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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.
Despite their diversity, these cases convey a set of consistent messages and patterns:
- Capacity development begins at home, building on local or domestic dynamics, ambition, leadership and commitment.
- The starting point for local actors who drive capacity development efforts is to find ways to
make meaningful contributions to positive social change rather than focusing on delivering the
preset targets demanded by external partners.
- Drivers of capacity development are able to mobilise multi-actor engagement for change, which generates legitimacy and provides the basis for a viable revenue model. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) movement in Nepal is funded by resources of the central government, the local government and the commitment of hundreds of volunteers. The main source of income for the Kenya Association of Manufacturers is membership subscriptions and the fees it gets for services. The Environmental Council of Zambia earns most of its income from government budget allocation and licensing fees.
- The time it takes for capacity development to transform into better performance varies, and often does not correspond with a typical project cycle. Sometimes it may take more than ten years, while in other situations significant achievements can be realised in a much shorter time.
Recent Articles
Evaluating capacity development
13 September 2011
Why evaluations seldom satisfy – could we do better?
As capacity development becomes mainstreamed in
international development assistance programmes, demand for the systematic evaluation of
capacity-development initiatives is growing. Doug Horton explains how the evaluation of capacity
development can be improved.
Lacor hospital’s approach to the vertical funding dilemma
12 September 2011
Letter to the editor
The topics ‘strengthening health systems’ and ‘vertical programming’ addressed in issue 42 of Capacity.org struck a chord with us at St Mary’s Hospital in Lacor, Northern Uganda. Lacor Hospital is a general referral hospital that focuses on diseases that are prevalent in the region it serves – mostly tropical and infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis, intestinal parasites, etc.
MoreUnderstanding capacity development from within
12 September 2011
The Capacity.org editorial board
Our message to Busan
This November, representatives from 91 countries will attend the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan. Here they will review global progress on improving the impact of development aid. Since the previous forums on aid effectiveness in Paris (2005) and Accra (2008), capacity development has featured prominently in efforts to achieve lasting results. Despite the progress that has undoubtedly been made, there is still a long way to go.
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