Capacity Building and Training Plan
Creators: name: Lines, Stefan
name: Janes, Tammy
name: Colman, Andrew
name: Graham, Richard
Publisher: name: CONFER
Year: 2021

description: The fast-track Capacity Building & Training Plan (CBTP) is the culmination of the CONFER WP4 Task 1

(WP4.1) deliverable – a report identifying user requirements, and subsequent recommendations to

strengthen and support the knowledge and skills relating to seasonal services, through training of a

wide range of climate information producers and users across East Africa. The resulting training plan

is informed from a comprehensive needs assessment of capacity training in the region, covering

several key themes and reaching a multitude of informants including National Meteorological and

Hydrological Services (NMHS) and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development Climate Prediction

and Application Center (ICPAC) staff, regional and national stakeholders and a wide array of users. This

activity supports the overarching WP4 objective to “strengthen, support and further develop the

required underpinning technical and climate knowledge, as well as practical skills, to sustain

production, implementation, use and uptake of the climate science and services at ICPAC, regional

NMHSs and stakeholder organisations, through training and capacity building of appropriate actors”.

This deliverable summarises the key themes which should be prioritised during capacity building

activities over the CONFER project and, based on the data harnessed from interviews and surveys, we

suggest possible routes for delivering training and enhancing capacity and capabilities. Proposed

activities are incorporated into an overarching ‘3-step’ CONFER plan. Based on all available data from

the needs assessment and weighted by a blend of the ranking procedures, we split all capacity building

activities into three areas: maintain, enhance, and expedite. This ‘MEE’ approach is to introduce clarity

for the prioritisation of user needs. The first step is to ‘Maintain’ the current initiatives that are

delivering high-impact support to NMHS and other users in the region. The second step is to ‘Enhance’,

where capacity building activities should be strengthened or increased in order to address some of the

identified capacity gaps in the needs assessment. Finally, we include the ‘Expedite’ step for themes

which requires immediate assistance, due to the identification of highest need.

The speed at which seasonal forecasting capabilities are developing across the region, plus our

changing climate, has led to both the increased need and desire to develop seasonal products and

services that benefit a wide range of stakeholders – from industry leaders, and sector actors, to the

general public. CONFER is one link in a chain that will secure better resilience against interannual

variability across East Africa. It is well positioned to not only enhance forecasting procedures, but to

also support and bolster capacity building from the WMO RCC, to NMHSs, to sector leads, to a wide

variety of users. This fast-track needs assessment, and corresponding recommendations have

provided immediate direction for the next 3-4 years in where to direct and facilitate the most urgent

training, by listening to voices across the seasonal sphere.