Capacity development (CD) practitioners are often faced with fundamental questions on capacity. What are we building capacity for? Whose capacity must we build? At what levels must that capacity be built? How should we identify capacity gaps? What interventions will help build that capacity?

A follow-on question to capacity building interventions is what precise impact the intervention has had on improving capacity, and how sustainable it has been. Ways and means to measure this impact are necessary to be able to demonstrate it to stakeholders and funding agencies, as well as to learn for the future. 

While building capacity it is also important to adopt the most effective methods, based on established principles of adult learning. Moreover, learning is a continuous and lifelong process, and for practitioners an important and effective method is to document their learning and knowledge of the field through methods such as case studies, that can be used to teach and / or to share knowledge with other practitioners within the wider community of practice.

This set of two Methods and Measures courses from the Capacity Development Suite aims to answer the above questions, provide a set of useful tools to learners for assessing training needs and impact, introduce them to Adult Learning Theories, online learning and instructional design, and build their skills in developing Teaching Cases. Anchored by the IIHS Urban Practitioners’ Programme (UPP), the courses in this suite are taught by practitioners with decades of capacity building and training experience. This enables them to supplement core concepts with insights from their experience in an engaging manner, affording learners critical skills that they can immediately apply in their work.

The courses in this suite are relevant to on ground practitioners, trainers, and the community of capacity building practitioners, CSR personnel, funding agencies, NGOs, and Foundations that work in the Urban and in the Development sector. Both courses will be conducted online. Learners can enrol for any one or both courses according to their needs. 

The IIHS Capacity Development Suite is a set of two live online courses that will enable learners to deepen skill sets, broaden understanding, and expand professional networks in the field of capacity development.

Course 1: CD Measures: Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and Impact Assessment

Curated by the IIHS Urban Practitioners’ Programme, the CD Measures course will build participants’ knowledge and skills in conducting Training Needs Analysis and Impact Assessment of Capacity Development interventions. It will introduce participants to a systems approach to capacity development, including identifying stakeholders, understanding capacity needs at various levels, conducting existing capacity assessment, identifying capacity gaps, and suggesting suitable interventions. It will help participants gain an overview of the different approaches to defining and identifying impact such as the theory of change approach. It will discuss how impact measurement and its indicators can be embedded into capacity building interventions right from the outset, and how they can be measured and analysed to effectively demonstrate and communicate the results achieved. 

This course will enable participants to:

• Gain an overview of how to plan, design and undertake Impact Assessment Studies
• Identify gaps between existing and desired capacity of individuals and organisations through the design and implementation of TNAs

Training Needs Analysis

This part of the course will take participants through the process involved in identifying training needs and suggesting suitable interventions, starting with understanding the context, purpose and objectives of the exercise, collecting and analysing relevant data and information, establishing the baseline, recognising the capacity gaps and learning needs, and recommending the necessary interventions to fulfil the learning needs and close the capacity gaps.

Impact Assessment

This part of the course will introduce participants to what constitutes impact, the different ways in which to think of impact, how impact assessment frameworks can be planned at the grant application / project design phase to be able to deliver on its promise. It will also enable participants to precisely define the impact of capacity development interventions, the indicators to use for measuring it, how to embed those measures at various stages of the intervention, how to collect data and analyse it, and finally, how to report it. In this course, participants will be introduced to frameworks such as Theory of Change, results chain, and logical framework.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course participants will be able to:

Plan and undertake an Impact Assessment exercise for a Capacity Building Intervention

• Articulate the impact to be achieved at the start of the intervention
• Recognise the pathways to achieve the impact through one of the approaches
• Establish the assumptions and preconditions for the impact to be achieved
• Embed the measures and indicators of impact at all stages
• Discuss methods and tools for data collection and analysis and reporting at every stage
• Analyse data and report findings to relevant stakeholders

Design and conduct a Training Needs Assessment exercise

• Map the organisation structure and roles and responsibilities at each level
• Articulate methods and tools for collecting and analysing capacity assessment data and establish a baseline
• Identify gaps between current and desired capacity
• Report findings to relevant stakeholders
• Establish training needs and suggest suitable interventions to close capacity gaps

Course 2: CD Methods: Adult Learning Theories and Case-based Learning

Designed and delivered by the IIHS Urban Practitioners’ Programme, the CD Methods course will ground itself in Adult Learning Theories as a basis for continuous learning for practitioners, introduce participants to the basics of online learning and instructional design, and the use of case-based teaching as an effective method for capacity development. The course will also discuss how teaching cases can be developed in a way that they are usable by others in the field as well as the larger community of capacity development practitioners.

This course will enable participants to:

• Gain an understanding of Adult Learning Theories that form the basis for andragogical methods of teaching and learning in the context of Capacity Development Initiatives.
• Develop teaching cases for Capacity Development that can be used to share knowledge within the wider community of practitioners.
• Discuss the suitability of the online teaching / learning mode for specific CD needs and gain an overview of the basics of instructional design

Adult Learning Theories

This part of the course will introduce participants to Adult Learning Theories. Participants will gain familiarity with the principles of Adult Learning and how they can be applied in the design of Capacity Building programmes in the urban context.

Online Learning and Instructional Design

This part of the course will provide participants with an overview of instructional design and the suitability of online teaching / learning modes for specific CD needs.

