Training of Afghan managers working for international NGOs in Afghanistan

Training modules adapted to afghan context

The training modules were developed with funding from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the French Embassy in Afghanistan. Groupe URD carried out an assessment, in France and in Afghanistan, to better understand training needs and design tailor-made training courses. The project ended on 31 March 2013, with the aim of handing over to ACBAR’s Afghan trainers so that they can run the modules that have been specially developed for the local context.

Each course lasted for 5 days and was limited to 20 participants.

• Module 1. From data collection and analysis to report writing and decision-making
  Overall objective: to be able to collect data, to analyse it and make relevant decisions based on this data, at each phase of the project cycle.
• Module 2. Project design: building an intervention logic
  Overall objective: to have a comprehensive understanding of the different components of humanitarian projects and to be able to play an active role in project design and proposal writing.
• Module 3. Managing a team according to project objectives
  Overall objective: to be able to lead a team during project implementation and to make relevant decisions for the project and the team according to changes in the context.
• Module 4. Humanitarian Principles
  Overall objective: to allow participants to understand why it is important for aid organisations to adhere to humanitarian principles as they have real operational consequences in the field.
• Module 5. The integration of environmental considerations into humanitarian programmes
  Overall objective: to provide participants with comprehensive understanding of the importance for aid actors to integrate environmental considerations into their programs for the benefits of the population.
• Module “Training of trainers”
  Overall objective: to be able to facilitate trainings. It combines different training and presentation strategies with practical exercises and small training sessions led by the participants. This enables the participants to experience and directly put into practice the new skills they learn during the training course.

Due to the success of this training project, several new developments were implemented:

• Modules 1 and 2 were given in the provinces to allow more people to take them, particularly those who are unable to travel to Kabul. Thus, courses could be held in Jalalabad (in the South-East of Afghanistan) and in Mazar-i-Sharif (in the North).
  In addition, modules 1 and 2 have been translated into Dari and Pashto, so that they could be taught to non-English-speaking audiences. ACBAR’s Afghan trainers were thus able to run these training courses in the local language as of spring 2013 (after the end of the project).

• Two new training modules have been developed by Groupe URD with both a general and local perspective as they were based on the Afghan context: “Humanitarian principles” and “Integrating the Environment into humanitarian action in Afghanistan“.

• Trainers’s handbook has been developed, to guide trainers step-by-step to run courses for Afghan humanitarian managers. They have been translated into Dari and Pashto.