In May 2025, CABRI supported the delivery of a dynamic and reflective coaching workshop in Cape Town, organised by the Swedish Tax Agency as part of the International Capability Building Programme (ICBP) on Voluntary Tax Compliance. This training marks the capstone to a four-year journey — one that engaged 16 country teams, supported 91 public officials, and embedded the Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach in Ministries of Finance and Tax Administrations across Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. The workshop brought together alumni from four ICBP cohorts to equip them with coaching techniques that would enable diffusion and institutionalisation of the PDIA approach within their home institutions.

This workshop marked a pivotal shift — moving from learning about PDIA to learning how to support others in applying it.

Why Coaching?

Reforming public financial management (PFM) systems is not a technical challenge alone — it is deeply adaptive, requiring teams to learn, iterate, and navigate complexity together. As such, the move to embed coaching into the final phase of this PDIA-based programme reflects a pragmatic approach to sustain capability beyond this action learning programme.

By developing the coaching capabilities of the ICBP alumni, we strengthen their ability to lead reform efforts in their own contexts — not as external experts, but as trusted internal guides fostering learning and problem-solving within their teams.

Workshop Highlights

Several elements of the workshop stood out in reinforcing key coaching mindsets and techniques:

• Active listening emerged as a foundational skill. Participants found deep value in exercises that sharpened their ability to ask powerful questions and support reflective learning in teams.
• The Belbin Team Roles session offered useful reflection on group dynamics and collaboration styles. Many suggested that this tool be introduced earlier in future programmes.
• Role-play exercises gave teams a safe space to experiment with real coaching scenarios tied to common PDIA challenges — including political pushback, team conflict, and loss of momentum.
• Ending with action planning sessions ensured that participants left with concrete ideas on how they will apply coaching methods in their country contexts.

Perhaps most importantly, the workshop reinforced a growing recognition: equipping reformers with coaching skills is a powerful lever for institutional change.

Next Steps: From Workshop to Practice

To sustain momentum, alumni expressed strong interest in post-workshop peer engage through quarterly peer exchange sessions. These follow-ups would help alumni hold each other accountable and continue learning together as they apply PDIA coaching in their institutions.

What This Means for CABRI’s Work

CABRI has been at the forefront of PDIA practice in Africa since 2017, working alongside reformers to shift how public finance is understood and improved. This coach training reinforces a key insight:

Institutional reform is not a one-off intervention. It requires ongoing learning, embedded leadership, and the right kind of support.

By embedding coaching capacity building within PDIA-driven programmes, CABRI and its partners ensure that learning sticks and spreads. It is a model that strengthens reform ecosystems from the inside out.

As we look ahead, integrating coaching into the design — not just the conclusion — of our PFM capability programmes could significantly deepen their impact and sustainability. By investing in the people who drive reform, we ensure that PDIA doesn’t just stay in reports, but lives in the day-to-day practices of Africa’s public institutions.