1. Introduction

CAPACITY 2015 is a global partnership mechanism assisting countries to develop the capacity of their professionals, institutions, and systems to formulate and implement strategies for sustainable development to achieve local, national and international development goals. It will work with developing and transitional countries to build and develop their capacity for sustainable development based on proven successes 1.

Capacity Development Challenges in Africa
The magnitude of the Africa’s development problems is illustrated by how difficult it has been for African countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Although some countries have successfully made progress towards these goals, only ten were on track to meet half or more of the goals during the 1990s, and in aggregate, less than 10 percent of target was met for most goals by 2000, even though the objective was to have achieved 40 percent.

2. The Strategic Framework for Capacity 2015 Africa

Capacity 2015 Africa will contribute to sustainable development in the region by strengthening the requisite capacities for transforming Africa to enable it to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Capacity 2015 Africa is premised on several key considerations. Achieving sustainable development will require the emergence of local leaders with the skills and knowledge to approach development in an integrated manner, and who can promote ownership of and participation in their development processes. Making decentralization work for the poor through enabling local economies will allow them to thrive in a rapidly developing global economy. Forging partnerships and networks to provide a conducive environment for access to knowledge will make it possible to empower local communities and governments, and help them benefit from globalization. Developing capacities for integrated approaches and participatory approaches to development is key for societal transformation. A relationship with New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is essential for high-level political support for the implementation of Capacity 2015, which will engender ownership of the programme in Africa. Partnerships can also be forged with Africans in the Diaspora to ensure sustainability of the initiative.

The Programme Components

Strengthening local economies
For local communities to derive maximum benefits from improved local governance, they must maximize their economic potential and have access to improved services. Capacity 2015 Africa will promote and strengthen efforts to diversify local economies; facilitate the review and adjustment of national institutions and policies to minimize possible adverse effects on local economies; support safety nets that reduce vulnerabilities to economic and environmental shocks; and, facilitate market access. Other areas of support will include giving local communities improved access finance and other forms of capital, and to information that will enhance their capacity to capitalize on emerging economic opportunities. In addition, Capacity 2015 Africa will help to create or strengthen financial instruments, will provide small business advisory services and business information centers through locally based IT mechanisms, and generally will encourage entrepreneurial capacities.

Strengthening human resources and reversing the "brain drain" Capacity 2015 Africa's support for human resource development will directly promote two of the three thematic areas of focus in NEPAD's strategy for strengthening the human resource base of Africa for poverty reduction and sustainable development. The key tenets are bridging the education gap; supporting development of incentives to reverse the brain drain; and, promoting public private partnerships to retain national capacity.

Human resource development under Capacity 2015 Africa will be directly linked to the main sources of livelihood for Africa's rural-based majority -- agriculture and natural resource management. The goal will be to link agricultural research and training to policy and to stakeholders and producers so as to improve food security and gain and improve market shares for African products in global markets. Furthermore, this component will also nurture young leaders who have a commitment to rural development and whose leadership will help their communities make use of the opportunities offered by globalization. Nurturing young local leaders is also important given the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Enabling policy and strategic frameworks for sustainable development A key component of this strategic thrust is the upscaling of the participatory approaches to development that were piloted in Capacity 21. This will include strengthening capacities for implementing national strategies for sustainable development especially at the local level. The initiative will also pay particular attention to capacity development pertaining to gender issues not only in local decision systems and institutional mechanisms, but also in national policy formulation processes, such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and macro-economic planning. This component will also support efforts to enhance the gains from MEAs to Africa, partly through bringing them to the local level and enhancing synergistic outcomes for the people.

Two cross-cutting themes will underpin the strategic thrusts and serve as integrating themes for the programme:

Nurturing local leadership
Support will be provided for improving the skills of local leaders in the planning of local development activities, in participatory techniques, in conflict resolution, in negotiations and in helping them acquire a broad understanding of how governments function and policy is made. Particular attention will be given to creating and nurturing leadership among women and other marginalized groups.

The initiative will promote investment in social capital development that enhances the engagement, participation, and understanding of people and their ability to influence their circumstances. In particular, communities will be empowered through leadership training, developing their organizational skills, enhancing networking capability, and; improving their access to information. Exchange visits between communities will be encouraged to facilitate learning from each other and to develop an effective voice to address local ownership and governance issues. Emphasis will be placed on capacity development activities for linking local institutions into the national structures. For this component, a special partnership will be forged with UNDP's HIV/AIDS group to undertake transformational leadership programmes at the local level.

