Ethio-CoP-MfDR-Concept Note June 2010 Version 2nd Draft[1]

8/2/2019 Ethio-CoP-MfDR-Concept Note June 2010 Version 2nd Draft[1]

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Ethiopian Community ofPractice on Managing for

Development Results(Ethio-CoP-MfDR)

(Concept Note)

By: Tamirat Yacob1

1 Planning and Research Expert, Development Planning and Research Directorate, Ministryof Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia; African Community of Practice on

Managing for Development Results (AfCoP-MfDR) Co-founder and Internal ManagementMonitoring and Evaluation Team Leader.The opinions expressed are the authors and do notnecessarily reflect those of the Ethiopian Ministry or the AfCoP-MfDR.


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June, 2010

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


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1. Origin and Concepts of Managing for Development Results(MfDR)

The 2004 Marrakech memorandum states that to steer the developmentprocess toward the goals they have defined, countries need stronger

capacity for strategic planning, accountability in management, statistics,monitoring, and evaluation. In addition, the 2005 Paris Declaration (PD)rightly indicated that the capacity to plan, manage, implement, andaccount for results of policies and programmes, is critical for achievingdevelopment objectives from analysis and dialogue throughimplementation, monitoring and evaluation. Accordingly, one of the keymessages from PD is the principle of Managing for Development Results.

Managing for Development Results (MfDR) means focusing on developmentperformance and on sustainable improvements in countries outcomes.2

The basic and founding principles of MfDR, agreed upon during the SecondRoundtable on Managing for Results in 2004, are: focusing the dialogueon results at all phases of the development process; aligning

programming, monitoring and evaluation with results; keepingmeasurement and reporting simple; managing for, not by, results;and, using results information for learning and decision making3.

MfDR is multidimensional, relating back to concepts on how to makeinternational development more effective and results-oriented and topractical performance management tools. MfDR builds on several years of

work by public sector institutions and development agencies, and reflectsan emerging global consensus on the importance of performancemeasurement in international development. These agreed foundingprinciples of MfDR and the experience partner countries have had called forknowledge and experience sharing community of practices on MfDR inAfrica (AfCoP-MfDR), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC-CoP-MfDR) andAsia Pacific Region (AsCoP-MfDR), respectively. The African regionalplatform, AfCoP-MfDR, established in 2007 and made up of over 1,000members from more than 37 African countries, has a mission to buildAfrican capacity to manage for development results through sharingexperiences, networking, and building strong learning relationships

2 2nd Annual General Meeting Summary report of the AfCoP-MfDR, 20083 Emerging Good Practices on MfDR, First Issue, OECD & the WB, 2006


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between practitioners in Africa and around the world. Members of theAfCoP-MfDR strive to make their organizations more effective andaccountable to ensure that the lives of their fellow citizens are improved.AfCoP members work for African governments, civil society, academia, theprivate sector, and as independent results experts in the field. AfCoP

members praise the role of this community in their daily work. The AfCoPbrings concrete culture changes in members organizations. As a result inthe 2010 annual survey, 85.4 % of members indicated that the communitywas a useful and relevant resource and tool in achieving developmentresults. To date, more than 604 subjects such as the following have beendiscussed online and during face-to-face meetings: Basics of Managing forDevelopment Results (MfDR); Linking National Policy with the Budget; and,Challenges & Solutions to Creating an MfDR Culture in Africa.

1.1Why is MfDR so important at this time?

Overall, MfDR is important right now because the internationaldevelopment community needs:

1. A common performance management approach to facilitatecollaboration;

2. A common language and set of concepts and terms to use whendiscussing development performance and progress toward outcomes;

3. A practical approach to achieving development outcomes that builds onconcrete lessons learned; and,

4. Better approaches to creating management efficiencies in theinternational development process MfDR is not prescriptive and does notconflict with other approaches to results management or public sectorperformance management already in use around the world. Rather, itprovides general principles and strategies that countries and developmentagencies can use to improve what they are already doing.

4 AfCoP-MfDR Information Document, 2010


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2. Ethiopia in the MfDR Agenda: Regional and InternationalExperience

Ethiopia is one of the signatories of the Paris Declaration on Aid

Effectiveness (2005), and showed that the Government of Ethiopia is willingand committed to work on Aid effectiveness in collaboration with thedevelopment partners and hence promote Managing for Results. In regionalactivities, Ethiopia is one of the founding members and active participantsin the African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results(AfCoP-MfDR), and was able to attend all the annual meetings. This countryhas been a beneficiary of the opportunity to learn and share knowledge andemerging good practices and experience at the country and regional level.As Ethiopia has been able to mainstream the MfDR principles in thedevelopment process, it has been recognized as one of the countries withemerging good practice on Monitoring and Evaluation and integratingPRSPs and MDGs in the Planning process where it has won a marketplace ofideas poster competition in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2007. Moreover, inmainstreaming the MfDR principles the institutionalized Aid ManagementPlatform (AMP) to align development partners and mobilize foreignresources has been selected as an emerging good practice and publishedon the 3rd Issue of Global Source Book Emerging Good Practices onManaging for Development Results5 in 2008; and, has been recognized asone of the most advanced countries in Statistical development work, where,for instance, the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics citedas an emerging good practice and selected for publication for the first ever

AfCoP Casebook on MfDR in 2010.

