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People Matter: An introduction to capacity development
The term capacity development gained prominence in the 1990s, in part due to the growing realization that providing technical solutions and/or funding are not sufficient in themselves to address most development challenges. This led to a renewed focus on the underlying human and organizational capabilities that need to be strengthened, through working more closely with the individuals, organizations and societies that were the intended beneficiaries of development support. As a conceptual approach, capacity development was also linked to the search for viable alternatives to the dominant 'top-down' aid model, by refocusing attention on the crucial role of local professionals and support structures (both governmental and non-governmental) in driving sustainable development.
Capacity development has been described variously as: “the ability [of an organization] to function as a resilient, strategic and autonomous entity” (Kaplan, 1999); “the ability of people, organizations and society as a whole to manage their affairs successfully” (OECD, 2006); or “the ability of a human system to perform, sustain itself and self-renew” (Ubels et al, Earthscan/SNV, 2010).
The emergence of the capacity development as a distinct field of thinking and practice has gone hand in hand with advances in human resources - and institutional – development, and can be distinguished by five important strands:
- training and human resources development
- participatory approaches
- organizational development
- policy and institutional development
- multi-actor processes and systems
The ‘essential readings’ section on the right, together with the specific literature provided in each topic page, are carefully selected in order to equip practitioners with a good overview of:
- definitions of capacity and its development;
- frameworks and models for understanding capacity development;
- the intervention repertoire (approaches, methods, tools, roles, attitudes) used in capacity development;
- empirical research findings and case studies that offer further guidance and lessons for day to day practice.
Featured Article
Learning to evaluate capacity development: The making of 'Facilitating resourcefulness'
This article is a supplement to Issue 43 of
Capacity.org. It takes a look behind the scenes of an extensive evaluation of 26 case
studies covering the support to capacity development of seven Dutch Development Partners under the
coordination and partial responsibility of the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of
the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign affairs. The evaluation aimed to draw lessons on how to improve
the effectiveness of future capacity development interventions.
- Search Terms:
- analytical frameworks
- casestudies
Recent Articles
Creative capacity development
18 August 2011
The development community seems
constantly and restlessly in search of a singular approach that will “ solve” poverty, unveiling
new buzzwords every few years only to toss them aside. Reflecting on personal experience as
Director of a Cambodian capacity-building NGO, VBNK, Jenny Pearson argues that the
fundamental flaw with prevailing development approaches is that they remain embedded in a
technocratic and specialized paradigm that is ill-equipped to deal with the complexity of
real-world development contexts.
Designing a results-focused capacity development strategy
17 August 2011
In
this guide published in August 2011, the World Bank Institute (WBI) presents operational steps to
help a project leader or task team facilitate stakeholders in designing a capacity development
strategy.
Theories of change: A resource list
24 May 2011
Research to Action has developed a list of resources for researchers and organizations looking to develop a ‘theory of change’ for their work. The page is worth visiting for capacity development practitioners as many of the resources provide practical guidance on how to fit the different theoretical frameworks to a variety of practice contexts.
MoreOnline discussion: Is capacity development on the brink of maturity?
21 March 2011
We are pleased to invite you to participate in an
online discussion on some of the issues tackled in "Capacity Development in Practice", the resource
volume for practitioners.
Scaling up in development cooperation
21 March 2011
For over 30 years one of the core tasks of the German international
cooperation agency GIZ's core tasks has been to support people, organizations and societies in
developing and emerging countries as they undergo the learning and change processes needed to
achieve capacity development. Specifically, this entails supporting people in acquiring technical
expertise, managerial competence and performance capability. And it means supporting organizations,
public institutions and private companies in making their organizational, management and production
structures more efficient and effective.
IDS Bulletin 41.3 (April 2010) Reflecting collectively on capacities for change
18 December 2010
‘Capacity development’ implies a promise of growing
self-reliance, national ownership and sustainability, yet practice seems consistently to fall short
of this emancipatory promise. This publication argues for a reframing of capacity development for
emancipatory social change.
Other Topics
Essential Readings
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Ubels, J., N. Acquaye-Baddoo and A. Fowler (eds.) (2010) Capacity Development in Practice, Earthscan, UK
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Kaplan, A. (1999) The Developing of Capacity, Community Development Resource Association, Cape Town, South Africa
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Baser, H. and P. Morgan (2008) ‘Capacity, change and performance: Study report’, ECDPM Discussion Paper 59B, ECDPM: Maastricht
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OECD (2006) The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice, Paris
