Consultant Pool Training

Establishment of a Regional Pool of Consultants

1. Background and Rationale of the Regional Consultant Pool
2. Objectives
3. Consortium of Training Providers
4. Training Approaches and Trainers
5. Curriculum
6. Assessment Scheme
7. Quality Control
8. Management, monitoring and evaluation
9. Trainees
10. Principles

2. Background and Rationale of the Regional Consultant Pool

The main objective of FLICT is to develop locally available knowledge, skills and expertise to strengthen grass roots capacity in conflict transformation.

FLICT aims to strengthen the work of partner organisations and intermediaries in conflict analysis and project conceptualisation as well as proposal formulation, implementation and monitoring. Further it addresses the internal organisational development needs of partners whilst linking the ethno-political dimension of conflict transformation with organisational conflict resolution.

It is proposed that this will be undertaken through the identification, development and nurturing of a devolved pool of consultants that will act as a source of 'on call' local assistance to FLICT partner organisations and intermediaries as well as a source of expertise to other programmes and projects operating in the locality.

It has been recognised that partner organizations need to strengthen their capacities in the following areas:

1. Conceptualising conflict transformation (e.g. relation of conflict and culture & identity; plural and democratic governance; inter-ethnic exchange)
2. Project cycle management (including processes on planning, monitoring and evaluation as well as peace and conflict impact assessments)
3. Organisational development and human resource management
4. Financial management and reporting

3. Objectives

The objectives of this effort are as follows:

1. Design a training program to develop skills required of consultants who could coach effectively partner organizations develop their capacities in conflict transformation work.
2. Implement a training program for a selected group of trainees in a modulised process adopting adult learning approaches.
3. Certify and deploy the trained persons so that partner organizations and others could obtain their services readily.
4. Implement a quality control mechanism of the trained consultants so that there is sustained improvement of the services that re provided through them

4. Consortium of Training Providers

The initial expectation was to contract a local organization the entire task of training and developing as well as managing the pool of consultants. But initial situation reviews revealed that no single organization will be fully capable of being responsible. Hence, the need to identify a group of organizations to work together in a consortium.

Several local training organizations and a few international organizations with technical expertise are being co-opted to form a training service provider consortium to assist FLICT in developing the regional pool of consultants. At present the organizations and their roles have been defined as follows:

5. Training Approaches and Trainers

The training program will be developed through a broad based consultative process among the members of the consortium as well as external experts. The main principles followed in the approach are as follows:

• Student centred approaches to be adopted.
• The trainees with get a practical exposure to develop their skills as coaches.
• Throughout the program the trainees will get an opportunity to work with selected partner organizations so that the theoretical learning has direct and immediate relevance within an actual organizational context.
• The training to be skill oriented rather than being purely conceptual.
• The training will incorporate group learning approaches and working in teams
• The training will be interspaced with assignments and field work
• The program is initially developed as a modular program for a certificate. In the medium term this will be upgraded to a diploma and above in the future depending on the demand for this area of learning.
• Each trainee will be requested to keep a reflective journal. This journal is not subject to any exam. An educational counsellor is available at every training. He or she will meet each trainee for half an hour during the training. It is up to the trainee to decide on the issues to be discussed. The reflective journal may provide the basis for discussion.
• Altogether, a total of 60 days have to be allocated to receive a certificate:

  27 days: Attending induction & training workshops from Module 1 - 7
  05 days: Sharing experiences
  02 days: Participation at FLICT Partner Day
  13 days: Field work
  12 days: Self learning
  03 days: Assessment

• FLICT will offer the certified consultants 10-15 days of assignments within the first year of completion of the training program. Coaching and supervision in the work undertaken as consultants will be provided by the consortium. Based on the success in the training and the supervised work, trainees may
  be awarded a professional diploma in "Peace Building and Conflict Transformation Interventions"

All trainers will be trained on conflict transformation and on learner centred training techniques. The trainers will be drawn from the main local service providers so that their organizational capacities are also strengthened. They come from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.

6. Curriculum

The training program consists of an induction workshop (2 days) and seven training modules of different durations as well as five days for a facilitated sharing of experiences and support for the field tasks:

7. Assessment Scheme

The training program is developed to ensure that all certified coaches have the required skills. The minimum required skills will be defined and the training provided to assure the required standards of competencies to work effectively as coaches with the partner organizations.

Assessment is essential so that a valid accreditation system is developed. A combination of written, observation and interviews will be used to assess the trainees. Two assignments require field work with partner organisations of FLICT. The trainees will be divided in teams of two. Each trainee is allocated a primary and a secondary partner agency. Each one will report on the work with his or her lead agency.

