C.25 Number of people engaged in capacity strengthening initiatives facilitated by WFP to enhance national stakeholder capacities contributing to ending hunger

C.25 Number of people engaged in capacity strengthening initiatives facilitated by WFP to enhance national stakeholder capacities contributing to ending hunger

VERSION

V1.0 - 2026.03 — NEW

INDICATOR CODE

C.25

N.B: This indicator is an update to a previous indicator (formerly known in CRF 2022-2025 as C.4 Number of people engaged in capacity strengthening initiatives facilitated by WFP to enhance national stakeholder capacities contributing to Zero Hunger).

TECHNICAL OWNER

PRGS-CCS Workstream

INDICATOR TYPE

Country Level Output Indicator

INDICATOR CLASSIFICATION

Mandatory

INDICATOR SCOPE

Sector Neutral

APPLICABILITY

The selection of this indicator is mandatory against the following sub-activities in CSPs logframes. Selection of the below sub-activities will trigger in COMET the mandatory selection of this indicator.

1. Emergency preparedness and response CCS (EPR_CCS)

2. Ecosystem restoration, community infrastructure and livelihood opportunities CCS (ECL_CCS)

3. Financial solutions, information services and market access CCS (FIM_CCS)

4. Malnutrition management CCS (NTA_CCS)

5. Malnutrition prevention CCS (NPA_CCS)

6. National data and analytics CCS (NDA_CCS)

7. School-based programme CCS (SMP_CCS)

This is also recommended for the following sub‑activity in CSP logframes. Choosing it in COMET will not trigger the inclusion of this indicator.

1. Social protection technical support (SP_CCS)

UNIT OF MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS

Number of people

DEFINITION

This indicator measures the number of people engaged in capacity strengthening initiatives provided by WFP to national stakeholders. It focuses only on individuals in professional or organizational roles who deliver services to local or national populations, or to other institutional stakeholders to end hunger.

It is reported in COMET through detailed indicators that describe the type of support provided and allow for sex disaggregation of participants. Country offices can select the detailed indicators that best reflect their activity context and implementation.

Within COMET, the detailed indicators are grouped according to the following categories:

• Government and public sector staff: This refers to individuals employed by national or sub-national government institutions or public entities who are responsible for designing, managing, implementing, or supporting policies, programmes, or services within national systems. Examples include ministry officials, local government staff, agricultural or social protection extension workers, public health personnel, and staff of parastatal agencies.

• School staff: These are individuals working in schools who are involved in delivering, managing, or supporting school‑based programmes and services. Examples include teachers, school administrators, canteen or school feeding staff, and other personnel supporting school‑based food security and nutrition interventions.

• Other national partner staff: This refers to individuals working in non‑governmental organizations, private sector entities, academic institutions, or community‑based organizations of the country, who contribute to national systems and participate in WFP‑supported capacity strengthening activities. Examples include staff of national NGOs supporting programme implementation, private sector service providers (e.g. financial service providers, logistics companies), researchers or analysts from national universities or think tanks, and members of farmer organizations, cooperatives, or community‑based groups involved in food security and nutrition activities.

Additional key terms for this indicator are defined below.

WFP capacity strengthening support: Engagements with national stakeholders aimed at enhancing the capacity of national systems and programmes to function efficiently, effectively and sustainably. WFP applies a mix of support types – from accompaniment to advocacy, convening, piloting, modeling, secondment, physical and financial assets, knowledge products and training – to address diverse needs and entry points (see guidance on 9 Types of Capacity Strengthening Support).

Capacity strengthening initiatives for the purposes of this indicator refer to the specific types of activities through which WFP supports national stakeholders to develop knowledge and skills and to perform their roles more effectively. These initiatives include:

• Structured learning activities such as trainings, Training‑of‑Trainers, workshops, presentations, conferences, group work, and other events focused on knowledge transfer and learning outcomes.

• Engagement and dialogue processes such as focus group discussions, stakeholder consultations, and advocacy‑related events.

• On‑the‑job learning, including national stakeholder staff shadowing WFP staff, or WFP staff coaching and mentoring national colleagues who are implementing activities.

• Technical advisory support, such as participation in technical working groups or contributions to policy or strategy processes.

