Nepal Center for Development Practice (CDEP)
What is CDEP ?
Nepal Centre for Development Practice (CDEP) is a private initiative to help capacity growth of NGOs and other Stakeholders so that they can contribute positively towards building a healthy civil society.
Why Capacity Building?
Over the past 5 decades, Nepal pursued a development strategy founded on the belief that underdevelopment could be addressed by filling the technological and financial gaps present in underdeveloped societies. These gaps are indeed significant, but in the long term, it is the ability to use these resources productively and to sustain it over a period of time is essential for development. After years of experience in various developing countries, it is now felt that building local capacities for social change and development, rather than merely transferring resources, is the key to development. Changing attitude and behavior, articulating vision and developing commitment to achieve that vision, is what has come to the agenda of the day. CDEP wants to contribute to the social change in Nepal by strengthening local institutions. For us, capacity building is not merely a tool for improving the performance of local organizations, but part of a new strategy concerned with wider processes of institutional development.
Capacity is a multi-dimensional and complex attribute. In a simple sense, it covers the totality of organized efforts of an organization to fulfill its mission. Therefore, the key issue is the elaboration of the identity of the NGO in relation to the Mission and purpose. In contrast with this generally accepted definition of capacity, most NGO capacity building interventions in Nepal are driven by the Mission and purpose of Donors and INGOs, not local NGOs. Donors and INGOs want to see quick results, and hence they provide technical skills to NGOs to improve their performance, as a result of which, organizational dimensions of NGO capacity is often overlooked. NGOs also think that organizational and managerial capacity will develop automatically as they proceed with donor funded projects. If organizational growth and change are to be managed successfully, they need to be planned. This is particularly true for young NGOs who are experiencing exponential growth and are facing donor expectations of improved performance.
The lessons of development efforts in Nepal and elsewhere have shown that Partners not Projects should be the motto of INGOs and Donors. Making partners more effective institutions should be the focus of external agencies than short-term achievements. INGOs should work to create conditions for equitable development rather than working to eliminate the symptoms of poverty through direct implementation. INGOs and Donors, willingly or unwillingly, are taking the lead role in Nepal's development, which has only created dependency. What they need to do is facilitate the local actors, help them to plan and help implement that plan with resources and advice.
The government accepted NGOs as partners in development since the period of inception of the 8th Plan. But, so far, no serious thinking is going on how to strengthen NGO sector in the country. Just providing policy space is not enough for the empowerment of NGOs. Government in cooperation with donors and INGOs need to provide capacity building services and resource support, so that more than 40,000 NGOs (a formidable resource!) of the country can really make a difference in the lives of the people in the country. The Government and Donors have been shown to use double standards when the issue of capacity building arises. The Government, with the help of Donors, sends hundreds of government officers and bureaucrats to foreign universities each year for study with paid leave and scholarships, and thus spends thousands of dollars per person. At the same time, they hesitate to spend even ten dollars per capita for the capacity building of the cadres of civil society. NGOs need to question this unfair and discriminatory practice.
NGOs however, should not be complacent and should not forget the fact that no external agency can be relied upon to build their capacity if they don't take the initiative. Commitment and motivation of NGO for self-change is the foundation from which the process of capacity building can move forward. A reluctant NGO is unlikely to make genuine efforts to identify and acknowledge its weaknesses and have the resolve to undergo an often-difficult process of change. Therefore NGOs need to reflect their past experience on capacity building, and make it a major agenda for dialogue with government and donors, rather than "begging" for funds. The simple truth is this: No country has ever developed solely on the basis of external funding, and Nepal cannot be an exception.
Vision
Individuals, Organizations and their Networks are capable to articulate their vision and achieve them.
Mission
Making a difference towards social development in Nepal through capacity building
Objectives
1- Capacity building and institutional development
2- Study and Research on issues of capacity building and empowerment
3- Documentation of Learning and sharing among stakeholders in Nepal and South Asia.
Activities of CDEP
1- Training on Capacity Building
- Understanding development and capacity building
- Organisational Assessment of NGOs
- Awareness Building (Self Assessment, stakeholder Analysis, social analysis, Gender and Development)
- Strategic Planning (Organisational Vision, Mission and Strategy)
- Planning (Goals, Objectives, Action Plans and Budgeting; Process Documentation; Organisational Development Plan; Proposal Development)
- Organisational Development (Leadership, Management and Governance)
- Building Collaborative Relationships (Resource Sharing, Policy Influencing, NGO Networking)
- Action with the Poor (Facilitation skills, Conflict Management, coaching/Group facilitation)
- Review and Evaluation (Organisational self-renewal and regeneration)
2- Research and Evaluation
- Project evaluation and impact study
- Identifying best practices in Capacity Building and Empowerment in Nepal and South Asia
- Conduct Study on issues of Capacity building and empowerment of NGOs and CBOs etc.
3- Documentation and Sharing of Lessons
- Process Documentation of best practices in capacity building and empowerment;
- Dissemination of Best practices and Learning with stakeholders in Nepal and South Asia.
Our Expertise
CDEP has a Team of Consultants and Resource Persons with extensive experience in the field of development and capacity building in Nepal as well as South and Central Asia. For more information, please contact us in the address given below.
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Contact Address:
Gongabu, Kathmandu
Tel: 4-359583 (Attn. Kedar)
Email: kedarbadu@yahoo.com ; kbadu@mail.com
Nepal Centre for Development Practice (CDEP Nepal)