8. Quality Control

A quality control system is developed to ensure that the training is provided adhering to required standards. Further it also will ensure that the assessment is fair and valid to be part of the accreditation scheme. The components that will come under the quality control system are as follows:

• The training modules - contents and presentation
• The trainers and training methods
• The training / learning environment
• The trainee assessment scheme
• The program management system

9. Management, monitoring and evaluation

The program is developed by a consortium of local and international organizations coordinated by FLICT. One of the partner organizations in the consortium will develop the management system and supervise its implementation until the processes get institutionalised. The student assessment system based on several assessment tools will be monitored through out the training program. Assessment will be to provide feedback for corrective measures and for certification. The final award of a diploma may require actual consultancy assignments completed successfully monitored by a supervisor.

An advisory board for the consortium (ABC) consisting of representatives of all partner organizations will assist FLICT to ensure that the training program established and the consultants working in accordance to the expectations. The ABC will be composed of two representative from each of the local service provider organizations, one from each international service provider, three FLICT representatives and one nominee from the FLICT steering committee. If mutually agreed by members the ABC may co-opt other experts or invite such persons for meetings.

The ABC will meet once in six weeks or whenever the need arise. Minutes of the meetings will be taken during every ABC meeting and circulated amongst members.

10. Trainees

The profile of trainees FLICT seeks for the training program includes the following:
i. Interpersonal skills

• Comfort working with people in an intimate manner
• Patience - willing to deal with people who make mistakes and need time
  for change
• Sense of humour
• Ability to deal with mistakes positively and with and to deal with conflicts
  peacefully (not avoiding to address them)

ii. Knowledge

• Knowledgeable of present work done
• Aware of sources of information, information retrieval methods
• Analytical skills

iii. Communication skills

• Good verbal & presentation skills
• Writing skills
• Good listener
• Have working ability in English and one other national language

The pool should consist of persons from various religious and ethnic backgrounds, living an different parts of Sri Lanka. A good gender balance is important to FLICT.

The trainees are selected on a competitive basis. A selection workshop is held to identify those with the required language skills, experience, attitudes and interpersonal skills are identified for the program. A total of about 35-40 persons will be selected for the training and we hope to have about 25-30 consultants certified at the end of the program.

Successful trainee consultants will agree to adhere to a code of conduct developed during the training program in future assignments.

The following support will be provided to the trainees:
i. Accommodation and travel costs to attend the training and per diem for field work will be provided.
ii. Cost of training will be covered by FLICT on a scholarship valued at Rs. 700,000.00
iii. Trainees who require official release and/or approval by employees must inform at their earliest to FLICT to facilitate such processes.
iv. FLICT will provide learning material, access to a library and student constant / coordination for purposes of obtaining information on the program.

11. Principles

The core principles that guide the process of establishing the regional pool of consultants are as follows:
Devolved Capacity Development
Support to partners will be rooted in the local context in line with the fundamental aims of FLICT through a cascading approach to capacity development whereby limited and focused direct inputs from FLICT will create a more devolved network of capacity support in conflict transformation and project management.

Coaching Not Training
The main capacity development philosophy of FLICT will be based on facilitation, coaching and consulting rather as opposed to more didactic training and will be based on adult learning methodologies embodying experiential approaches to processing knowledge and information.

Complementary Expertise
The pool will combine a range of expertise in conflict transformation (conflict mediation, culture and identity, inter-ethnic and plural democracy) as well as project organisational development, project cycle management and finance.
At the same time the pool will embody a range of competencies including: intellectual; conceptual; practical; technical; coaching and consulting. Consultant selection criteria will need to reflect this range of knowledge, skills and competencies as well as ethnic, linguistic and geographic diversity.

Common Learning Platform
Consultant pool members will be given the opportunity to share learning across disciplinary boundaries on the basis of a common understanding of FLICT objectives, focal areas and procedures.

Team Approach
The consultant pool concept will be based on a strong commitment to team building both among consultant pool members themselves as well as between consultants and FLICT partner organisations. Team work concepts will be applied wherever possible to ensure a professional, technical and linguistic balance in all coaching
and consulting activity with client organisations as well as a clear demonstration of the application and significance of inter-cultural and inter-disciplinary collaboration.

Sustainable Support
FLICT will promote the development and consolidation of the consultant pool as a network of local expertise available to FLICT partners as well as assisting the network to operate on a sustainable basis through innovative and collaborative arrangements that would provide linkages to other organisations and agencies.
Such an arrangement would help to ensure the sustainability of the network as an effective local consulting resource.