• Peer‑learning opportunities, such as South–South and Triangular Cooperation visits.

These initiatives may be time‑bound (e.g. a workshop or study visit) or ongoing (e.g. sustained coaching or mentoring).

People refers to individuals in professional or organizational roles who participate in WFP‑facilitated capacity strengthening activities. These individuals receive knowledge or skills intended to support them in delivering services to local or national populations, or to other institutional stakeholders.

National stakeholder refers to a domestic actor operating within a country’s territory at national, sub‑national, or local levels. This includes government institutions, civil society organizations, private‑sector entities, and community‑based groups.

For this indicator, the term may also include regional bodies rooted in and serving countries within a specific region (e.g. African Union, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency).

It excludes international or external organizations, such as UN agencies, international financial institutions, bilateral donors, and international NGOs.

Facilitated by WFP refers to instances where WFP contributes directly to the delivery of capacity strengthening initiatives to national stakeholders, either as the primary provider or as a supporting provider:

1. Primary provider: WFP or its cooperating partner leads the delivery of knowledge. This includes situations where WFP/CP staff deliver trainings, or convene, chair, and facilitate events aimed at knowledge transfer and achieving learning outcomes.

2. Supporting provider: WFP provides technical or back‑stopping support to stakeholders who lead the design or delivery of capacity strengthening initiatives. These lead actors may include national government counterparts or third parties (e.g. national civil society organizations, private sector entities, academic institutions, or partner governments). In such cases, they may replicate WFP training packages, materials, or modalities, or develop and deliver new initiatives with WFP’s technical support.

**Important consideration when using this indicator:

This indicator does not count individual citizens or members of households who improve their own food security and nutrition status by receiving capacity strengthening support (e.g. pregnant and lactating women reached through social behavior change communication). These are Tier 1 beneficiaries, and should be reported through the COMET needs‑based plan and monthly beneficiary reports, following the Tier 1 Capacity Strengthening Beneficiary Guidance.

This indicator also does not capture indirect beneficiaries, i.e. people who benefit from national programmes after WFP has strengthened the capacities of national stakeholders. To report indirect beneficiaries, please refer to the Tier 2 and Tier 3 beneficiary guidance.

RATIONALE

This indicator measures participation in WFP‑facilitated capacity strengthening initiatives. It helps show whether national actors who contribute to food‑security and nutrition outcomes are being reached with training, technical support or other learning opportunities.

DATA SOURCE

Data for this indicator come from programme records – mainly participant lists – provided by WFP and its partners, and compiled by activity managers and monitoring teams.

INDICATOR CALCULATION FOR REPORTING

This indicator is calculated by summing the target or follow‑up values reported for the selected detailed output indicators.

To ensure consistent and accurate counting, apply the following rules:

• Count unique individuals for each type of engagement. Each person should be counted only once for a given type of capacity strengthening support, even if they participate in multiple initiatives of the same type during the reporting period (e.g. several trainings or workshops on the same topic).

• Allow individuals to be reported under multiple types of engagement. The same individual may appear under more than one form of capacity strengthening (e.g. training, on‑the‑job learning, technical advisory support) if they participated in each, but should be counted only once in the overall total.

• Report total and sex‑disaggregated values consistently. Enter the total number of individuals engaged. Where sex‑disaggregated data are available, the sum of female and male values must equal this total, as COMET does not aggregate these automatically.

• The indicator is not cumulative. Values reflect the number of individuals engaged during the reporting year only.

DATA ENTRY AND DISAGGREGATION IN CORPORATE SYSTEMS

Planned values for this output indicator are entered in the Other Output Plan (OOP) in COMET, while actual values are recorded through completion reports. Planned and actual values must be disaggregated by activity tag and location.

In COMET, this indicator is broken down into three detailed indicators that specify who received capacity strengthening support. Each of these includes further breakdowns by type of engagement. The detailed indicators are:

• C.25.1 Number of government and public sector staff engaged in WFP-facilitated capacity strengthening initiatives.

• C.25.2 Number of school staff trained or certified.

