Technical Assistance (TA)
I had been working in social development sector for more than a decade and had good fortune of continuing in the sector or rather "surviving". Barring few assignments, I had been part of the group involved in TA mostly.
For the first time, I got hang of this term was year 2006. I was two year old in the field then and before that, I mostly worked on grassroots projects, where you engage with community through recruiting low paid not so educated community youths. Typically some donors pay for the events mostly on predefined activities agreed before hand for a year-money flowing on quarterly basis.
We were part of the team helping government of India and state governments in organizing their urban component of Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme. This project was supported by USAID. This is where, I got introduced to the team of professionals doing technical assistance. TA team was most sought after and perhaps most "glamorous" unit. This was sort of enigmatic approach of working with the government for me then. To be this is still enigma and I am still picking up treads.
I had been working in social development sector for more than a decade and had good fortune of continuing in the sector or rather "surviving". Barring few assignments, I had been part of the group involved in TA mostly.
For the first time, I got hang of this term was year 2006. I was two year old in the field then and before that, I mostly worked on grassroots projects, where you engage with community through recruiting low paid not so educated community youths. Typically some donors pay for the events mostly on predefined activities agreed before hand for a year-money flowing on quarterly basis.
We were part of the team helping government of India and state governments in organizing their urban component of Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Programme. This project was supported by USAID. This is where, I got introduced to the team of professionals doing technical assistance. TA team was most sought after and perhaps most "glamorous" unit. This was sort of enigmatic approach of working with the government for me then. To be this is still enigma and I am still picking up treads.
Defining technical assistance
Before I entered into TA business, I always thought engineering & medicine and some others were perhaps two stream which was technical. This was the same sense, what we got first time during my under graduate studies, when there was whole lecture dedicated to "Discussing Sociology as Science" and later I realized all disciplines were science and now perhaps everything is technical.
Before this, all others were just disciplines or subject. I worked in RCH, nutrition, education, and livelihood and practically everything was categorized as technical. So, let me also try doing little bit of mathematics and try describing technical assistance. Here goes my hypothesis
Technical Assistance= 5% (Technical) + 95% (Assistance)
Traversing across many sectors, I came across the understanding in TA business- 5% is technical if we decide to say so. And the rest 95% is assistance.
Science of Technical
Source of science for TA comes typically from national guidelines/technical guidelines which is written far off from where the action happens by well known experts coming from Govt. or non government. Programme changes and it is remodeled by the same expert perhaps or some new "technical" expert joining them.
Art of Assistance
Art of assistance is most exciting continuum. During the TA track tenure.....I found interesting anecdotes- a map in DM's office- produced by Maps of India, a certain plastic bucket and mug in police station...., a trip hosted by TA providing agencies......a personal help which does many other or perhaps most other stuffs rather than work related to stated "Technical" objective to really strategic support which shaped and given direction to the programme.
In the following paragraphs I am trying to summarize my interface with TA
1. Never ending chase of identifying champion
One of the idealized step in TA business is doing a scoping visit to the districts mostly as district happens to be the place where most action happens. Scoping is not the case for community actions projects. Its predefined and not linked to champion.
Some of the preparation that is done has the following alogarithm.
- Get as much info as possible about the DM- his/her batch, his/her friends, his/her interested, past records etc etc
- Try looking for some of the previously identified champions....whom you could possibly refer in your conversation with him or her.
- Engage with him/her in the conversation and withstand with talk...which may not be necessarily interesting....or possibly downright boring.....at times....then wait for that "Johari" window game to start.....you perhaps hit blind, facade, arena, and unknown......
- With some you play in the facade space, for others in different and so on. Some remains in the blind and unknown.....and that's where bring to the next questions..
2. Are champions born or can they be created?
Many a times in our business, we chase champions rather than creating one. and my tentative hypothesis is champions can't be created. So, we prefer chasing them from one district to another. Difficulty occurs when champions get transferred to other departments specially in case of TA at Directorate. We get to "Johari" window exercise again.
If can't be created.... can be have a way to select champions at all levels.....I guess, nature weigh over nurture in producing champions.
3. Whether you help someone master how to catch the fish or give them fish
This paraphrased Chinese proverb has interesting reference with TA and often reminds of this activities vs output vs outcome debate. It all depends where you are in the scheme of things. In Hindi..."Janha se app dekh rahe hain".
In Assistance part of TA, I found....giving bucket and mug to "well resourced department" is considered TA & same provisioning for community considered short term arrangement and rather profane. Depending on our positioning in the system we advise the same to folks working with us. Therefore, no universal working definition of mere "Assistance" and TA type of Assistance.
4. Art of not telling the truth & categorizing "Assistance" in the realm of "Technical"
This is pre-requisite of turning out a great TA professional. If you have flare to write, and speak assistance as technical, you are game for it. I know some of very successful TA professionals who have this unparalleled capacity.
This still can be developed. But the first one is hard to master. Not telling the truth to the stakeholders or coating it in such fashion that person before you takes it as OK if not everything great. This perpetuate the status quo and in some ways restrict scope of "technical"....space for assistance expand and in all directions.
