Executive Summary
The Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA) was planned, organized and conducted under the auspices of the USAID-funded Uganda Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) CORE Initiatives Project. The Project is implemented by a partnership made up of Care Uganda (lead), International HIV/AIDS Alliance (IHAA), International Centre for Research on Women (IWRC), and the Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Led by IHAA, the assessment was conducted from August to December 2005 nationwide, using a team of 12 persons.
The purpose of the assessment was to determine MGLSD and district management and operational capacity needs in providing leadership and coordination, and monitoring and evaluating the national response to OVC and AB/Y. The findings from the assessment were to form the basis for developing a capacity building plan for MGLSD and districts.
The methodology involved the use of a modified competency profiling tool to collect data from offices directly related to OVC and AB/Y in the MGLSD and districts. A guided questionnaire was used to interview other key respondents (who were not targeted for competency profiling) from the MGLSD, other ministries, bilateral and multilateral agencies, NGOs, CBOs, and local government organisations. An institution/organisation development measurement tool was developed and used to provide baseline data on planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, communication and advocacy, and grants management related to OVC and AB/Y. The same tool will be used to measure achievement of the capacity building initiative in the same areas. To measure the existing capacity in the five areas, two broad categories of variables were used: core competencies; and systems/procedures/tools. The existing level for each competence and functionality of the systems, procedures and tools were determined. A composite scoring mechanism was developed (basing on the two variable) to measure the overall institutional development (I/D) at MGLSD and district levels.
As can be expected, the findings revealed various levels of human and organizational capacity, and a mix of strengths and weaknesses in the various capacity areas, both within the MGLSD and the districts. The following summarises the key findings.
In addition to addressing the foregoing findings, the assessment team also made recommendations on key systems, procedures and tools as well as core competencies to develop at both national and district levels.
