The Inspirator Pilot Review
MS ActionAid Denmark's "inspirator pilot programme" holds great potentials and is a sharing of ideas and experience that can provide highly needed capacity building of partner organisations across borders and add value to our development programmes, says the ActionAid country directors from Uganda and Zimbabwe.
19. May 2010In May 2009, MS ActionAid Denmark initiated a pilot program in Uganda and Kenya to test a completely new personnel category: Inspirators. Inspirators are short term, cross national placements of development practitioners with extensive hands on experience from other developing countries. Six months later in March 2010 the Inspirator pilot program was reviewed by a team of 5 with Zimbabwe‘s ActionAid Country Director Tsitsi Choruma as team leader.
The main conclusion of the report is that the Inspirator personnel category holds great potential for partner organisations within ActionAid International. Based on partner demand and a needs analysis, Inspirators can provide a timely injection of needed capacity building into a partner organisation within a wide range of areas. In 12 Inspirator placements in Uganda and Kenya, 80% were successful with a considerable transfer of knowledge taking place.
Looking to the future, the review report concludes that the Inspirator personnel category needs to be further strengthened and integrated into ActionAid International framework if it is to have a real impact. The report suggests a number of Global Policy Level recommendations, e.g. minimum requirements for a partner to receive an Inspirator. Secondly, the report suggests a number of Country Policy Level recommendations, e.g. ActionAid Country Program human resource units would be the focal point for Inspirator recruitment and placement. Finally, at a very practical level the review recommends that a working group be created in ActionAid International to market the “skills-share approach” to the different groupings within ActionAid.
Videoclips below:
See and hear what Inspirator Atrib Namanje from Zambia thought about his placement in Uganda and what the right holders Atrib worked with in Uganda thought about the placement - and see and hear comments and observations on the inspirator pilot program by two ActionAid Country Directors from Zimbabwe and Uganda) and an inspirator facilitator from Uganda.
Atrib Namanje from Zambia worked for six months as an "inspirator" in Uganda, teaching local communities how to exercise their land rights. He is part of a new volunteer-type of technical assistance, initiated by MS ActionAid Denmark, allowing people to share ideas and experience across borders.
The inspirator programme – capacity building and sharing ideas
MS ActionAid Denmark's "inspirator pilot programme" holds great potentials and is a sharing of ideas and experience that can provide highly needed capacity building of partner organisations across borders and add value to our development programmes, says the ActionAid country directors from Uganda and Zimbabwe.
