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Background

Capacity is defined as the skills, knowledge, financial and physical resources required by an organization to effectively fulfill its mission. Capacity building is defined as the conscious efforts aimed at improving of all the above components.

Uganda Land Alliance views capacity building for ULA staff and partners as an essential activity aimed not only at enhancing their potential to deliver on their mandate, but update them on new trends and tactics on land rights, particularly on the part of members.

ULA is committed to enhancing the achievements of the organizational goals and objectives by shaping and developing the staff and partners’ capabilities in order to keep with the Alliances’ strategic direction/ plan and it’s on this basis that the capacity building department was established.

Mission of the capacity building department

To develop, implement and monitor policies, systems and procedures for curriculum development and capacity that are responsive to the changing capacity needs of the staff and partners in line with the organizational mission.

The key result areas of the department include:

1. Developing a framework for strategic partnership and networks with key actors /stakeholders to enhance their participation in the curriculum process and capacity programmes in line with the organization’s mission.
2. Design tools and procedures for conducting capacity building needs assessment in line with the department mission.
3. Develop tools and procedures for designing standardized strategic themes, instructional materials and methods for curriculum development and capacity building programmes.
4. Develop and monitor the implementation of guidelines for delivering or administering capacity building interventions basing on the organization curriculum, and capacity building needs analysis.
5. Develop and monitor the implementation of the capacity building work plans and budgets in line with the financial guidelines and organization’s mission.
6. Prepare curriculum development and capacity building fundable grant proposals in collaboration with other members of the organization in line with the organization’s mission and donor guidelines.
7. Develop, appraise, train, mentor and coach staff in accordance with the human resources manual and other policies in the organization.
8. Develop systems and guidelines for evaluating the capacity building programmes in line with the organization’s strategic objectives.
9. Monitor the implementation of capacity building programmes for various stakeholders at all levels; National, regional and district levels based on the capacity building needs assessment in line with the department mission.
10. Review and monitor the implementation of guidelines for evaluating the capacity building programmes in line with the department mission.

Specific Objectives

• To equip the staff and the partners with skills that will enable them perform their roles better.

• To build the capacity of the staff and the partners to enable them build their personal and professional capacity to benefit themselves and the organizations.

• To enhance the staff and partners skills and knowledge based on a clear understanding of the objectives and mandates of the Alliance so as to improve on the performance.

Strategies being used in the department include:

a) Developing tools and identifying capacity building needs:

The staff and the members’ capacity building needs are identified through filling needs assessment forms.  The forms enable the staff and the members to identify their capacity building needs in relation to their work and other issues related to their personal and organizational development that need enhancement.

b) Identifying resource persons to facilitate in the capacity building programmes:

Facilitators to conduct the staff and members’ trainings are drawn from both within the Alliance and outside the organization. Experts with diverse professions are identified to take on the training assignments in given planned periods.

The trainings conducted take diverse approaches which include the following.

c)      Staff in-house trainings:

This involves identifying key resource persons to enhance the staff skills that enable them improve on their day to day operations. All the in-house trainings are based on the identified capacity needs by the staff themselves. Staffs are mostly encouraged to prepare presentations based on their best experiences as a way to share knowledge.

d) Members’ capacity building:

This involves building the capacity of the partners based on the needs assessments that are identified by the partners.

e)      Short Courses:

ULA initiated a programme where staff members are facilitated to attend short courses from nearby institutions to enhance their knowledge and expertise in areas related to their departments.  However the sustainability of this initiative is heavily dependent on availability of funds

f)       Seminars / Workshops:

ULA also organizes periodic seminars and workshops that serve as learning events where new policy initiatives are presented and deliberated upon.. Considering that Land matters are cross cutting, we often encourage partners from various walks of life to participate in these arrangements not only to share their own experiences, but also to benefit from others.

g)    Members Forums:

These are strategic meetings provide members opportunity peer opportunity to share lessons and experiences on land and other issues depending on their mandates For each Forum, selected members are requested to make presentations based on their mandates and also basing on the current issues that are going on in the country especially those that are related to the land sector.

Further, the members also share their experiences based on the activities accomplished in a given period. In the same forums the members’ skills and knowledge are enhanced and the secretariat identifies resource persons who build the capacities of the partners in land and property rights and other organizational development concepts that are deemed relevant to the operations and mandates of the members, hence enabling them to improve on their performance.

The topics that have been handled since the programme was introduced:

Some of the topics handled  include; Land law, Human rights, Advocacy analysis and monitoring, HIV and AIDS  and its mainstreaming in the organization’s programmes / activities, climate change and its impact on land, teams and team building, message /information education and information development, concept note development, financial management, budgeting and budget control Networks and networking.

If you are interested in participating in some of our seminars/workshops/trainings, please send us an E-mail on mmpalanyi@ulaug.org and we’ll send you updates and requirements for participation.