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The Journal
Capacity.org is published three times a year in English and French.
Each issue of the journal focuses on a specific theme and aims to enhance our understanding
of core conceptual building blocks as well as practical applications within different development
sectors. The journal also identifies emerging issues and encourage debate on the future of the
capacity development sector as a whole.
Current Issue:
Voices of capacity development
External aid can provide a significant boost to country-led processes. However, if external partners focus on the performance of their own aid, policies, approaches and knowledge, their support is more likely to hinder than support a country’s efforts. In this special issue published to coincide with the Fourth High Level Conference on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea, Capacity.org invited a number of change agents in the South to speak about their experiences in leading change processes. The interviews cover a wide range of sectors and countries: achieving universal access to energy in South Africa, improved sanitation in Nepal, a more favourable business environment in Kenya, enforcing compliance with environmental laws in Zambia, and introducing active approaches to learning in Laotian schools.
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Recent Issues
Issue 42: Strengthening health systems
Many developing countries have health systems that are ailing – and well-intentioned development aid is contributing to the problem. Between 2000 and 2010, annual development assistance for health surged from US$10.5 billion to US$27 billion. Most of this was channelled through donor-driven programmes targeted at specific diseases, most prominently HIV/AIDS. Such ‘vertical’ programming has undermined the development of strong national health systems and drawn resources away from countries’ other health priorities. District governments have a key role in coordinating the activities of all local health players, including those running vertical programmes.
View all articles in this journal Download current journal as PDFIssue 41: Facilitating multi-actor change
In the practice of capacity development, we have seen a gradual shift away from training individuals to strengthening organizations. Currently, the emphasis seems to be shifting again; from working with single organisations to facilitating multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs). But it would be a mistake to assume that MSPs are just the latest fad in the discourse on capacity development (CD). In fact, they have always been an integral part of human interaction. MSPs spring up whenever people or organisations see that collaboration can help to seize development opportunities.
View all articles in this journal Download current journal as PDFIssue 40: Local government for gender equality
Despite signs of progress in some regions and countries, the overall pattern of gender inequality remains unchanged. In most countries women work more hours than men but earn less. This is because they often perform unpaid work and are over-represented in lower income groups. To make matters worse, they often earn less than men for identical work. In rural areas few women own land, which reduces their access to income from agricultural produce. And cultural factors contribute to girls being discriminated against when they want to go to school, which diminishes their career opportunities.
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Next Issue
Making markets work for small-scale farmers
With the global population expected to grow to 9 billion people by 2050, the role of small-scale agricultural producers is drawing increasing attention at the highest policy circles. Until now, much of this has focused on connecting producers to markets. But there is also growing critique of market-based development, resulting in a highly polarized debate between ‘rights-based’ and ‘ market-based’ approaches. Issue 44 of Capacity.org, to be published in April 2012, will focus on a key missing element in this debate: the role of producer agency and capacity to make effective choices in the face of powerful external interests. Bringing insights from different disciplines, the issue aims to help reshape the debate and to find solutions how markets can made to work for small scale farmers. Editor-in-chief, Heinz Greijn (editor@capacity.org).
