With the renewed attention to agriculture as a major driver of development, development agencies now recognise the importance of producer organisations. These organisations help farmers...

Although many aid agencies claim to be learning organisations, a recent review found that they still need to address some major challenges, especially at field level. Ben Ramalingam asks why this is the case, and what aid agencies can do to lear...

How can donors and their partners support sustainable capacity development in fragile states? This article addresses key issues and dilemmas that members of the international community confront in answering this question.

This article argues that improving accountability relationships is an effective strategy for developing capacity. Effective accountability mechanisms induce public sector organisations to remain relevant and responsive to the needs and demands o...

In many countries non-state providers play a vital role in the delivery of basic services. Based on research in six countries, Richard Batley assesses how governments could work in partnership with non-state providers and promote better services...

Many years of experience in the field had led David Watson to question the value of monitoring and evaluation. Recently, a range of innovative to M&E approaches has given him new hope. Here he explains why.

Based on extensive field research and recent publications, Rick James concludes that leadership development is both feasible and crucial for capacity development. But the process is complex, messy, and requires the combined use of a variety of m...

Throughout Africa civil society networks are successfully engaging with the state and attempting to influence public policy in order to accelerate poverty reduction and national development. Drawing on the experiences of civil society networks i...

Although there are many different interpretations of capacity and how it develops, recent trends point to an emerging consensus on the challenges that professionals need to address. This introductory article traces the evolution of the debate on...