The Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) Dr. Frannie Léautier has said that capacity development interventions in Africa need to be flexible and adaptable to deal with the continent’s development challenges

Opening a regional training workshop entitled, “Improving skills and competencies in project results management” in Accra, Ghana, Dr. Léautier noted that it is not only important to focus on results in the project cycle, but also to track policies and their intended results that lead to impact and change in people’s lives for the better.

“Very often, monitoring and evaluation can be seen as an excluded effort, when in fact it is central to gauging the overall performance of a project. Monitoring and Evaluation ((M&E) is the enabler that allows for realistic goal-setting and flexibility in the project implementation cycle as the operating environments shift. ACBF, through its experience, has learnt that capacity development interventions need to adopt differentiated approaches to country and regional interventions in order to ensure relevance and effectiveness. The ability to track, get results and measure impact leads to learning and innovation”, she said.

The weeklong workshop, jointly organized with World Bank, will address three key issues related to the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of ACBF supported projects and programmes. Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey highlighted the importance of monitoring and evaluation in meeting the commitments made in Busan for achieving development results through country systems. "It is time to build strong M&E systems at the regional and country level, to enable African countries to pursue development results vigorously" he added.

A total of 75 participants from 29 ACBF supported projects in 17 countries from Central and West Africa are participating in the weeklong workshop whose opening ceremony was attended by AfDB Resident Representative- Ghana Ms. Marie Laure Akin-Olugbade. ACBF was established in February 1991. It is the outcome of collaboration between African governments and the international donor community.

Its mission is to build sustainable human and institutional capacity for sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Africa. ACBF’s vision is for Africa to be recognised for its socio-political and economic capabilities and endowments – a continent with effective institutions and policies acquired through sustained investment in people and institutions. The Foundation is a leader, major partner and centre of excellence for capacity building in Africa.