In our madness to make everything "technical" also restrict many otherwise qualified folks suited for the job not fit and out of ambit.
5. Art of prepared draft minute of the meeting
We operate amidst fast gadgets whereas the one whom we providing TA still lags by many years. So, timely preparation of minutes of the meeting often take weeks. One of the seasoned TA professional given word of wisdom almost a decade back.
"go to meeting with prepared draft of the minutes of the meeting.......pick up some words which the presiding officer utters.....include those in the minute and get those signed immediately, if not possible get this put up on the table in the file"
6. Learning visits
The last but not the least....art of facilitating learning visits to sites of the liking of participants or the chair...
Many more years of engagements will bring many more wisdom. And I am keeping my window open.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in blogs are personal and no way represents views of the organizations that I work with or worked with in the past.
Before I entered into TA business, I always thought engineering & medicine and some others were perhaps two stream which was technical. This was the same sense, what we got first time during my under graduate studies, when there was whole lecture dedicated to "Discussing Sociology as Science" and later I realized all disciplines were science and now perhaps everything is technical.
Before this, all others were just disciplines or subject. I worked in RCH, nutrition, education, and livelihood and practically everything was categorized as technical. So, let me also try doing little bit of mathematics and try describing technical assistance. Here goes my hypothesis
Technical Assistance= 5% (Technical) + 95% (Assistance)
Traversing across many sectors, I came across the understanding in TA business- 5% is technical if we decide to say so. And the rest 95% is assistance.
Science of Technical
Source of science for TA comes typically from national guidelines/technical guidelines which is written far off from where the action happens by well known experts coming from Govt. or non government. Programme changes and it is remodeled by the same expert perhaps or some new "technical" expert joining them.
Art of Assistance
Art of assistance is most exciting continuum. During the TA track tenure.....I found interesting anecdotes- a map in DM's office- produced by Maps of India, a certain plastic bucket and mug in police station...., a trip hosted by TA providing agencies......a personal help which does many other or perhaps most other stuffs rather than work related to stated "Technical" objective to really strategic support which shaped and given direction to the programme.
In the following paragraphs I am trying to summarize my interface with TA
1. Never ending chase of identifying champion
One of the idealized step in TA business is doing a scoping visit to the districts mostly as district happens to be the place where most action happens. Scoping is not the case for community actions projects. Its predefined and not linked to champion.
Some of the preparation that is done has the following alogarithm.
- Get as much info as possible about the DM- his/her batch, his/her friends, his/her interested, past records etc etc
- Try looking for some of the previously identified champions....whom you could possibly refer in your conversation with him or her.
- Engage with him/her in the conversation and withstand with talk...which may not be necessarily interesting....or possibly downright boring.....at times....then wait for that "Johari" window game to start.....you perhaps hit blind, facade, arena, and unknown......
- With some you play in the facade space, for others in different and so on. Some remains in the blind and unknown.....and that's where bring to the next questions..
2. Are champions born or can they be created?
Many a times in our business, we chase champions rather than creating one. and my tentative hypothesis is champions can't be created. So, we prefer chasing them from one district to another. Difficulty occurs when champions get transferred to other departments specially in case of TA at Directorate. We get to "Johari" window exercise again.
If can't be created.... can be have a way to select champions at all levels.....I guess, nature weigh over nurture in producing champions.
3. Whether you help someone master how to catch the fish or give them fish
This paraphrased Chinese proverb has interesting reference with TA and often reminds of this activities vs output vs outcome debate. It all depends where you are in the scheme of things. In Hindi..."Janha se app dekh rahe hain".
In Assistance part of TA, I found....giving bucket and mug to "well resourced department" is considered TA & same provisioning for community considered short term arrangement and rather profane. Depending on our positioning in the system we advise the same to folks working with us. Therefore, no universal working definition of mere "Assistance" and TA type of Assistance.
4. Art of not telling the truth & categorizing "Assistance" in the realm of "Technical"
This is pre-requisite of turning out a great TA professional. If you have flare to write, and speak assistance as technical, you are game for it. I know some of very successful TA professionals who have this unparalleled capacity.
This still can be developed. But the first one is hard to master. Not telling the truth to the stakeholders or coating it in such fashion that person before you takes it as OK if not everything great. This perpetuate the status quo and in some ways restrict scope of "technical"....space for assistance expand and in all directions.
In our madness to make everything "technical" also restrict many otherwise qualified folks suited for the job not fit and out of ambit.
5. Art of prepared draft minute of the meeting
We operate amidst fast gadgets whereas the one whom we providing TA still lags by many years. So, timely preparation of minutes of the meeting often take weeks. One of the seasoned TA professional given word of wisdom almost a decade back.
"go to meeting with prepared draft of the minutes of the meeting.......pick up some words which the presiding officer utters.....include those in the minute and get those signed immediately, if not possible get this put up on the table in the file"
6. Learning visits
The last but not the least....art of facilitating learning visits to sites of the liking of participants or the chair...
Many more years of engagements will bring many more wisdom. And I am keeping my window open.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in blogs are personal and no way represents views of the organizations that I work with or worked with in the past.
