These guidelines were developed to help managers and other professionals manage capacity assessment and development programmes, technical assistance and other types of intervention. This requires a comprehensive understanding of capacity in a systems and strategic management context at various levels: individual, organisational, and the broader system or enabling environment within which entities and individuals function. The guidelines are not a methodology per se, nor a prescribed set of rules and procedures to solve a problem. Rather, the guidelines present a range of tools, techniques and approaches that can be adapted to meet the unique requirements of different situations.