CAPACITYBUILDING

Capacity building plays a central role in the work of Cartier Consult that is aimed at improving the ability of local actors to carry out local infrastructure development and service delivery. Capacity building involves simple training but also organizational strengthening and the streamlining of processes to facilitate proper management by local authorities, private sector and community organisations.

The work of Cartier Consult varies from the training of local authorities (e.g. in the use of IRAP) to private sector development (small-scale contractors), from the improvement of procurement and inspection processes of contracting agencies to organisational strengthening of community organisations. An integral approach is applied, taking into account the beneficiaries of the infrastructure or service (the community or its members), the implementors (small-scale contractors or community organisations), and the regulating or contracting agency (local authorities or community organisations). A suitable system is developed that takes into account existing regulations and processes, and looks how these can be simplified and streamlined to improve transparency and facilitate implementation. Based on the system that is developed, training is provided to the actors concerned regarding the new procedures and roles.

Capacity building and organisational strengthening

In the case of road maintenance microenterprises, a lot of capacity building and organisational strengthening is involved. First an analysis is made of existing regulations and processes, including the responsibility for the road network, procurement legislation, funding availability and use, and legislation related to the creation and operation of organizational modalities. Based on the existing regulatory context, a system is developed for the procurement, remuneration, supervision and inspection of the maintenance microenterprises. Where a suitable system cannot be developed due to regulatory obstacles, recommendations are made to amend the related policies and legislation

Generally guides for the contracting agencies as well as manuals for the small-scale contractors or community-based groups that implement the maintenance, are developed to clearly explain the new system. Training is provided regarding technical issues and general management of the system or microenterprise. Monitoring and further capacity building is provided during the initial implementation to avoid any bottlenecks.

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