Capacity Building, Human Resource Development and Bahrainisation: Perceptions of Senior Public Sector Employees in Bahrain

This paper reports the findings of Phase 2 of the study, initially reported upon in this journal in 2018 (Alaali & Rees, 2018), and in which we explored the association between Capacity Building and HRD. In Phase 2 of the study, we use the case of Bahrain’s nationalization programme (Bahrainisation) to examine the perceptions of senior government employees towards Capacity Building and HRD. A total of 20 senior government officials were interviewed in order to ascertain their views about the links between Capacity Building and HRD and also the factors which they consider to be critical to the outcomes of the nationalization programme. The findings reveal that the interviewees viewed HRD activities to be an integral element of national Capacity Building. These practitioners also identified the important role of lifelong development activities such as education and training in Capacity Building. Further, in findings which complement the conclusions drawn in Phase 1 of the study, it was found that the interviewees emphasized sustainability and national level considerations, such as legislation and occupational standards, as integral features of Capacity Building as opposed to HRD. In contrast to Phase 1, the interview data also drew attention to the importance the interviewees placed on research data to inform Capacity Building initiatives at the national level. These findings are discussed with reference to subjects such as the inter-disciplinary nature of Capacity Building and HRD and also emergent work on evidence-based practice.