Findings/lessons learned
• A majority of ENRECA projects have included an organisational analysis in the project preparation phase and the analysis is considered relatively important.
• Important aspects of an organizational analysis are: Perspectives on teaching and research; resources level and allocation; organisation of administration and management; financial administration; university governance structure; and incentives and behavioural patterns.
• A large majority of ENRECA projects have performed an analysis of challenges/problem to be addressed by the project and the analysis is considered very important.
• A qualitative and quantitative needs assessment provides partners with important information for project planning as well as a useful baseline for future monitoring.
64% of the ENRECA projects have conducted an organisational analysis (or institutional assessment) and this type of analysis is considered relatively important as an input for project development (see Table 5.8). An organisational analysis typically addresses the following issues (Lusthaus et al. 2002):
• Organisational performance: The ability of an organisation to meet its goals and achieve its mission
• Organisational capacity: The resources, knowledge, and processes employed by the organisation
• External operating environment: The external environment in which the organisation carries out its activities
• Internal environment: The internal factors that influence the direction of the organisation and the energy displayed in its activities
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An organisational analysis can provide an understanding of strengths and weaknesses of the partner institutions, thereby helping to qualify the matchmaking between involved institutions and researchers. From a Danish perspective it is important to understand how the South organisation is operating, especially if the project involves a substantial institutional capacity building effort. Interviewees mentioned that Danish partners can also benefit from having a realistic picture of their own organisational capacity. From a South perspective it can be important to understand how Danish organisations are organized in order to better understand their Danish partner’s attitudes and behaviour. In addition, both parties can hopefully be inspired by each others systems and identify areas where they want to develop their own competencies through the partnership.
An important output of the organisational analysis is an overview of existing administrative norms, rules and procedures at the South partner institution. This is important as a basis for decision making on how to integrate project management with existing structures. In a project involving a significant element of institutional development, it was realized after several years that the South partner was conducting its own annual planning in a standard format very similar to the ENRECA project’s LFA6 and activity plan. From that moment the project planning was integrated with the regular South planning process and based on the South partner’s own planning format.
Based on the interviews with ENRECA project managers the following list of issues was identified as important elements to address in an organisational analysis: • The partners’ perspective on the role and importance of research and teaching • Available resources and their allocation to different types of activities • Organisation of management and administration, including decision making procedures • Organisation of financial administration and its compliance with donor requirements • The nature of the university leadership system (e.g. in terms of continuity, politics, and culture) • The nature of the incentive system and its effect on faculty attitude and behaviour
To believe that an organisational analysis will disclose all relevant information is naive. Many informal rules‐in‐use and norms are difficult if not impossible to make explicit. Also, more theoretical/formal rules concerning things that influence project implementation, such as the administrative procedure and formal incentive structures, can be difficult to make explicit to outsiders. This limitation is exemplified in the following quote from the project manager in a project that carried out a comprehensive analysis of their South partner institution prior to the project start‐up:
“Next time we will be more aware of looking at the incentive structures. They have some very strange incentive structures. When you have experienced it once, you will look for it next time.” [PM8]
Project partners typically conduct some sort of organisational analysis during the initiative grant phase, but additional information emerges throughout the whole project cycle. New situations and activities disclose new aspects of the organisational context in which the project works. Moreover, partners may be strategic in what they choose to communicate or not communicate during different stages in the project:
“The university had signed an agreement to employ the PhDs students when they had completed their studies. At some stage it became clear that this was in fact not that easy. Once I began to ask questions, it became clear that it had never been realistic. Obtaining permanent full‐time employed at the university might take more than seven years after having obtained the degree and would in any case be highly dependent on the goodwill of the right persons.” [PM9]
A needs assessment is an organisational analysis tool that specifically focuses on the development needs of an organisation. I can be defined as a decision‐aiding tool for planning and resource allocation and it involves the gathering and analysis of information on the organisation, its environment, and its capacity needs and problems and possible solutions (Horton et al. 2009). A needs assessment analysing challenges and problems, e.g. in terms of the problem tree analysis used in LFA, was conducted by 72% of the ENRECA projects. An analysis of challenges and problems to be addressed by the project is ranked as the most important input for project development (see Table 5.8).
Project managers emphasize the importance of carrying out a comprehensive needs assessment: “We initiated every project with a needs assessment which was good. This was done on all levels and including all factors – infrastructure, etc.” [PM4]
The Centre of Health Research and Development at the University of Copenhagen uses a needs assessment framework that relies on an analysis of four different types of capital: Tangible, human, managerial, and social7. The analysis relies on quantitative as well as qualitative data. The analysis is carried out by the South partner, and exchanged with the Danish project manager, who may ask clarifying questions which can lead to additional input. The analysis is neither considered difficult nor time consuming to carry out.