Many public bodies operate with capacity gaps that prevent them from investing in their own development. Staff are stretched thin keeping day-to-day operations running, and there is no bandwidth left for the work that would actually improve the organization's situation: developing policy proposals, writing persuasive budget requests, analyzing data to make the case for resources, designing programs that could attract funding. This creates a trap – the organization needs certain skills to secure the resources and approvals that would reduce its understaffing, but it cannot justify hiring for those skills when it is already understaffed and must prioritize operational roles. The work that would unlock capacity cannot happen because of the lack of capacity.
This is often not a matter of hard constraints like political opposition or budget ceilings. Often the constraint is simply that nobody in the organization has time to write the cabinet paper, hold the stakeholder consultations, develop the action plan, or prepare the detailed proposal that would get something approved. The skills involved – policy development, advocacy, data analysis, proposal writing, budget projection – are not scarce in absolute terms, but they are scarce within organizations focused on keeping services running. Development organizations sometimes pay consultants to produce individual deliverables like action plans or strategic documents, but a one-off consultancy produces a document that may or may not get implemented. The consultant moves on, and the organization is left with a plan it may lack the capacity to advocate for or execute.
An ongoing relationship rather than a deliverable
Public Policy Lab has been testing a different model: entering into MOUs with public bodies to provide ongoing pro bono technical support, filling specific skill gaps on a flexible and occasional basis rather than through a bounded consultancy. The relationship is sustained over time, which changes the dynamic in several important ways. Knowledge accumulates – we learn how the organization works, what constraints it faces, who the stakeholders are, and what has been tried before, rather than starting fresh each engagement. We are involved not just in making plans but in advocating for them and supporting implementation, which forces the plans to be practical and implementable rather than aspirational documents that never quite get executed. And the organization has access to skills it could not justify hiring for full-time, available when needed rather than requiring a new procurement process each time.
This model is replicable. Development organizations, NGOs, or even individuals with relevant expertise can look around and find opportunities – less resourced government bodies, smaller agencies, specific task forces or committees, local councils, civil society organizations – where targeted technical support could unlock significant value. The key is the ongoing relationship rather than the one-off deliverable. An MOU that establishes a flexible, continued engagement creates the conditions for work that actually gets implemented.
The National Library of Maldives as a case study
Our work with the National Library of Maldives illustrates what this approach can achieve. The Library had been operating out of a temporary office building since 2012 – a placeholder location that was meant to be used until a permanent building could be constructed, but the permanent building was never built. Staff were stretched thin providing basic services with limited resources, and there was no capacity to develop the proposals, hold the consultations, or make the case that would change the situation. We provided that capacity pro bono: drafting and completing Social Council and Cabinet papers, developing action plans and programs, holding focus group discussions with over 70 stakeholders representing institutions across the Maldives – government agencies, state-owned enterprises, councils, NGOs, academics, educators, principals, construction professionals, and others – to build a strong evidence base for the value and demand for library services.
The results were concrete. Cabinet approved new National Library buildings in Male City to replace the temporary location, along with smaller library branches in other Maldivian cities and a network to work with island councils to roll out basic library services nationwide. MVR 270 million was approved across the duration of construction. Annual operational budgets were increased. Beyond the Library itself, the third spaces framing we developed was adopted into wider government use, and Cabinet approved a third-space community activity centre in the heart of Male at Lily Magu. None of this required overcoming hard political or budgetary constraints that the Library could not have overcome on its own – what was missing was the capacity to make the case, and once that capacity was provided, the case was compelling.
A model for targeted contribution
The Library is a proof of concept for a broader approach. Many public bodies and civil society organizations are in similar positions: they could secure resources, approvals, or policy changes if someone had time to do the analytical and advocacy work, but no one does. For development organizations, this represents an opportunity to create impact through targeted capacity support rather than, or in addition to, funding. For individuals with policy, research, or analytical skills and an interest in contributing to their city or country, it represents a way to make a difference that does not require starting an organization or waiting for a formal role. Identify an organization with a capacity gap you can fill, establish an ongoing relationship, and do the work that unlocks what the organization could not unlock on its own. The returns – measured in approvals secured, resources mobilized, and programs implemented – can be substantial relative to the investment of time.