Systems thinking has the potential to help development workers better understand the factors that influence the abilities of people, organisations and institutions to perform and to achieve desired outcomes.

Insufficient attention has been given to understanding how capacity develops in different organisational and societal contexts.

Causal loop diagrams can show the many factors that contribute to a problem, and how they link together. By understanding the broader context, organisations can identify what is within and what is beyond their ability to change.

Systems thinking is very common among European NGOs, but it often covers over the complexity of context, power relations and local knowledge. Chris Mowles gives an example of how taking a systems approach overlooked local initiatives, and thus made it difficult for local people to engage in genuine partnerships with European NGO staff.

Analysing power relations is important for understanding the contexts in which decisions about capacity development are made. There is a lot more to power than the simple struggle between those who have it and those who don’t. A more comprehensive view of power can ensure that it is used in a more strategic way.

One of the most notable changes in the field of agricultural development has been the growing popularity of thinking in terms of innovation systems rather than just focusing on research.

SNV Ethiopia is using value chain analysis to understand how farmers are interlinked with other actors, and to identify capacities of key actors that require strengthening.

Local economic development (LED) projects are being undertaken in many municipal areas of South Africa. These municipalities have been criticised by analysts for prioritising infrastructure and service backlogs above LED. Applying thinking in terms of system dynamics, Bodhanya shows that the municipalities are right, and that infrastructure and service delivery should be considered part of local economic development.

A spectre is haunting donors – the spectre of insignificance. Once the world seemed to be on a rather straight path towards universal well-being: donors could provide investments to boost the economy (1960 and1970s), or pay attention to basic needs (1980s) or press for market and fiscal policy reforms (1990s). Today, donors herald the virtues of target-driven comprehensive planning with a focus on social sectors, embodied in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). These efforts throughout the decades have been accompanied by mountains of training and technical assistance aimed at developing capacity.

The Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently launched a major evaluation of Dutch support for capacity development in 17 countries.