New ICRI report: Friends in need are friends indeed

Capacity development in fragile states is one of the most critical problems of our time. This report contributes to the discussions of the issue by exploring the IGAD Initiative in South Sudan as an example of triangular co-operation for capacity development in fragile states.

The IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) Initiative provides 199 civil service support officers to South Sudan, where they are twinned with South Sudanese counterparts across many ministries and sectors to rapidly develop core government capacity in a coaching and mentoring scheme. These CSSOs come from the civil services of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, and are seconded for two-year terms. The initiative resonates well with the UN Civilian Capacity reform process and the calls for more use of regional capacity, and more flexible and bottom-up approaches when supporting countries emerging from conflict. The initiative is a promising and potentially innovative model of triangular co-operation for capacity development.

Download the report here.

The report is published as part of the outcome from the International Capacity Research Initiative (ICRI). ICRI is a co-funded research cooperation on capacity development in fragile states between the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS); the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office Office (UNPBSO); Noref; and the Training for Peace programme (TfP) at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI).

For further information, contact DIIS project researcher Frederik Rosén.

Previous ICRI publications include

DIIS Brief: Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict. The IGAD Initiative in South Sudan: a case study in the context of the OPEN framework

NOREF Brief: Triangular co-operation for government capacity development in South Sudan

NUPI Brief: With a Little Help From My Friends. The concept cultural affinity in capacity development