What is it ‘Capacity Building’?

In a nutshell ‘Capacity building’ are activities which strengthen the knowledge, abilities, skills and behavior of individuals and improve institutional structures and processes such that the organization can efficiently meet its mission and goals in a sustainable way.

Capacity building also tries to lay out the essential organizational and institutional prerequisites for economic and social progress and is referred to as the "process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in the fast-changing world."

For CSSC Capacity building is much more than training, it includes the following:

• Human resource development, the process of equipping individuals at HQ and zonal level with the understanding, skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enables them to perform effectively.
• Organizational development, the elaboration of management structures, processes and procedures, not only within CSSC but also the management of relationships between the different members and sectors (public, private and community).
• Institutional and legal framework development, making legal and regulatory changes within the context of CSSC’s collaboration to enable the organization at all levels and in all sectors to enhance its capacity.
• Capacity Building for Member Institutions, focusing on improving financial, HR and general management skills.
• Fundraising, to diversify funding sources for CSSC and its members in order to consolidate the financial situation and strengthen own capacities
 

CSSC HRD Strategy Development, conducted between 22nd of September and 16th of October 2008
CSSC conducted recently a rapid analysis of its institutional capacity at different levels, and it became obvious, that capacity building & related development of trainings & training modules as well as a pointed HRD policy/ guideline development is needed to continue improving health service provision through CSSC.
A high personnel fluctuation & recent discussions with zonal secretaries & coordinators of CSSC suggest that CSSCs regulations towards HRD are not sufficient. A transparent HRD strategy is urgently needed, which will enable CSSC to improve quality and reliability of its present set up.
The central questions of the HRD strategy development are: 
•    How are HR presently handled and how feasible is the realization of a HRD strategy?
•    What interest has CSSC in strategically approaching HRD?
•    What would such a HRD strategy look like?
•    What would expected expenses be (input), what benefit for CSSC (output)?

It is expected that the consultancy produces a clear & substantive operations proposal for a HRD strategy, incl. a salary scheme, scheme of incentives, description of qualifications for positions needed to achieve CSSCs objectives as well as recommendations on how to sustain a qualified, high-profile HR basis on long terms.
Specific Activities

The consultants team will be expected to perform the following duties in close collaboration with CSSC assigned staff on the topic of the HRD strategy draft:
1.    Conduct a situation analysis that collects publicly available data on HRD, including information & best practices from private & public sector, with focus on FBOs, to enable a judgment of CSSCs present schemes/ regulations.
2.    Develop a set of basic criteria for measuring CSSCs’ readiness for introducing a comprehensive HRD strategy.
3.    Assess service provider characteristics & HR capacity needs & Identify key issues related to the provision of a HRD policy.
4.    Assess quality & efficiency of personnel & services against performance plans (if available).
5.    Assess staff behavior regarding advise seeking.
6.    Assess individual professional expectations from CSSC versus positions & locations.

The consultancy will produce a document that describes a tailor made CSSC HRD Strategy, including the following:
•    Country specific approaches to HRD & comparisons of HRD policies & approaches in the public, private, faith based sector
•    Quality of HR: implications of quality variations, costs of alternative quality assurance systems (incentives)
•    CSSCs answer to the present HR emergency
•    A HRD budget (- 2013)
•    Recommendations