• Determine the impact of the CVCB on key target audiences
• Recommend measures to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and appropriateness of CVCB’s investments in delivering benefits to it stakeholders.

The evaluation involved document review and stakeholder consultation against a tailored program logic which encapsulated the CVCB’s outcomes and activities.

Who is the report targeted at? This report is targeted at firstly the member investors in the Cooperative Venture for Capacity Building and secondly at a broader audience of those organisations that invest in capacity building.

Background
The CVCB was a partnership between RIRDC, rural RDCs and Australian Government agencies. It invested in research and development projects focused on enhancing the understanding of learning, improving organisational arrangements to support rural human capacity building, and inspiring innovative farming practices.

Key Findings
Outputs and Outcomes
The CVCB deepened understanding of capacity building through research which:

• Defined capacity building, key principles and the community of practice concept
• Characterised who undertakes capacity building, including the private sector
• Outlined financial, skill, competency and organisational capability challenges in maintaining an adequate stock of capacity building professionals
• Described capacity building models and their application
• Analysed how the VET sector integrates with capacity building in terms of training and education for landholders and capacity building professionals
• Documented factors which influence learning and the changing nature of rural landholders.

A key outcome of the CVCB was that it created and maintained a forum for capacity building.

All stakeholders recognised the importance of capacity building and the need for a leadership vehicle to facilitate collaboration, learning and focus investment.

The CVCB sought to influence both strategic and operational target audiences through program/project participation and communication of results. The strategic audience encompassed policy and decision makers in the institutions commissioning and/or influencing capacity building in rural Australia. While the operational audience covered managers and staff designing and implementing capacity building initiatives.

The greatest impact was achieved when target audiences participated in CVCB projects since this achieved contextual relevance which is essential to understanding and applying capacity building principles and practices. The development and delivery of grounded capacity building materials had a significant impact on operational staff who were able to directly utilise the materials within their sphere of influence.

The impact on strategic target audiences, including agriculture, natural resource management and R&D and their associated institutions was less. While the research generated strategic and policy insights into capacity building, the results were not clearly applicable to the target audiences and often beyond their locus of control.

Program management
The program was successful in defining capacity building and setting a strategic agenda around the four key results through which capacity building could be improved. There was an underlying assumption that this could be achieved through RD&E projects and the CVCB committee. Ultimately the CVCB did not fully achieve its outcomes and/or potential due to five factors:

• A logical rather than strategic portfolio of research due to the need to balance investor/researcher interests and the wide range of potential capacity building research against the divergent needs of the various stakeholders
• Inadequate consideration of the pathway through which research results would achieve the key results areas
• A wide range of plans and measures, but little monitoring and evaluation which limited the ability to demonstrate performance and maintain stakeholder confidence
• The inability of RD&E to address all the capacity building issues identified
• Insufficient mandate and ability of the CVCB to position and coordinate capacity building within the broader policy and institutional context.

Potential benefits of further investment in capacity building activities by RDCs and associated organisations Capacity building is an essential element to improving the sustainability of rural and regional Australia. It is widely used by RDCs, government agencies and the private sector. However the following priorities arising from the CVCB results and consultation need to be addressed to ensure capacity building is appropriately positioned and used efficiently and effectively:

• Continued development of best practice methods and models
• Building the capacity building skills of professionals
• Improving the strategic fit of capacity building within organisations
• Collaboration and cooperation between organisations involved in capacity building
• Informing policy development, particularly on capacity building.

Investors in the CVCB recognise the importance of structures such as the CVCB in addressing these priorities. However there is a distinct preference for investing in applied outcomes which have a tangible and immediate benefit on the investor’s organisation.

This provides two focal areas for the future. Firstly the capacity of professionals and their organisations to design and implement capacity building needs to be built. This requires a professional and organisational development rather than a research approach. There would be great benefit in a collaborative approach between RDCs, Australian and state governments and the private sector to provide efficiencies and co-learning and collaboration opportunities.

Secondly a mechanism is needed to inform policy and coordinate/collaborate capacity building across organisations. This will require a shift from RD&E to on-going engagement of policy makers and the establishment of collaborative initiatives on capacity building between government, RDCs and the private sector.

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Last updated: April 2008
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