Case-based Learning

This part of the course will introduce participants to developing a Teaching Learning Case. Participants will be introduced to the essential elements of a teaching case, the approaches to writing a teaching case including the material and content required with examples, and teaching and learning with cases in the urban context.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Discuss the different methods for designing and developing a capacity development programme
• Articulate and apply the principles of Adult Learning to Capacity Building programme design
• Discuss the basics of instructional design and the applicability of online teaching / learning to various capacity development needs
• Explain the structure and components of a Teaching Learning Case
• Develop a Teaching Case for Capacity Building  

Anuttama Dasgupta
Course Director
Lead – Urban Practitioners’ Programme, IIHS

Anuttama is a built environment professional who is committed to developing reflective + reflexive urban practitioners across domains and sectors of the Urban. Her capacity development (CD) and institutional development work is situated at the intersection of several sectors such as Urban Design and Planning, and Transit Oriented Development and extends to building CD frameworks for analysing and enabling systems transitions through institutional reforms and process re-engineering of government agencies. At the Urban Practitioners’ Programme (UPP), Anuttama has been the Course Director for programmes dedicated to urban social aspects including Planning, Urban Design, Housing, Livelihoods.

Amir Bashir Bazaz
Senior Lead – Practice, IIHS

Amir holds a PhD in Management from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, with a specialisation in Public Systems. He works on issues at the intersection of economics, climate change mitigation, and adaptation and sustainable development. He has substantial experience in working with various integrated assessment frameworks and modelling arrangements. Amir’s current research interests are low carbon societies/infrastructure, climate change adaptation and mitigation (across scales), with specific focus on urban-climate change linkages and climate, energy, and environment policy.

Anil Mammen
Professor of Practice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)

Anil comes with more than two decades of experience in learning design, curriculum design, and devising innovative approaches to digital learning, He has served as Vice President – Learning Design at Tata Interactive Systems and as Chief – Learning Design and Social Impact at Tata ClassEdge. While at Tata ClassEdge, Anil developed a proprietary learning design framework for the organization called the Multiple Learning Experiences Model (MLEx). He has been a speaker at various events and institutes, including the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (a joint initiative with IIM Calcutta), the National Seminar on Quality in Education (CII, Bangalore), Teacher Foundation (Bangalore), IIT Delhi, and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), New Delhi.

Iswarya R
Consultant – Urban Practitioners’ Programme, IIHS

Iswarya is an urban planner-architect and is engaged in curating Individual Capacity Building Programmes for government missions. Her work involves development of course content, research support and training on subjects such as urban transit and land use planning, urbanisation trends, disaster resilience, housing, and livelihoods in cities.

Kezia Yonzon
Assistant Vice President – Research, Sambodhi

Kezia leads diverse project teams at Sambodhi to deliver innovative research and advice clients working in Public Health, Education, and Livelihoods. She is passionate about data-driven decision-making and has successfully completed several studies in India, Cambodia, and Nepal. With 8 years of experience, Kezia is the technical lead in designing and executing impact evaluations and applying mixed methods analytic approaches to inform policy decisions.

Lakshmi Keshav Kumar
Lead – Digital Blended Learning, IIHS 

Lakshmi manages the development and delivery of digital blended learning programmes at IIHS. Her responsibilities include project management, training/learning needs analysis, curriculum and instructional design strategy definition, proposals, conceptualisation and design of highly interactive 2D/3D animations, assessments, scientific simulations, and serious games for a very diverse set of audiences.

Narayan Bhat
Independent Consultant

Narayan has four decades of experience in the developmental sector and has worked as a consultant with multiple agencies.. He holds a master’s degree in urban planning and works with a number of international agencies like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Department for International Development and other Official Development Assistance organisations.

Nihal Ranjit
Senior Associate – Practice, IIHS

Nihal’s research and teaching interests are in the areas of urban disaster risk reduction, housing, politics of urban poverty and urban identities. He is part of a multi-year research project, ‘Recovery with Dignity’, that aims to understand experiences of recovery in post-disaster situations across three states in India. Nihal has been a part of the George Washington University’s Institute for Disaster and Fragility Resilience (GWU-IFDR) project on ‘Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy’. He is also a member of the faculty for Urban Practitioners’ Programme and Urban Fellowship Programme.

Prathijna Poonacha Kodira
Senior Consultant – Director’s Office and Practice, IIHS

Prathijna is a researcher and practitioner who works on climate change adaptation focusing broadly on how social and environmental systems respond to impacts of climate change, especially in urban and peri urban geographies. Her work specifically looks at livelihood transitions, nature-based solutions as adaptation and the intersection of climate change and the built environment.

Programme Structure

Anchored by the IIHS Urban Practitioners’ Programme, the courses in this suite will be taught by CD practitioners with a breadth of experience across sectors, audiences and programme outcomes. Teaching/ learning will happen online through a combination of classroom sessions, learning exercises and interactive discussions. Participants will have ample opportunity to reflect upon and share their experiences, and synthesise their learnings through discussions with their peers and faculty.

Faculty

The courses will be taught by IIHS and external faculty, including industry practitioners and experts.

Key Differentiators

• Extensive use of IIHS’ training and capacity development experience and network
• Multiple faculty to enable diverse perspectives
• Concepts, discussions, examples, and methods rooted in the Indian urban context
• Hands-on activities to enable immediate application
• Opportunity to think and reflect on learnings from own practice

Who this is for

• Capacity development practitioners and trainers with more than two years of experience
• Sectoral experts who want to develop an understanding of capacity development and design or deliver CD programmes in their own domains
• Programme managers in the development sector and social enterprises who want to train others and/or run medium to large scale training interventions
• Researchers and PhD scholars working in the field of capacity building and institutional development

Course 1: CD Measures: Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and Impact Assessment

Course 2: CD Methods: Adult Learning Theories and Case-based Learning

*Schedule may be subject to change