Capacity Building for National Sustainable Development

This day introduces the principles of capacity building and examines how effective governance transforms natural resource wealth into sustainable national development. Participants will explore internationally recognised frameworks together with the institutional factors that influence long-term development outcomes. The topics covered will include:

• What capacity building means: the enabling environment, the organisation and the individual
• From resource wealth to development: the resource curse, Dutch disease and the institutional response
• Resource governance in practice: the Natural Resource Charter and the decision chain
• The UN Sustainable Development Goals and the energy sector
• International capacity development frameworks: UNDP, OECD DAC and World Bank approaches

This day focuses on evaluating institutional capability and designing effective organisational structures that support improved governance and operational performance. Participants will examine assessment methods, organisational design principles, and approaches for prioritising capacity improvements. The topics covered will include:

• Capacity needs assessment: scope, method, evidence and stakeholder validation
• Organisational maturity and capability assessment for ministries, regulators and national oil companies
• Mandate clarity and the separation of policy, regulation and commercial operations
• Operating models, organisation design and decision rights
• Capacity gap analysis, prioritisation and sequencing under budget constraint

This day explores workforce development strategies that strengthen national capability and support sustainable growth within the energy sector. Participants will examine competency frameworks, succession planning, local content initiatives, and future workforce requirements. The topics covered will include:

• Strategic workforce planning and the energy sector skills demand profile
• Competency frameworks: design, assessment and application to technical and leadership roles
• Local content and in country value: NOGICD, IKTVA, Emiratisation and comparable regimes
• Leadership pipelines, succession planning and knowledge transfer from expatriate and contractor workforces
• Skills for the energy transition and the redeployment of petroleum capability

This day examines governance practices that strengthen stakeholder confidence, organisational transparency, and ethical decision-making. Participants will explore approaches for building sustainable stakeholder relationships while supporting responsible resource governance. The topics covered will include:

• Stakeholder identification, mapping, prioritisation and engagement planning
• Transparency and anti corruption: the EITI standard, beneficial ownership and contract disclosure
• Ethics and corporate governance: paradigms, dilemmas and effective compliance programmes
• Corporate social responsibility and social investment that builds capacity rather than dependency
• The social licence to operate: how it is earned, how it is lost and how it is measured

This day focuses on financing, implementing, and evaluating capacity development initiatives that remain effective through changing economic and political conditions. Participants will develop practical approaches for demonstrating value and sustaining long-term institutional capability. The topics covered will include:

• Financing capacity development: national budgets, revenue funds and partner commitments
• Managing revenue volatility: sovereign wealth funds, stabilisation funds and fiscal rules
• Building the business case and demonstrating the return on capacity investment
• Monitoring and evaluation: theory of change, KPIs and leading versus lagging indicators
• Implementation roadmaps and sustaining capacity through political, leadership and price cycles