• C.25.3 Number of other national partner staff (e.g. civil society, private sector, academia) engaged in WFP-facilitated capacity strengthening initiatives

If the indicator is included in the logframe, reporting on at least one detailed indicator is mandatory. Values should be reported using the corresponding breakdown presented in the tables below, reporting only against applicable entries. Sex‑disaggregated values should be included whenever available.

PLANNED FIGURES

Targets for this indicator are set at the level of the detailed indicators selected for reporting, using the corresponding breakdown presented in the data entry tables above. Activity managers should define these targets at the start of the engagement, in consultation with key stakeholders. Target values should reflect expected participation, stakeholder priorities, and WFP’s capacity to facilitate the planned initiatives. When possible, they should also be informed by the stakeholder’s own plans for developing staff capacities.

At the beginning of each reporting year, targets must be reviewed with stakeholders. Annual target values for each selected detailed indicator are then entered into the COMET Other Output Plan (OOP). Initial targets should be established in the first quarter of the first year of CSP implementation and revisited in the first quarter of each subsequent year.

FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

The indicator should be monitored continuously through proper record keeping, with records reviewed at least quarterly for quality assurance and accurate tracking.

Country offices may update values in COMET periodically (e.g. quarterly), where feasible, to ensure timely data capture. However, data must at a minimum be consolidated and reported annually in the COMET completion report.

INTERPRETATION

This indicator shows how many individuals were reached through WFP‑facilitated capacity strengthening initiatives aimed at enhancing national systems. On its own, the figure reflects reach only; it does not indicate the quality or intensity of the engagement, nor the actual changes or improvements in national capacities that the participation was intended to support. To interpret this indicator meaningfully, it should be reviewed alongside complementary indicators and supported by a short narrative describing:

• whose capacities were strengthened (e.g. government counterparts, national service providers, civil society organizations).

• what capacities were targeted (e.g. skills to design, deliver or manage services).

• for what purpose within the broader objective of the intervention.

The narrative should also clarify the type of capacity strengthening initiative provided and how it contributes to enabling participants to apply and sustain the capacities gained.

REPORTING EXAMPLE(S)

The example below illustrates how this indicator can be reported in the Annual Country Report. It highlights who participated, how they engaged, and how the initiative contributed to broader efforts to strengthen national systems.

In 2024, WFP supported the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) in developing triggers and thresholds for the national early warning system and planning for their rollout. Building on this foundation, WFP facilitated a series of training and coaching sessions in 2025 to support implementation of the new mechanism.

A total of 350 NDMA representatives at sub‑national level – covering counties X, Y, and Z – participated in these capacity strengthening initiatives. The engagement combined online and in‑person training sessions, followed by on‑site support from government officials previously trained by WFP as coaches.

By the end of the training cycle, 90 percent of participants demonstrated the ability to apply the early warning triggers and thresholds in practice, including taking timely action and informing relevant stakeholders in line with the updated procedures.

INDICATORS COLLECTED & ANALYSED AT THE SAME TIME

Use this indicator together with a small set of related capacity strengthening output indicators to understand how WFP engaged, what was produced or transferred, and who was involved. In particular:

• C.26 provides information on the number of initiatives delivered.

• C.27 captures the tools, products, or materials developed or revised.

• C.8 reflects the assets or infrastructure transferred to national stakeholders.

• C.28 shows the number of institutions engaged at national and subnational levels.

Taken together, these indicators link participants to the activities they joined, the products and assets created, and the institutions involved, providing a more complete picture of the scope and nature of WFP’s engagement.

VISUALIZATION

N/A

LIMITATIONS

• Reflects participation only. As an output indicator, it counts how many people were engaged, but does not capture the quality, depth, or effectiveness of the capacity strengthening support.

• Dependent on participant records. Accuracy relies on complete and consistent participant lists from WFP and partners; gaps can lead to undercounting or double‑counting.

• Limited disaggregation. Sex‑disaggregated information may not always be available, reducing the ability to analyze who was reached.

• Variation in event types. The indicator counts all participants equally, regardless of whether they took part in short sessions or more intensive engagements.

• Influenced by external factors. Participation can be affected by staffing changes, institutional priorities, or operational constraints beyond WFP’s control.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Refer to the CCS Framework, 9 Types of Capacity Strengthening Support, and additional resources in the CCS section of the Programme Guidance Manual.