Approach in Action
Training Needs Assessment and Capacity Development
From a role-based needs assessment to a capacity plan and training that changes how people work.
Your role on this kind of work?
The problem we solve
Training budgets are often spent on requests rather than needs, and what people learn is rarely used at work. Capacity development works when it starts from performance gaps in specific roles and follows people back to the job.
Our method, phase by phase
Phase 1 of 5
Scoping and competency frameworks
- Agree the roles, units and performance problems in scope
- Draft competency profiles for each role with the client
- Plan the assessment and its ethics
Deliverable: Scoping note and competency profiles
Phase 2 of 5
Needs assessment
- Self and supervisor assessments against the competencies
- Interviews and focus groups with managers
- Review of performance data, audit findings and project reports
Deliverable: Training needs assessment report with priority gaps
Phase 3 of 5
Capacity development plan
- Prioritise gaps by performance impact and cost
- Choose methods: courses, coaching, on-the-job, peer learning, e-learning
- Cost the plan and link it to the budget
Deliverable: Costed multi-year capacity development plan
Phase 4 of 5
Design and delivery
- Design programmes around the client's own documents and cases
- Deliver with practical exercises and action plans
- Develop internal trainers for sustainability
Deliverable: Programmes delivered, materials and trainers
Phase 5 of 5
Transfer and evaluation
- Follow up action plans with participants and managers
- Evaluate learning, behaviour and results
- Update the plan with what worked
Deliverable: Training evaluation report and updated plan
Tick what your organisation already has: we show you where to start.
Try the instruments live
The same instruments we use with clients. Try them with your own organisation; your answers stay in your browser until you ask for the result.
What you receive
- Competency profiles for the roles in scope
- A training needs assessment with prioritised gaps
- A costed capacity development plan
- Programmes, materials and internal trainers
- An evaluation of learning and its use at work
How we keep quality
- Methods and tools agreed with you at inception, then applied openly
- Every finding linked to its evidence
- Senior review of every deliverable before it reaches you
- Knowledge transfer: your team keeps the tools and routines
Reference frameworks: ISO 10015:2019 Competence management and people development
Ask about this approach
Ask in your own words. The answer comes from this page and our instruments, with the links you need.
Programmes that build this capacity
Evaluating a proposal from Risalat?
This page shows the method we would apply to your assignment. We will gladly walk your committee through it live, online, with your own questions and data.
Ask for a live walkthroughAll approachesQuestions teams ask
What does Risalat's Training Needs Assessment and Capacity Development approach involve?
From a role-based needs assessment to a capacity plan and training that changes how people work. It runs in 5 phases: Scoping and competency frameworks, Needs assessment, Capacity development plan, Design and delivery, Transfer and evaluation. Each phase ends with an agreed deliverable.
What problem does it solve?
Training budgets are often spent on requests rather than needs, and what people learn is rarely used at work. Capacity development works when it starts from performance gaps in specific roles and follows people back to the job.
What does the client receive?
Competency profiles for the roles in scope; A training needs assessment with prioritised gaps; A costed capacity development plan; Programmes, materials and internal trainers; An evaluation of learning and its use at work.
Can we try the method before engaging Risalat?
Yes. The instruments on this page are free and online: Capacity Development System Blueprint, Training Needs Assessment, Institutional Capacity Development Planner, Change Readiness Assessment. Your answers stay in your browser until you ask for a result. Evaluation committees can also ask for a live walkthrough.
How do we know where to start?
Tick what your organisation already has in the method above: the page shows the first phase that needs work and what the assignment would cover. The diagnostic gives a scored baseline in about ten minutes.
Can it be delivered as training, advisory support or both?
Both. The same method can be delivered as an advisory assignment, as an in-house or open training programme for the team, or as a combination with coaching while the team applies it to its own work.