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Multi-actor engagement
Development challenges are rarely resolved through and performance of a single organization. Rather, they depend on the effective engagement and mobilization of multiple actors. Experience suggests that when facilitated well, multi-stakeholder processes can enhance the effectiveness of development initiatives, foster collective learning, and trigger long term changes at the institutional level.
“A society develops and solves its problems through its collective capacities” (Capacity Development in Practice, 2010). The ability of an organization to improve its performance depends on the way it is linked to external actors, and the quality of exchanges between these actors, as well as their respective capacities. The relations between all those actors are influenced by historical and cultural factors, rules, regulations and policies.
In recent years there has been a significant increase in capacity development initiatives that focus on the 'space in-between actors.' The resources featured in this section highlight some of the resulting experiences and insights practitioners have gained through facilitating multi-stakeholder processes and other tools for joint action.
Featured Article
Multi-actor systems as entry points to capacity development
Reasons for a revision of intervention logic
It is often assumed that capacity development starts from within individuals and organisations and then permeates into society. But capacity also comes about through interaction between actors. This suggests that a change in intervention logic and repertoire can boost effectiveness.
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- rural development
Recent Articles
Brazil launches online multistakeholder dialogues for Rio+20
25 April 2012
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.
Evaluation for equitable development results
01 April 2012
This wide-ranging publication aims to contribute to the international debate on how to achieve
equitable development results by conceptualizing, designing, implementing and using evaluations
focused on human rights and equity. It does so by offering a number of strong contributions from 27
world-level experts and senior officers in institutions and governments dealing with development
and evaluation. The authors also presented their contribution in a series of webinars that are
available for download on the
My
M&E web portal. The book complements an earlier manual “
How to
design and implement equity-focused evaluations,” published in 2011.
What future for Vietnamese bamboo?
25 March 2012
Government intervention – essential for an enabling environment
In
eastern China, thousands of smallholders generate substantial incomes from bamboo. But across the
border in Vietnam where conditions are, if anything, more favourable, smallholders are moving out
of bamboo. An opportunity will go to waste here unless local authorities take the initiative.
LenCD case stories database
24 March 2012
Case stories are an important and accessible way of
sharing experiences and learning lessons. Many organisations publish case stories on their
websites, but finding these stories has always required a good deal of research.
LenCD (Learning Network on Capacity Development), has been building up an index of case stories including material from the United Nations Development Programme, the Task Team on South–South Cooperation, SNV, the World Bank Institute, ECDPM, and other sources.
More than 500 case stories have now been catalogued and are searchable by country and by keyword on www.lencd.org/case-stories.
MoreFeature: Making markets work for smallholders?
23 March 2012
Capacity and agency
The polarised debate on how markets can work for or
against the interests of small-scale farmers, presents major challenges for practitioners. This
article aims to rebalance our thinking about smallholders and markets.
Strengthening pastoralist voices in Tanzania
14 February 2012
This booklet, and its accompanying DVD, reports on the ‘Strengthening Voices’ project,
underway in two districts in northern Tanzania. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of
pastoralist communities and local governments to shape strategies for adaptive environmental
management and poverty reduction in Tanzania’s drylands. At the core of the project is a training
course that explains the economic and ecological processes at the heart of pastoral systems -
clarifying the rationale that underpins pastoral livelihood strategies.The course is based on a
similar initiative that has been field-tested and run in the Sahel region of West Africa since
2000.
Other Topics
Essential Readings
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Capacity.org Issue 41 (December 2010) Facilitating multi-actor change
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Jim Woodhill (2010) Capacity lives between multiple stakeholders, in Ubels, J., N. Acquaye-Baddoo and A. Fowler (eds), Capacity Development in Practice, Earthscan, pp. 25-41
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Duncan Mwesige (2010) "Using Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Capacity Development in an Agricultural Value Chain in Uganda" in: Ubels, J., N. Acquaye-Baddoo and A. Fowler (eds) Capacity Development in Practice, Earthscan, pp. 180-193
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“Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Governance and Sustainability: Beyond Deadlock and Conflict”, by Minu Hemmati, 2002 EarthScan
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Pruitt, B. and P. Thomas (2007) Democratic Dialogue: A Handbook for practiitoners, CIDA/IDEA/OAS/UNDP, Washington DC
