Welcome to Capacity.org: a gateway for capacity development

Welcome to Capacity.org, a resource portal for the practice of capacity development and the home of Capacity.org journal, published two to three times a year. Building on the topics covered in the journal, this website aims to facilitate access to a broad range of related online resources that practitioners can draw on for their own work. These include the latest research findings, analytical frameworks, policy debates, practical experiences and toolkits. Through links to ongoing discussions and communities of practice, we enable practitioners to find and link up with diverse organizations, professional networks and communities of practice for further support and knowledge exchanges.

Capacity.org collaborates with the Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD) and the Capacity Development Network (Capacity.net) to make knowledge resources on capacity development more accessible to policymakers, researchers, development practitioners and funding organizations.

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For a quick overview of key resources available on Capacity.org, grouped by thematic area and topic, please follow the links below.

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European Commission re-thinks its capacity development approach, post-Busan

The European Commission is exploring ways to reorient its technical cooperation approach in line with the outcome of the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, which underscored the links between capacity development and development effectiveness. Building on the principles of the Technical Cooperation Reform (backbone strategy) and the lessons which have been learnt after two years of implementation, the Commission is currently updating its guidance on capacity development to integrate it into its overall Project and Programme Cycle Management guidance (PPCM).

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Brazil launches online multistakeholder dialogues for Rio+20
The Government of Brazil, as host of the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), has opened nine online thematic "Sustainable Development Dialogues" to generate ideas and set the stage for the civil society discussions to be held in Rio de Janeiro from 16-19 June 2012, immediately preceding UNCSD. The Dialogues are grouped under the following themes: oceans; food and nutritional security; sustainable development for fighting poverty; sustainable development as an answer to the economic and financial crises; sustainable energy for all; water; the economics of sustainable development; sustainable cities and innovation; and unemployment, decent work and migration.
Women Leading Change: Experiences promoting women's empowerment, leadership, and gender justice
Published in March 2012, this publication features, four case studies describing experiences from Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia in promoting women's political and economic empowerment and leadership. The case studies describe the context in which women live, what leadership means and how to achieve it. Attention is given to working within existing institutions and cultural norms, and also to creating new institutions. The final section summarizes common lessons and considerations for future policy and practice aiming to promote women's empowerment and leadership.

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To find resources that match your interests or field of expertise, use the "Advanced Search" link below to browse through more than 20 capacity development topics that we track regularly.

Issue 44 : March 2012

Markets, smallholders and empowerment

Next Issue: Community adaptation to climate change

Issue 45 of Capacity.org, to be published ahead of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June, will explore the theme of community adaptation to climate change. We welcome contributions on this topic for publication in the online version of the Journal, as well as the related topic resource page on the Capacity.org website (currently under development). In particular, we seek specific insights on two questions: (1) Adaptation to what? Are there reliable sources for communities find out what type of changes to expect? and (2) Which factors determine a community’s adaptation capacity and what can be done to enhance local resilience to the effects of climate change? If you would like to contribute to this issue, please contact the Editor-in-Chief, Heinz Greijn (editor@capacity.org).

Capacity.org Blog

Call for input: Capacity.org Issue 45 on Community Adaptation to Climate Change

March 21, 2012 - Heinz Greijn, Editor-in-Chief, Capacity.org

In the forthcoming issue of Capacity.org journal, due to be published prior to the Rio+20 Sustainable Development conference in June, we will turn the spotlight on those communities that are considered most vulnerable to climate change impacts. These include marginalized small holders and pastoralists whose livelihoods depend on natural resource bases that are already severely stressed and degraded. This focus is "Inspired" by the disappointing progress made at the December 2011 UN Climate Change Conference on Conference held in Durban, South Africa.

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Development support needs to focus more on improving the quality of women’s lives

March 10, 2012 - The Capacity.org team

“ What’s missing from mainstream development’s women’s empowerment agenda is a focus on women’s own desires and needs.”

The UK-based Pathways of Women’s Empowerment research programme at the Institute of Development Studies recently completed an extensive 5-year study to find out what works to enhance women’s empowerment. In an opinion piece published on International Women’s Day 2012, Pathways director, Andrea Cornwall, called for a less instrumentalist approach to women-in-development programmes. “We hear about the benefits to development of women’s work, and of having more women in public office. Social policies target women because they are assumed to care more for their children, and have more to offer their communities than men. But few development agencies seem to be concerned about improving women’s quality of life,” she argued.