I have written here on what are the elements of an effective Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system for capacity building (CB) activities. However, we live in a complex world, which is less boring (more stressing?) also because of its unpredictability. In this post, I would like to reflect on uncertainty by discussing some paradoxes and challenges that we might encounter when developing and implementing MEL for CB activities and suggest some ways of tackling them. S

[Editor’s Note: Hans Gutbrod is a consultant and think tank researcher with a special interest in capacity building. Hans has worked with research organizations in a broad variety of contexts, is currently working with the anticorruption commission of East Timor, and holds a PhD from the London School of Economics. This is where you find him on Twitter.] Lessons Learned on Promoting Better Links between Research and Policy in Latin America is an excellent piece, and I wish th

There are two recurrent questions that are frequently posed when devising capacity development initiatives and activities:  1) “How should topics/skills to be developed be selected?” and 2) “Which are the most relevant and promising topics/skills for CB (capacity building hereon) in the upcoming years?”. In fact, those two questions are tightly linked because the latter kind of partially answers the former. I am convinced that we need to choose topics and skills that are both