Advice on Organisational Development

The mandates and tasks of peace operations are becoming increasingly complex and detailed, which has led to a growing demand for highly qualified and specialised personnel. As a result, it has become increasingly important to adapt and optimise the structures and processes of peace operations, international organisations and member states.

At ZIF, we provide consultancy services that promote the exchange of experiences with different models, instruments and lessons learned for developing institutional capacities for peace operations. Most importantly, the aim is to recruit qualified civilian personnel and to support that personnel. Our advice draws on ZIF’s own extensive experience in setting up corresponding institutional structures.
 

From the outset, ZIF has actively engaged in the international dialogue on how to build institutional civilian capacities for peace operations. We advise partner countries and organisations on issues pertaining to the selection, preparation, recruitment and support of civilian personnel in multilateral peace operations and crisis operations.

Among other things, we assist other countries or international organisations in the development of civilian personnel pools and help to strengthen structures in areas where peace operations and humanitarian aid intersect. We also offer consultancy services in the field of mediation support. Finally, we provide advice on the topic of duty of care. By strengthening the processes and structures in international partner organisations and peace operations, we seek to improve the operational environment for (German) civilian experts.

Drawing on our extensive experience in the fields of selection, recruitment, training and support for civilian personnel in peace operations, we have been advising the Commission of the African Union (AU) since 2012 on the development of the African Standby Capacity. The African Standby Capacity forms part of the civilian component of the African Standby Force.

Advice entails helping to develop operating procedures and personnel guidelines for the selection and support of civilian experts for peace operations. At the same time, we assist in building a personnel database that is specially tailored to the unique needs of short-term deployments of civilian personnel in AU peace operations.

Specifically, we advise on developing guidelines for the recruitment and support of personnel and help partners create the necessary political conditions. This includes advice on increasing the share of women in peace operations and on taking gender issues into account in the selection, preparation and support of civilian personnel.

We also facilitate contacts among international organisations and promote in-depth exchanges on technical questions, as well as methods and tools for effective personnel management. We help to modify a database for the administration of the AU personnel pool, and carry out training and other capacity-building measures in the area of personnel management for representatives of the AU Commission and participating regional organisations.

As part of our efforts to provide sustainable support for the African Standby Capacity, we have been working closely with our South African partners, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) since early 2020 and will gradually transfer our consultancy services to ACCORD by mid-2021.

After a three year development period, the African Standby Capacity was launched by the African Union Commission on June 24, 2015.

The project is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and is part of its support to the AU and the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).