement, and more work needed to be done to define success (see paragraphs 28 and 29).

Identification of current and emerging needs in human capacity development

16. As a way of organizing the many and varied needs for human capacity development as they relate to fisheries, the Working Party discussed a classification diagram as given in ACFR/WP/HCB/I/2. This consisted of 22 topics grouped under three main knowledge and skill categories - (i) fisheries science and research; (ii) fisheries sector management and (iii) societal skills. It was explained that these groupings were, in fact, part of a matrix where the four levels of recipients of human capacity development cut across the groupings.

17. In general, the Working Party felt that this was a useful analysis of future needs but also identified several areas for improvement. Firstly, the list of topics had some omissions and the participants suggested the addition of:

(i) Fisheries science and research

(ii) Fisheries sector management

(iii) Societal skills

18. The Working Party also felt that identifying the topics in three groupings tended to underemphasize the importance of the interactions between the topics. One suggestion was to link the topics to the three main objectives of the sustainable development of fisheries, viz: (i) economic growth; (ii) environmental sustainability; and (iii) social equity. Another suggestion was to link them to three interconnecting circles of (i) responsive knowledge; (ii) responsive management and (iii) responsive policy. A revised diagram is given in Appendix F.

19. The Working Party recognized that the list was very extensive and that it was necessary to prioritize these topics in any given situation. As a guide to prioritization, the Working Party modified five critical questions that needed to be addressed, as identified in the background discussion paper. The modified questions became:

Past and current approaches for human capacity development

20. Past approaches to human capacity development (in fisheries and other sectors) have tended to focus primarily on technical support through training to individuals/institutions in science, research and development, and on the institutional capacity of government recipients of aid where institutional weakness was seen to threaten overall project success. Less attention has been paid to non-sector specific skills such as management, business administration and governance.

21. A review of current development approaches suggests greater emphasis is now being placed on human capacity development in areas such as the ecosystems approach to fisheries, the sustainable livelihoods approach, poverty assessments, and on issues of governance and wider generic, non-fisheries specific knowledge and skills. Other sectors are also now concentrating more on the overall enabling environment.

22. There is a wide range of potential delivery mechanisms that can be used for human capacity development, and which can be usefully categorized into (i) face-to-face mechanisms, (ii) remote mechanisms and (iii) a mixture of the two.

23. Face-to-face mechanisms include: classroom-based training, seminars, conferences and workshops, research programmes, exchange programmes, demonstration trials, on-the-job training and mentoring. Face-to-face mechanisms tend to be a resource intensive approach but may have a high degree of success in enhancing knowledge and skills, and developing overall competency.

24. Remote mechanisms include budget/programme support, publications, manuals/training material, radio, distance-based learning, and mechanisms based on information and communication technology (ICT).

25. Almost all are being used in the fisheries sector, with increasing emphasis on remote, Internet-based approaches. However, because many of the stakeholders do not have access to the Internet, it is argued that traditional mechanisms of delivery remain vital, even if the way they are structured and delivered requires some change, especially with regards to more participation by recipients. It is increasingly recognized that mixed use of mechanisms may be appropriate, and that mechanisms may need to be delivered through partnerships of service providers.

Lessons learned

26. The Working Party considered that the following lessons had been learned from a review of previous capacity-development initiatives:

Capacity assessment





Lesson 1:

The process of human capacity development itself can add value to overall capability, as well as result in the improved performance of the individuals, groups and organizations.





Lesson 2:

Initiatives should take account of, and be tailored to, existing levels of core capacities and involve a two-way process of knowledge transfer and acquisition.





Lesson 3:

Human capacity development initiatives need to identify the individuals and organizations that will champion the process and can adopt and lead human capacity development.





Lesson 4:

There is a need for better integration of human capacity development initiatives with national planning processes, and especially between policy, management and research.


Needs analysis




Lesson 5:

Capacity development initiatives should establish an adequate level of participation in their needs assessment, design, implementation and monitoring.


Delivery




Lesson 6:

Initiatives should provide adaptive, flexible and suitable learning pathways, taking into account the individual’s work environment, lifestyle and aspirations.


Lesson 7:

Incentives and mechanisms should be provided to support recipients of human capacity development.


Sustainability




Lesson 8:

Human capacity development is a long-term process that requires continued support through national initiatives and partnerships.





Lesson 9:

Efforts should be made to retain capacity investment within the fisheries sector.





Lesson 10:

Those delivering human capacity development initiatives should themselves have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to provide human capacity development.


Enabling environment




Lesson 11:

Approaches to capacity development should take greater cognisance of the overall societal context and the political influence of supported institutions and sectors.





Lesson 12:

Approaches should ensure an adequate focus on the social, economic and environmental context in which technical solutions are being implemented.





Lesson 13:

Initiatives should capture and enable attitudinal changes and skills that are likely to result in a collective sense of purpose and progress.





Lesson 14:

Initiatives should recognize the need for an enabling environment that provides the incentive to promote the use and further development of the enhanced capacity.





Lesson 15:

One size does not fit all - planning of human capacity development should take into account the realities of the overall environment under which capacity enhancement will take place.

27. The Working Party emphasized the need for the draft Strategic Framework to reflect these lessons.

Defining “successful” human capacity development

28. The Working Party considered what constitutes “successful” human capacity development. It was first stated that this needs to be defined by a two-way process between provider and recipient, and that capacity-development objectives should be pre-defined and agreed as an essential part of the initial design process.

29. The Working Party acknowledged that the definition of successful capacity-development is difficult to define as there are different perspectives on what constitutes “success”. However for the purpose of the Strategic Framework, the Working Party felt that success could be looked at on two different levels:

- Human capacity development indicators: measures the shorter-term outputs and achievements of capacity-development. These are easy to measure (i.e. number of persons trained, publications issued, and feedback from training sessions) but have limited long-term relevance.

- Fisheries management indicators: attempts to measure the contribution of human capacity development in achieving sustainable fisheries management goals (environmental, economic and social). This might be considered the ultimate measure of successful capacity-development but may be difficult to segregate from other background influences.

Strategic Framework for Human Capacity Development in Fisheries

30. Based on the review of the Discussion Document (ACFR/WP/HCB/I/2), the Working Party reviewed and amended the Draft Strategic Framework for Human Capacity Development in Fisheries (ACFR/WP/HCB/I/3). The updated version can be found in Appendix G.

31. The Working Party agreed that the strategic framework for human capacity development is intended not only for FAO but for the use of all stakeholders.


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