Social capacity building in rural Aymara women organizations in Puno, Peru.

Social capacity building has been considered in the last decades an important element of rural development projects, as it helps organizations and communities to better use their resources, design and manage projects locally and improve their living standards. Social capacity building has been related to the development of certain skills and to the concept of leadership development. Social capacity building and leadership development under a social learning approach have guided a rural development project with an Aymara women organization in Puno, Peru, where around 400 women artisans are trying to develop a business organization to improve their lives and their communities. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been applied to assess improvements in capacities and leadership. Results show that the technical aspects are the first to be developed but that group process skills and contextual skills take longer and are crucial to the success of the projects.

Desarrollo de capacidades para el liderazgo en proyectos de desarrollo rural. Aplicación a comunidades Aymaras

Los proyectos de desarrollo en el medio rural han cambiado en las últimas décadas, desde un enfoque tecnocrático y descendente, que resultó insuficiente, a otro que otorga un papel principal a las personas locales. En este contexto, los nuevos modelos de planificación y gestión de los proyectos de desarrollo a menudo incluyen entre sus objetivos el desarrollo de las capacidades locales y el liderazgo, dedicándose a ellos anualmente billones de dólares. Ambos conceptos son considerados elementos indispensables para aumentar la sostenibilidad de las acciones desde un enfoque endógeno, lo que genera un gran interés tanto desde el ámbito científico como en los debates y objetivos de los organismos internacionales. Sin embargo no existe un consenso sobre el marco conceptual del desarrollo de capacidades ni sobre las metodologías adecuadas para evaluarlo. Por otra parte, en el caso del desarrollo de liderazgo, la mayoría de los estudios e investigaciones se han centrado en entornos empresariales, siendo escasos los trabajos centrados en el ámbito rural. En dicho contexto, la complejidad se incrementa debido a que a menudo la autoridad y poder de los líderes no están dados por puestos formales, sino por relaciones sociales y vínculos de confianza. Esta investigación presenta una primera fase conceptual, que aborda el marco teórico, analizando y clarificando los conceptos de desarrollo de capacidades, competencias y liderazgo en el contexto de los proyectos de desarrollo rural. Así mismo, en esta fase se clasifican los principales instrumentos para evaluar el desarrollo de capacidades, para así definir las variables que conforman el constructo de capacidades. Además se determina la multidimensionalidad del concepto de capacidades y por ello la conveniencia de abordarlo a nivel individual y colectivo. También se analizan los distintos estilos de liderazgo para llegar a una definición propia de desarrollo de capacidades y de liderazgo adaptadas al medio rural. El marco teórico anterior permite sentar, en una segunda fase de la investigación, las bases científicas del modelo que se propone: el modelo DCL de Desarrollo de Capacidades para el Liderazgo en los proyectos de desarrollo rural. Este modelo incorpora elementos del marco conceptual Working With People (Cazorla et al., 2013), fruto de 25 años de experiencia en el ámbito de la planificación de proyectos de desarrollo rural desde el grupo de investigación GESPLAN de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. El modelo DCL integra metodologías cuantitativas y cualitativas y una doble escala de análisis para promover y evaluar el desarrollo de capacidades en la población local desde tres componentes: técnico-empresarial, relacional y contextual. Además el modelo DCL incorpora un proceso metodológico para poder integrar el seguimiento y la evaluación de las capacidades a lo largo del ciclo del proyecto. Finalmente, en una fase de aplicación, se acomete la validación del modelo DCL a través del caso de estudio de un proyecto de desarrollo con una organización de mujeres artesanas de comunidades aymaras de Puno (Perú). Este proyecto, que incorpora el marco conceptual WWP, integra 5 años de experiencia con comunidades aymaras desde el grupo de investigación GESPLAN. La aplicación muestra cómo el modelo DCL permite evaluar el desarrollo de capacidades para el liderazgo. Así mismo, la incorporación de los aprendizajes tras las evaluaciones de desarrollo de capacidades permite reorientar las acciones del proyecto para mejorar su planificación y gestión y producir un verdadero empoderamiento y liderazgo de la organización local. Lo anterior se traduce en un aumento de la sostenibilidad del proyecto y de la resiliencia social de la organización. ABSTRACT Development projects in rural areas have changed in recent decades, from a technocratic and top-down approach, which proved insufficient, to another that gives a major role to local people. In this context, the new models of planning and management of development projects often include among their objectives the development of local capacities and leadership and engage billions of dollars annually. Both concepts are considered essential for enhancing the sustainability of the actions from an endogenous approach, generating great interest both from the scientific field and in the debates and objectives of international organizations. However there is no consensus on the conceptual framework of capacity development and on appropriate methodologies to evaluate it. Moreover, in the case of leadership development, most of the studies and research have focused on business environments, with few studies focusing on rural areas. In this context, the complexity is increased because often the authority and power of the leaders are not given for formal positions, but by social relationships and bonds of trust. This research presents an initial conceptual phase, which addresses the theoretical framework, analyzing and clarifying the concepts of capacity development, competencies and leadership in the context of rural development projects. Also, at this stage the main instruments to assess capacity development are classified so as to define the variables that shape the capacity construct. Besides the multidimensionality of the concept of capacity is determined and therefore the convenience of addressing it at an individual and colective level. Different leadership styles are also analyzed to propose a definition of capacity development and leadership adapted to the rural environment. The above theoretical framework allows to set, in a second research phase, the scientific basis of the proposed model: the model DCL of Capacity Development for Leadership in rural development projects. This model incorporates elements of the conceptual framework Working With People (Cazorla et al., 2013), the result of 25 years of experience in the field of project planning for rural development from the research group GESPLAN of the Technical University of Madrid. The DCL model integrates quantitative and qualitative methodologies and a double scale of analysis to promote and evaluate capacity development in the local population from three components: technical-entrepreneurial, relational and contextual. Besides the DCL model incorporates a methodological process to integrate monitoring and evaluation of capacities throughout the project cycle. Finally, in an application phase, DCL model validation is undertaken through the case study of a development project with an organization of women artisans of Aymara communities in Puno (Peru). This project, that incorporates the WWP conceptual framework, integrates 5 years of experience with Aymara communities from GESPLAN research group. The application shows how the DCL model allows to assess the development of capacities for leadership. Also, the incorporation of lessons learned after monitoring and evaluation of capacity development allows to redirect actions to improve project planning and management and produce a true empowerment and leadership of the local organization. This translates into increased project sustainability and social resilience of the organization.

