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In recent years, capacity development (CD) has received a lot of attention
in development forums around the world as the critical factor in achieving
sustainable development and aid effectiveness. Evidence from research and
the experience of development practitioners suggests that capacity
development should be a central focus for international development efforts.
Capacity development is defined as the "process whereby people,
organizations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt and
maintain capacity over time." This definition is drawn from the OECD-DAC
good practice paper, "The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working
Towards Good Practice," which was prepared with the involvement of
development practitioners and the Learning Network on Capacity Development
(LenCD).
Development practitioners have begun to accommodate calls for a more
comprehensive understanding of what capacity development means. This
includes aiding the creation of sustainable country capacities, and
achieving development results. It is more than inputs like training and
technical assistance or implementing one-off projects.
Beyond Accra the challenge will be to help translate the changing
understanding into changing practice.
| Some fundamental messages on Capacity Development |
The messages below recall some fundamental messages on capacity
development (CD). The DAC paper "The Challenge of Capacity Development:
Working Towards Good Practice" reflects the fundamentals of the emerging
consensus on CD.
- CD is an endogenous change process. Any meaningful CD support needs to
start from existing capacities and work with the assets that any country
brings to the table. It should support and engage with processes that
ensure local ownership and that, as much as possible, are driven by
country-level initiative.
- Technical cooperation (TC) and CD are not the same thing. While carefully
designed TC can support country driven CD efforts, there are other ways
that development partners can support CD. It may be helpful to
distinguish CD as a process and TC as one of several possible ways to
support it.
- While attention often focuses on developing "missing" capacity, or
attending to capacity "gaps", the first order of business must be to
recognise, safeguard and build on existing capacity.
- Capacities grow over time and evolve in different ways. It follows that
CD approaches need to be highly contextual, iterative and flexible for
"good fit".
- Just as all learning is voluntary, ownership is not an option but a
fundamental condition for capacity development. It follows that
leadership for change is equally critical.
- Accountability is a critical driver for CD, and an important link in
translating an increase in capacity to improvements in performance or in
service delivery. This means that tax-payers and civil society need to
have a voice and a right to receive answers.
- The country level is the epicentre of CD. Multi-partner arrangements to
support CD need to be shaped at the country level in the context of wider
initiatives to promote harmonisation and alignment.
- CD efforts can rarely if ever be limited to technical dimensions. Because
CD is about change, it is also about the political economy and the
realities of interest and power.
- Capacity can be considered an end — a development outcome — in itself (for
example, a capable state). Capacity provides the basis for making
development policy choices, not only a means for achieving certain goals.
The Challenge of Capacity Development
Working towards good practice (OECD/DAC 2006)
In recent year many organizations have worked on better understanding what constitutes
good practice in capacity development and in supporting endogenous capacity development
efforts. Even though focus and analytical frameworks have differed it is fair to say that
a fairly solid common ground has emerged.
A mile stone is the reference guide that the OECD Development Accistance Committee
adopted in 2006. It reflects key lessons and what constitutes this emerging consensus.
It is valuable starting point for finding a common language and identifying priorities
and adequate means of supporting capacity development.
Click here to download the full paper in English and French.
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