Capacity Assessment Manual for National Human Rights Institutions
4. Data analysis and development of strategies
Following the completion of the discussion groups and questionnaires by NHRI leaders and staff and the
interviews with external stakeholders, the CA team collates and analyses the data and other information.
It begins to develop possible strategies and actions to address the most important capacity gaps
identified. The strategies and actions should be practical and able to be implemented. They should
address the most important capacity gaps within a comprehensive framework that reflects the needs
and priorities of the NHRI as a whole.
5. The report
The CA culminates in a report that analyses the information provided by NHRI leaders, managers and
staff, identifies the capacity gaps, indicates priorities, and offers strategies and actions to address the
gaps. The CA team will produce a draft report for presentation to and discussion with the NHRI leaders
and senior managers at the end of the visit. The draft is discussed at some length between the NHRI
leaders and the team so that the recommended strategies and actions are understood, prioritised and
agreed. It will then be finalised and presented to the NHRI.
The report is a report to the NHRI. The CA team members and their organisations will have a copy of the
report. Otherwise any distribution of the report is in the hands of the NHRI. The NHRI should distribute
the report to all staff, as agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding. It may also decide to make it
public or to give it limited distribution as desirable. APF and the CA team hope that it receives wide
distribution, as that is the best way to use it to broaden the understanding of and support for the NHRI
and its work and to ensure implementation of the report’s strategies, but that is a matter for the NHRI
alone. It can be decided after the final report is received.
Implementation of the strategies and actions
The production of the report is not the principal objective of the CA project. The principal objective is
increasing the effectiveness of the NHRI by strengthening its capacity to do what it wants and needs
to do, including through implementation of the report’s proposed strategies and actions. The APF will
be available after the CA to support the NHRI in its endeavours to implement the strategies. The UNDP
Country Office can play an important role at this stage. The report will also encourage other UN agencies
and organisations to plan future targeted assistance tailored to the needs of the NHRI.
Benefits to the NHRI
NHRIs that have undertaken CAs have said that they benefit greatly from the process. They have ranked
their participation in the CA process:
relevance
very high
effectiveness
high
efficiency
high
impact
very high.
They have listed the benefits of participation in a CA:
• better understanding of current organisational and programming capacities
• rigorous assessment of capacity needs
• sound strategies and clear priorities for capacity building
• more effective and evidence-based strategic planning
• better understanding of the link between internal processes and externally oriented activities
• better identification of the similarities and differences in perceptions of capacities and functioning
across different units and levels of the NHRI
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