FROM THEORY TO ACTION: A CASE STUDY OF TRAINING TRANSFER IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

In the development sector, capacity development is understood as a process in which individuals, organizations, institutions and societies develop the capacity to perform functions, solve problems, and set and achieve outcomes. Training is a key component of capacity development, but too often trainees are expected to be able to perform those functions, solve those problems and achieve those objectives after a single training event delivered by a panel of experts. In fact, research has shown that trainees’ ability to transfer their learning to the workplace depends on a variety of factors: the trainees’ personal characteristics, the design of the training, and the work environment. This case study evaluates the outcomes of a cohort of Bangladeshi municipal officials that attended a workshop on how to implement fecal sludge management. Results showed that the training was successful in motivating and building the participants’ self-efficacy, but that taking action on implementation was facilitated or hindered by factors both within and external to the organization. Ultimately, trainees’ ability to use what they had learned was largely dependent on the mayor. The implication is that training should not be considered as a one-time event delivered to one group of people, but as an intervention that takes into account the variety of factors that can impact training transfer before-, during- and after- training.