Learning, Knowledge Networking, and Advocacy
The programme will seek to create a learning platform that links, BDP, UNDP Africa, Country offices and programme countries within an integrated system using both electronic and traditional means. Similar learning platforms could also be envisaged at the grassroots in partnership with CBO's, NGO's, bilateral organizations and other agencies. Networking will also be done through the establishment of regional centers of excellence (from existing regional and sub-regional institutions), which will function as "incubators" for innovative approaches. These centers can serve a mechanism for integration between research, advocacy and extension and across disciplines, across levels and across agencies. It is also specifically aimed at creating incentives to retain expertise within Africa. It would address all three of the Capacity 2015 Africa thematic programme components and could provide a catalyst for more participatory and integrated national development programmes through; a) exploring mechanisms for providing incentives for the retention of capacity; b) encouraging experimentation and new ideas on both niche and broader development initiatives; c) widening the information and learning support network and entrenching linkages between academia, policy-makers, technocrats and resource users at national and regional level.

3. Programme Implementation

Partnerships
Capacity 2015 will be implemented in Africa by developing active partnerships, supporting networking and the exchange of ideas, and by actively engaging in programmes and projects which encourage the development, retention and extension of existing capacity. It will use the process to support initiatives which promote both capacity development and projects which increase incomes and which link local communities to the global economy.

Consideration will be given to setting up mechanisms, such as a "Partnership Forum" to encourage regular dialogue and exchanges between the programme and its institutional partners on respective experiences on capacity development and on emerging issues.

Country and Regional support
The programme will have both country and regional activities. Countries will be clustered based on the similarities in their economic, social and environmental conditions, and according to well-defined criteria, most of which have been outlined in the recommendations of the Capacity 21 global evaluation. All countries will however benefit from learning experiences and trans-boundary activities.

Programme Timeframe
Capacity 2015 is a 12 to 13 year programme and will therefore be implemented in three phases: First phase 2003 - 2004 (start-up phase); second phase 2005-2010; third phase 2011 - 2015. Phase 1, which is two years, will be essentially devoted to intense programme preparations to ensure comprehensive national dialogues on priorities and fostering ownership, consolidating and rephrasing existing Capacity 21 programmes, and initiating programme implementation. This will ensure a right footing for the programme -substantive content, country ownership, institutional and management arrangements. This phase will also focus on partnership building and resource mobilization. Phase two will focus mainly on implementation, and phase three on the implementation of an exit strategy.

Monitoring and evaluation
The monitoring system to be elaborated will take two key issues into account. First the need for accountability, and second, using a participatory monitoring and evaluation strategy as a mechanism for community empowerment. The strategy will also (a) be keyed to monitoring sustainable development based on MDGs and WSSD outcomes, (b) apply enhanced utilization of monitoring information in improving management of the initiative, (c) seek to develop the programme monitoring capacities of partner countries.

4. Institutional Mechanisms

The institutional arrangements also aimed at promoting ownership through the use of:

• Champions who will provide oversight for implementation, and assist with resource mobilization
• Key stakeholders who have a vested interest
• Institutions that can play a lead role in implementation and who will ensure continuity
• Donors who can provide funding

Management Arrangements
The programme will put in place three levels of oversight arrangements keyed to regional, thematic and national considerations. At the regional level, a Regional Programme Coordinating Committee (RPCC) that will be responsible for the policy and strategic direction of the entire programme will coordinate the programme. At the thematic level, there will be three Regional Steering Committees responsible for providing management guidance to national structures implementing the three thematic programmes. At the national level, the programme will be operationalized through existing national structures for implementing components of the initiative, where they exist. National programme structures will include representatives of the national MDG Groups being currently operationalized.

Links with regional initiatives
The programme will develop implementation links with the regional economic commissions, capacity building initiatives, research institutions, Africa-specific on-going sustainable development initiatives or new initiatives coming out of the WSSD, and global WSSD initiatives. The programme will work closely with the UNDP Policy Advisors in the three SURFs in Africa who will be an integral part of the implementation teams.

5. Resource Mobilization

Elements of the resource mobilization strategy include:

• Core resources used as seed money to leverage non-core resources at the National level
• Cost-Sharing with bilateral donors for programme interventions
• Partnership with foundations and the private sector
• Cost sharing with the UNDP Thematic trust funds

Footnotes
1. Capacity 2015 builds on the lessons learned through UNDP's extensive capacity development experience including Capacity 21, Local Initiative Facility for the Urban Environment, Public Private Partnerships for the Urban Environment and the Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme. For further background on these programmes please consult www.undp.org