3. Why a Community of Practice in Ethiopia - A National Chapter?

Box 1: Definition: What is a CoP?

Community of Practice (CoP)6: a group of people who share an interest,a craft, and/or a profession. The group can evolve naturally because ofthe members' common interest in a particular domain or area, or it canbe created specifically with the goal of gaining knowledge related totheir field. It is through the process of sharing information andexperiences with the group that the members learn from each other,and have an opportunity to develop themselves personally andprofessionally7. CoPs can exist online, such as within discussion boardsand newsgroups, or in real life, such as in a lunchroom at work, in afield setting, on a factory floor, or elsewhere in the environment.Because knowledge management is seen "primarily as a problem ofcapturing, organizing, and retrieving information, evoking notions ofdatabases, documents, query languages, and data mining", thecommunity of practice, collectively and individually, is considered a

5

A Publication of the OECD and the World Bank6 According to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger,7 Lave & Wenger 1991


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rich potential source of helpful information in the form of actualexperiences; in other words, best practices.

Even though great work has been done so far and great results achieved incountry and at both the regional and international level, a great amount of

work remains to be done with respect to promoting emerging good andattested practices we have in Planning, Budgeting, Statistics, Monitoringand Evaluation, Sector developments programs, etc. Intra and interministries, agencies, departments and division sharing of knowledge andemerging good practices should be harnessed and utilized efficiently sothat the learning and the business process re-engineering we have startedat the country level and mainstreaming of the MfDR become moresuccessful and bring results to the ground and benefit the citizens. Theinter and intra linkage of development experts and practitioners around acommon interest and development agenda also plays a great role in

facilitating and sustaining the economic, social and political growth of thecountry. In addition, it helps the knowledge and information flow in a moreadvanced and more professional way through expert led dialogues anddebates.

More specifically, through participation in the community, membersestablish norms and build collaborative relationships-mutual engagement.Through their interactions, they create a shared understanding of whatbinds them together. And, as part of its practice, the community produces aset of communal resource: a shared repertoire.

As we know, strong community fosters interactions and encourages awillingness to share ideas. Besides, a domain of knowledge createscommon ground, inspires members to participate, guides their learning andgives meaning to their actions. And in the community of practice, like ours,our specific focus around which the community develops would beManaging for Development Results, shares and maintains its core ofknowledge. Wenger 2004, states that there is a benefit from sharedknowledge that may lead to higher productivity and it is a means tocapturing the tacit knowledge (knowing how), which is not so clearlyarticulated. Having a community of practice in Ethiopia helps to improveorganizational/institutional performance by:

Decreasing the learning curve of new employees;

Responding more rapidly to customer needs and inquiries;

Reducing rework and preventing "reinvention of the wheel"; and ,

Spawning new ideas for products and services.

These principles and objectives demand the existence of a platform called aCommunity of Practice (CoP) on managing for development results at thenational level (national chapter) where we solve our challenges together,share knowledge and create an easy information flow among ourselves;contribute to the five year Growth and Transformation Plan of the

country by providing insightful solutions to challenges duringimplementation; bring in experts to the platform to share their experiences
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledge


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and transfer knowledge, in addition to promote the countrys work at theregional and international development and Aid Effectiveness agenda.These and the potential value added of national CoPs as a unique networkcould help overcome the MfDR challenges at country level throughenhancing a results culture, promoting leadership, strengthening country

systems and supporting Paris declaration and Accra agenda for actionimplementation process. It also helps the country play, participate in thedialogue, learn and share experiences in the issues of South-SouthCooperation (SSC) and Capacity Development (CD).

Accordingly, the purpose of the Ethio-CoP-MfDR, as discussed above, is toprovide a way for practitioners to share tips and best practices, askquestions of their colleagues, and provide support for each other.

