ANNUAL REPORT 2009 - FPDL

• Continue strategy of small grants to facilitate local translation and adaptationOn topics:• Consider development of some more technical topics for the local (Romanian)market• Consider the topic of business development for training institutions• Consolidate the introduction of new and recent materials.In terms of products Training of trainers is still a very strategic area. There should,however, be a continuous review of the relevance of the training subjects. In older“markets” there is a tendency for demand to move towards accredited training thatcan support career development. In newer markets the training which is beingprovided is very good for providing tools to stimulate thinking, participation and linksto action. New products such as the anti-corruption training will take a lot of energy,but as the team is very committed the partners are strong and the need highlyrecognized, it is recommended that work should continue in this area. An area ofgrowing importance will be the linking of participative strategic planning withbudgeting and municipal finance, and this could be an area of development in thefuture, linked to the increase in focus on this type of planning in Romania, inaccession countries and in cities working with Cities Alliance. A second area toconsider is the management and business side of training – it is essential if partnersare to be able to be sustainable.The materials produced are of a very good quality. Support to continue this work isrecommended – in terms of printed materials, and support for adaptation andtranslation through small grants provides a very valuable resource to supplement theshort training sessions.The network model is well appreciated and provides motivation as well as technicaltraining. The competitive access to small grants provides an additional incentive. Itrecommended continuing to support this, but to review two aspects. First, the lengthof the meetings should be reviewed to see if more value could be obtained byextending for 1-2 days. The length should relate to clear objectives for the meeting.As described elsewhere, this may be strengthened also by input from sponsoredimpact studies. Second is the possibility of linking new countries and institutions intothe network. This should relate to a clear strategy of LGI in terms of spatialconcentration. The annual meeting could be a good environment to link existing andnew members and extend networks. The attendance should relate to the objectives ofthe meeting and include both existing partners and new partners. It is not necessarythat all partners attend every year. The complementary international linkages withother donors is very important a) for the synergy and increase in impact of the workdone and b) by broadening the funding base it makes FPDL less vulnerable to changesin funding priorities.FPDL is very skilled in working with networks. This capacity should continue to beused by continued support to the model of support. Nurturing institutions can taketime, and leaders need encouragement. It is recommended to maintain support forsome time, but to consider using the present network as a nursery for thedevelopment of a similar approach in other emerging geographic focus areas, where asimilar approach can be developed.Last word of evaluators“In any program and organization there are, of course, strengths and weaknesses.We would like to end this report by stating that we find the strengths greatly outweighweaknesses and that we consider both the program, in an amended form and FPDLare worth of further investment. They have a great potential to support institutionswhich themselves strengthen local government – an essential foundation fordevelopment.”21