Community Outreach and Capacity Building - International Relief ...

While IRD’s clients and donors specify their
infrastructure needs, our community-based
approaches support project implementation and
simultaneously build capacity for the long term.
Benefits of COCB
A community’s infrastructure is the
most visible measure of its stability and
economic development. Residents and
visitors alike can easily gauge the number
and condi tion of schools, healthcare
facilities, water systems, power grids,
and roads. While IRD’s clients and donors
specify their infrastructure needs, our
community-based approaches support
project implementation and simultaneously
build capacity for the long term. Projects
that benefit from this approach include:
••
Projects in high-risk areas, conflict or
post-conflict zones, and remote and
rural communities
••
Horizontal projects affecting multiple
communities over a long distance, such
as roads, railways, pipelines, and power
transmission lines
••
Large-scale projects requiring
construction of industrial or support
facilities such as mineral extraction,
energy development, and
government facilities
••
Donor-funded projects that are
evaluated by results and long-term
impact
Targeted Capacity Building
In Afghanistan, where IRD successfully
applied the COCB model on a very large
road and bridge construction project
in 2008–2011, the engineering and
construction industry had seriously
atrophied as a result of decades of conflict.
Donors and contractors working there were
challenged by the high-risk environment
and the low technical and managerial
capacity of local firms. The national
government was also challenged to develop,
complete, and maintain projects. IRD met
these challenges with a variety of tailored
tools and training programs:
••
On-the-job mentoring for design-build
contracts to local firms
••
Creation of a construction trade
vocational school
••
Development of a mentor-protégé
program to train local staff in various
job skills
••
Training of subcontractors in
construction methodology and contract
and financial management
••
Training of technical monitors in quality
assurance and field monitoring
••
Design of labor-intensive construction
programs for combat-aged men
••
Provision of long-term advisory services
and mentoring to government ministries
••
Development of a GIS-based monitoring
system to track projects country-wide
••
Development of an internship program
for university engineering students
As a result of these responses, the capacity
of government to budget, plan, and oversee
infrastructure construction greatly
increased. In addition, dozens of local firms
now have the ability to bid on, manage,
and complete complex infrastructure
construction projects.