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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:
Dilemmas of inter-organisational learning
From picking up a good idea from a competitor to engaging in strategic alliances, there is a wide spectrum of ways in which inter-organisational learning occurs. However, unlike the private sector inter-organisational learning in the development sector is hardly studied or evaluated. There seems to be an uncritical assumption that working and learning together is unproblematic and usually beneficial for all parties. Drawing on practical cases from India, South Sudan and South Africa, among others, this issue of Capacity.org discusses a number of challenges faced by learning partnerships and offers lessons for avoiding some of the commonly experienced pitfalls.
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Recent Issues
Issue 45: Adapting to climate change
Humankind will have to learn to live with climate change. Experts argue that even the most effective mitigation measures will no longer be sufficient to avert climate change resulting from past carbon emissions. This issue of Capacity.org discusses the capacity of communities to adapt to the effects of climate change. It focuses in particular on those communities considered most vulnerable to climate change impacts, including marginalized smallholders and pastoralists whose livelihoods depend on natural resource bases that are already severely stressed and degraded.
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With the global population expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050, there has been growing attention at the highest policy circles to the contribution of small-scale agriculture to food security and poverty eradication. In a 2010 report, Olivier de Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, cited research findings that small-scale farmers could potentially double their yields within ten years, subject to prudent application of external inputs and effective management of natural resources. However, the creation of an enabling framework towards this end has been hampered by contradictory approaches and policy ''pendulum swings" over the past few decades that have seen national and international efforts focus alternately on 'rights-based' and 'market-based' support strategies. This issue of Capacity.org aims to refocus attention on the critical but largely neglected issue of producer agency: that is, the capacity of producers to make informed choices, and to act on those choices. Drawing on several detailed case studies - contract farming arrangements that benefit or exploit farmers; guidelines for addressing farm labour interests; and the role of women on small-scale farms - the journal's contributors offer practical guidance on how to strike the right balance between "economic and political empowerment."
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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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Next Issue: Innovative Development Financing
As development budgets continue to face intense pressure, attention is turning to how to achieve greater impact with fewer resources. Issue 47 of Capacity.org will highlight experiences in using innovative development financing to catalyse private investments for pro-poor or inclusive development, especially at the sub-national and local level. We welcome contributions from researchers and practitioners with experience on this topic. See the call for contributions.
