We welcome the new millennium with this fourth edition of Capacity.org, by returning to the wider debate on capacity building and capacity development [1]. Today, the questions raised in our April 1999 launch issue are revisited from an empirical base, informed by research and the viewpoints of practitioners.

The "sector-wide approach" (SWAp) to development programming is the theme of this issue. This approach is held to promote and be supportive of capacity development. It has been gaining appeal among multi-lateral and bi-lateral development agencies and a number of their developing country partners during recent years. It is also seen...

Donors give growing importance to evaluating the outcomes and impact of development assistance. Increasing scarcity of aid resources, evidence of unsuccessful projects and increasing public criticism of the effectiveness of development efforts are main reasons for this growing interest. Parliaments want to know what capacities have been built...