4. Objectives and Aims of the Ethio-CoP-MfDR:

As a community of practice is often organically created, the Ethio-CoP-MfDRhas the following objectives and aims:

The Ethio-CoP-MfDR would be associated with finding, sharing,transferring, and archiving knowledge (local and international bestpractice in the field), as well as making explicit "expertise", or tacitknowledge (knowing how) on MfDR and related thematic areas;

Facilitate and contribute to ongoing the mainstreaming of the MfDRagenda for better results and successful implementation of the fiveyear Growth and Transformation plan and the upcomingsuccessive development plans;

Combining all the key players in the country development process(representatives of Government, Parliament, Civil society, Academia,and Private sector), and for lobbying and advocating governmentsand donors

Bring together and promote expertise networking amongdevelopment practitioners and actors;

Facilitate job flow and hence help experts to save time8 by conferringwith members of the CoP. Therefore, Ethio-CoP-MfDR would help themembers bridge the gap between knowing whatand knowing how9.

Help individuals and groups to share valuable organizational insights,to reduce redundant work, to avoid reinventing the wheel per se, toreduce training time for new employees, to retain intellectual capitalas employees turnover in an organization, and to adapt to changingenvironments and markets;

Create training and capacity development opportunities for membersof the community in collaboration with development partners andother stakeholders;

8 Studies have shown that workers spend a third of their time looking for information and

are five times more likely to turn to a co-worker rather than an explicit source ofinformation (book, manual, or database) ; Davenport & Prusak 20009 Duguid 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnover_(employment)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnover_(employment)


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Link with the AfCoP-MfDR and other networks of MfDR practitioners,policymakers and researchers within Africa, and with the larger globalCoP-MfDR network already expanding in Asia-Pacific, Latin America,and the rest of the world. There are many common lessons andprinciples in MfDR that when shared can provide insights and

direction for its implementation and we can also share our emerginggood practices.

5. Membership profile of the Ethio-CoP-MfDR:

The proposed Community aims to identify key players in the promotion ofdevelopment results in Ethiopia more effectively. This includes practitionersfrom Government line ministries; Parliamentarians; the Private Sector;Development partners; civil society and non-governmental organizations;Academia, research institutions and professional networks/ associations.And it basically draws experts in from strategic positions, policymakers,development planners, monitoring and evaluation specialists, researchers,development consultants, and others relating to improving management ofpublic resources including the development partner community. As CoPmembership changes and members may take on new roles within thecommunity as interests and needs arise. It is worthy to bear in mind thatmembership is dependent on expertise - one should have at least somerecent experience performing in the role or subject area of the CoPsactivities and it shall target those who will make meaningful contribution inthe enhancement of development results in the country. Members areencouraged to be member of the regional platform the AfCoP-MfDR. The

Ethio-CoP will exist as long as the members believe they have something tocontribute to it, or gain from it.

6. Structure and Composition of the Ethio-CoP-MfDR

The following suggested Ethio-CoP-MfDR structure is not meant to imposea fixed structure but to allow the community to develop as it grows anddesigned to ensure that the community would evolve and accommodatetimely changes as deemed necessary.


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Figure 1: Structure and Composition of the Ethio-CoP-MfDR

7. Governance Structure of the Ethio-CoP-MfDR

The proposed governance structure shall for the time being, borrow heavilyfrom the AfCoP structure. Members of the Core Management Team (CMT)who will be drawn from the Public Sector, the Private Sector andrepresentatives from the development partners community active indevelopment work will spearhead the process of establishing the Ethio-CoP-MfDR in Ethiopia.

The Ethio-CoP shall for all intent and purposes work as an affiliate of theAfCoP-MfDR. It is envisioned that a one day workshop convened forrepresentatives from the different thematic/membership areas will be usedto formally launch the Ethio-CoP-MfDR process in Ethiopia.

The running of the community shall be vested in a Core Management Team(CMT) whose members shall be drawn from the differentthematic/membership areas. There shall be representation on the CMT fromeach of the locally identified development sectors. The CMT shall maintainconstant collaboration with all development partners; and developmentpartners may attend CMT meetings. There shall be annual meetings of

Ethio-CoP-MfDR bringing together all signed up and potential members todiscuss progress and issues related to MfDR in Ethiopia.

Parliamentari

ans/members

of Standing

Committee/

Academia, research

institutions &

Professional

networks/

associations

Civil

Society/Youth,

women etc

associations

Development

Partners

The Private

Sector

Sector

Ministries

and Agencies

Ethio-CoP-

MfDR

Secretaria

t


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The work of Ethio-CoP-MfDR shall be divided into operational thematicareas, and CMT members shall be assigned to manage the implementationof planned activities for each thematic area. The following is a guide as tothe issues of focus for the thematic areas:

Policy, Planning and Budgeting (including Public FinanceManagement)

Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation

Capacity Development

Accountability and partnership/ parliamentarians and civil societyrepresentatives/

Private Sector Development/Banking, Trade Unions, MFIs, includingthe role of public-private partnership and Collaborations/

Knowledge sharing and networking with AfCoP and other country-CoPs

Fundraising for Ethio-CoP-MfDR Monitoring and Evaluation/Internal M&E/ of Ethio-CoP-MfDR activities

Annual plans shall be developed around agreed and selected thematicareas; progress on implementation shall be reported on a regular andannual basis. The annual meetings shall include training sessions on newdevelopments on MfDR, panel discussions and presentation of papers.

