Lessons Learned
With our support, the C.A.P.E. (Cape Action for People and the Environment) Coordination Unit ensured complementary effort, technical support, effectiveness and efficiency of CEPF implementation among partner organizations and in managing the overall C.A.P.E. program, facilitating the work of the C.A.P.E. Implementation Committee and its executive, and providing strategic direction for the partnership as a whole.
C.A.P.E. Coordination Unit, South African National Biodiversity Institute
What was the most important lesson learned?
Having a coordination unit based in the Cape Floristic Region Hotspot where CEPF grant recipients were located was an effective way to leverage further funding and provide strategic direction to the overall C.A.P.E. program, as well as ensure that CEPF projects were effectively implemented and reported on.
Describe how you learned this and whether / how you have adapted your approach or specific project elements as a result.
Having a dedicated coordination unit has been very successful in helping to manage the overall C.A.P.E. program to conserve the biodiversity of the hotspot. The C.A.P.E Coordination Unit (CCU) has supported the governance structures of the C.A.P.E. partnership and helped provide strategic direction.
The unit has leveraged further funding through the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI); and has facilitated, managed and monitored a major GEF grant to the C.A.P.E. program that has complemented the CEPF grant. It has also supported a large suite of CEPF grants, helping to build the capacity of civil society grant recipients in the process.
The CCU has helped to engender confidence amongst potential donors about the risks of investment, and has shielded implementing agencies from laborious project development procedures by forming a bridge between local organizations and international donors. The unit has struck a successful balance between ensuring that projects contribute towards the overall goals of the program, while allowing space for innovation and for organizations to develop their own capacity.
The CCU has also been able to act as a mediator in conflicts between partner organizations and to work on unblocking institutional challenges. This was done successfully, although ensuring high-level commitment by government departments and visible “champions” of biodiversity remains a challenge. In general, having a strong, tightly functioning central coordination unit, while enabling efficient and effective program implementation, also has the downside of in some instances causing partner organizations to rely too much on the unit to undertake work on their behalf.
- August 20, 2008
Archive: See all lessons learned