Leadership in executive women from the viewpoint of project management competences: a study in the region of Madrid / Liderazgo de la mujer directiva desde las competencias para la dirección de proyectos: estudio en la región de Madrid

Today's knowledge society is creating increasingly competitive environments in which cognitive factors, creativity, knowledge and information determine the success of organizations. In this context the exercise of management and leadership is essential to achieve objectives, goals and relationships. Both concepts have been historically associated with the male domain because of the underrepresentation of women in managerial positions. However, the increasing participation of women in the workplace has led to the development of an extensive literature on the possible existence of differences between the styles of male and female leadership, although it has not been addressed from the analysis of competences associated with each sex. Through a participatory process the abilities and skills associated with women managers are analyzed, the differences in leadership styles and the barriers that still exist for the promotion of women into management positions. The results indicate that women particularly value the skills associated with human relationships, the female leadership style tends to be transformational and that there are still barriers to their advancement to management positions.

Social involvement for community development in rural areas of Cuenca, Spain

Community development must be accompanied by a social involvement process which creates functional groups of citizens capable of taking responsibility for their own development. It is important that this process promotes the structuring of all population groups and provides the appropriate institutional and technical support. The present paper addresses these issues based on over 25 years of experience by the Association Instituto de Desarrollo Comunitario de Cuenca in revitalizing rural areas of the Spanish province of Cuenca. This paper analyses the social involvement process encouraged by this association, the relationships between public institutions and local associations, the role of these associations and the difficulties encountered in the rural areas. The long-term perspective of this experience provides some keys which can be used to successfully support the process of social involvement ―such as information on its characteristics and methodological tools―, establish local associations and create sustainable partnerships that foster the growth of leadership within the community development process.

OER Development and Promotion. Outcomes of an International Research Project on the OpenCourseWare Model

In this paper, we describe the successful results of an international research project focused on the use of Web technology in the educational context. The article explains how this international project, funded by public organizations and developed over the last two academic years, focuses on the area of open educational resources (OER) and particularly the educational content of the OpenCourseWare (OCW) model. This initiative has been developed by a research group composed of researchers from three countries. The project was enabled by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid OCW Office�s leadership of the Consortium of Latin American Universities and the distance education know-how of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL, Ecuador). We give a full account of the project, methodology, main outcomes and validation. The project results have further consolidated the group, and increased the maturity of group members and networking with other groups in the area. The group is now participating in other research projects that continue the lines developed here

Leadership and project management competences in executive women: different styles from the agents' perceptions

The exercise of management and leadership are key aspects to achieve objectives, goals and relationships in the current knowledge society marked by increasingly competitive environments in which cognitive factors, creativity, knowledge and information determine the success of organizations. Both concepts have been historically associated with the male domain because of the underrepresentation of women in managerial positions. However, the increasing participation of women in the workplace has led to the development of an extensive literature on the possible existence of differences between the styles of male and female leadership, although it has not been addressed from the analysis of competences associated with each sex. Through a participatory process the abilities and skills related to women managers are analyzed and the differences in leadership styles. The results indicate that women particularly value the skills associated with human relationships, and that female leadership style tends to be transformational.