Building the capacity of business associations in developing countries to influence public policy

Supporting business associations in developing countries to influence public policy is increasingly seen by development partners as an important contributor to improving the business enabling environment and, as a consequence, to improving the vibrancy of the private sector leading, in turn, to more job creation and greater poverty alleviation. This approach requires that business associations are supported to build their capacity and engage in dialogue and advocacy. Initiatives to do this are being funded, inter alia, in Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana. Evaluation of these programmes requires that there is a means of assessing both whether business association competence has improved and whether higher levels of competence are associated with business association ability to influence policy. This article describes a diagnostic tool which is being used to assess the competence of business associations and explores whether they have become more successful as their competence has improved. While it cannot offer a full picture - participation in training does not mean that organisations become expert and success in influencing public policy is dependent on more than competence - the evidence suggests that business associations do raise their competence and that raised competence does lead to greater success in influencing public policy.