8. How the Ethio-CoP works

The Ethio-CoP-MfDR network will work through e-discussions/via e-mailexchanges, using the existing AfCoP-MfDR platform website www.afcop-mfdr.org, and creating blogs and links on available websites of lineministries and agencies/, dissemination of materials online, one-on-onementorship and face to face dialogue. However, more emphasis will begiven to face-to-face events as much as the availability of resources allows.The online network will provide a forum for MfDR practitioners to shareknowledge, express concerns, exchange opinions, solicit insights, anddevelop practical solutions on MfDR in a timely and cost-effective manner,while focusing on practical problem-solving and hands-on use of resultsmanagement techniques. And the Ethio-CoP-MfDR platform welcomes and

allows different levels of participation10

:

1) The Core group who participate intensely in the community throughdiscussions and projects. This group typically takes on leadership roles inguiding the group;2) The Active group who attend and participate regularly, but not to thelevel of the leaders; and, 3) The Peripheral group who, while they arepassive participants in the community, still learn from their level ofinvolvement.

10 Adapted from Wenger, 2002
http://www.afcop-mfdr.org/http://www.afcop-mfdr.org/http://www.afcop-mfdr.org/http://www.afcop-mfdr.org/


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Depending on the structure, non-Ethio-CoP-MfDR members may haveaccess to reading the discussions and accessing other materials of thecommunity rather than contributing to the discussion.

9. Conclusion and the Way forward

Managing for Development Results is not a new concept and has beenpracticed in Ethiopia for long. The experiences we have in planning,budgeting, statistics, results-based monitoring and evaluation systems andother results-oriented activities are immense. Different initiatives andreforms have been undertaken by the government and the idea of resultsbased management and performance based management, which are MfDRconcepts, are taking the center stage and getting the emphasis it deservesin the countrys development work recently and it is high time citizens areclamouring for results and there is a strong political will and championshipfor the enhancement of transparency and accountability in the delivery ofpublic services in the country. The Business Process re-engineering is onegood example of that. Besides, the need for knowledge sharing andlearning from emerging good practices and are recognized as a way tofacilitate and fasten the development process in the country. In light of thatthe Ethio-CoP-MfDR envisages to take part in these efforts and play its rolein facilitating and deep-rooting the results agenda at all level. In addition, itwould emphasize the need for a greater shift of orientation from thetraditional implementation-focused monitoring of development to a moreresults-based monitoring and evaluation thinking in terms of the mostdesired effects expected from policies, programmes and projects known as

outcomes and impacts.

As the success of the Ethio-CoP-MfDR depends on its purpose andobjectives as well as the interests and resources of the members, themembers and the secretariatwill take the following actions to cultivate theCoP and insure its sustainability and continuity.

1. The community will be allowed to evolve naturally: as thenature of a CoP is dynamic, in that the interests, goals, and membersare subject to change, the forum(s) will be designed to support shiftsin focus.

2. Opportunities will be created for open dialog within and withoutside perspectives: while the members and their knowledge arethe CoPs most valuable resource, it is also beneficial to look outsideof the CoP to understand the different possibilities for achieving thelearning goals.

3. Both public and private community spaces will be developed:while it typically operates in public spaces where all members share,discuss and explore ideas, it will also offer private exchanges.Different members of the CoP could coordinate relationships amongmembers in an individualized approach based on specific needs.


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4. Major focus will be on the value of the community: because itcreates opportunities for participants to explicitly discuss the valueand productivity of their participation in the group.

5. The Community will combine familiarity and excitement: itwould offer the expected learning opportunities as it is part of its

structure (See Section 4 above), and opportunities for members toshape their learning experience together by brainstorming andexamining the conventional and radical wisdom related to their topic.

6. Finding and nurturing the regular rhythm for the CoP: theEthio-CoP would coordinate a thriving cycle of activities and eventsthat allow for the members to regularly meet, reflect, and evolve. Andhence, the rhythm, or pace, would maintain an anticipated level ofengagement to sustain the vibrancy of the community.

Ethio-CoP-MfDR-Concept Note June 2010 Version 2nd Draft[1]

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