Governance and Capacity Building
The Governance and Capacity Building Unit was established in 2000 (then Capacity Building Unit) and was developed to ensure Tanzania is a country with economic and social policies that are delivering development needs of a society and that the government, CSOs, NGO community, academic institutions, private sector and donors are effectively participating in shaping, implementing and evaluating those policies.
ESRFÕs approach to achieve this is through enhancing both the strength of institutions and that of human capacity. The Unit coordinates efforts that involve training, information/ knowledge dissemination seminars/ workshops, networking and facilitation of field/ work attachments. The main objective of this is to equip policy analysts and decision makers with analytical tools that allow them to advise senior policy makers on the formulation, implementation and evaluation of policy packages and to effectively communicate with other stakeholders.
To further economic and social policy analysis, initiatives
and approaches under the Unit include: joint research
and short-term assignments pursued together with public
servants and the private sector; work attachments
provided for both junior and senior researchers; hosting
visiting local and international scholars; and running
short courses, trainings and seminars.
(i) Policy Dialogue Seminars
These seminars provide
a forum for policy actors to influence development
policy in Tanzania. They are conducted atleast
twice a month. Discussed topics are based on
research findings from the Foundation, emerging
development issues and themes as suggested by
stakeholders.
(ii) Training Programme
The main objectives of
this programme is to Impart targeted policy
actors with knowledge on contemporary features
of government and donor policies for them to
understand consequences of these policies to
their organizations and or activities. It also
aims at providing opportunities for targeted
policy actors to discuss and make recommendations
to policy makers in Tanzania, within the African
region and international whose decision have
a bearing on different aspects of the livelihoods
of Tanzanians. The Programme employs an approach
in which individual training activities are
designed in response to training needs assessments.
Past trainees have been exposed
to new policy concepts such as Sector Wide Approaches;
Public Expenditure Reviews and Medium Term Expenditure
Frameworks Enable policy actors. In perspective,
ESRF will cover not only Tanzanian issues, but
create a comparative framework for the whole
area of the Eastern and Southern Africa, where
the need for such activities obviously exists.
(iii) Mentoring
This is done through
visiting fellowship and attachment programmes
to allow individuals to familiarize with research
techniques relevant to economic and social policy
analysis. Postgraduate and undergraduate students
from reputable international and local universities
and institutions have benefited from this programme.
The Programme offers visiting fellowships, senior
officials from government, private sector and
non governmental organizations with tools and
techniques for effective economic and social
policy analysis. Beneficiaries of the Mentoring
Programme include those from the Ministry of
Planning, Economy and Empowerment, Ministry
of Finance and other Government Departments.
(iv) Technical and Consultancy Services
The Technical and Consultancy Services involves
providing direct inputs to policy formulation,
implementation and review, via task forces and
through sector and project based consultancies.
Such work has been carried out for several
Government Ministries and donors in Tanzania;
the World Bank; Secretariat of the East African
Community, and a considerable number of International
and local non governmental organizations as well as
private sector organizations inside and outside Tanzania.
GCBU Achievements
We may not be able to measure major impact or changes
in the existing policies but based on Evaluations forms
that are filled at any training or seminar dialogue, many
of the stakeholders have appreciated being given a common
ground for development partners, policy makers, private sector,
researchers, civil society, policy analysts, academicians and
other stakeholders to discuss on key policy and development issues.
- A database of Reports from Policy dialogue seminars and other workshops which are shared with relevant stakeholders,
- Publications of various Policy Analysis Training Manuals,
- Policy briefs based on Policy dialogues,
- Various Policy Position Papers and Research reports of Visiting Fellows,
- Database of trainees on various trainings.
The CBU Strategy
- Use of collaboration, partnerships and networks local, regional and international to deliver our programmes,
- Consolidation
- Reaching out by offering out of Dar es Salaam workshops, conferences, briefings, and short courses with various sets of stakeholders in the national and international policy community.
