Capacity building is one of the most frequently cited jargon word in the present context of development. Many international organisations including multilateral/bilateral development agencies and NGOs have provided capacity building as a part of their programmes of technical cooperation and development to their member and partner organisations. Despite the growth in interest and popularity, development agencies, international and local, have limited understanding of what capacity building entails. Capacity building is a concept developed by international development agencies to address the capacity deficits in the developing countries. It is a process by which individuals and organisations increase their abilities to perform responsibilities and solve problems, in order to deal with their development needs in a sustainable manner. Most literature defines ‘capacity building’ as a process of developing local community-based implementing agencies by providing training and skills from international organisations to implement projects effectively. Hence, capacity building is a process of developing organisational capability by providing skills, resources and technology in order to initiate, plan and implement development projects and fulfil the development needs of the people.
The increasing role of local agencies in the implementation of development projects has raised the issue of building up the capacity of local implementing partners to address the changing paradigm of development. The capacity of any organisation can be considered in three aspects that include intellectual capacity referring to the ability to think, reflect and analyse independently; institutional capacity dealing with how organisations function; and material capacity covering the assets of the organisation.
It is contestable whether local agencies forge increased capacity without reliance on inputs of international organisations. In the main stream development practice, capacity building appears to be a one-way process, with external agencies taking the lead role. Often external agencies think they should be active and the beneficiaries should be passive recipients of ‘development’. The capacity building in community development is a long-term process that requires local ownership and learning by doing approach. Such kind of development process does not follow the time-bound project cycle approach that most funding agencies demand. Hence, external agencies cannot resist the temptation to push a capacity building process forward at their pace and design.
Chris Stalker and Dale Sandberg have written an article on capacity building for advocacy (see link below). According to them, capacity building interventions can be targeted at six levels, including the individual, projects or programmes, organisational, external linkages, creating an enabling environment, and multiple levels. They have also introduced three different types of capacity building interventions: pre-planned – offering support in pre-set areas based on evidence about key factors in effectiveness; structured support – customised framework to respond to a particular set of identified needs and challenges; and fluid approach – looking at and exploring range of opportunities and threats facing organisations or programmes and providing support in thinking through ways to best respond to these issues.
Building the capacity of community-based organisations (CBOs) to make them more effective and sustainable is a focus of many community development programmes. Chris Wardle writes an article about process-based approach to capacity building, consisting of five stages and elements, of village communities to manage the provision of clean drinking water (see link below). The stages/elements include: raising awareness and mobilising communities; creating drinking water users committees; delivering practical training and support; encouraging peer learning; and involving local partners. During the process of capacity building, programmes encountered a range of challenges and problems, including: passivity of community members; political influence and interference; difficulties with the management of the drinking water users committees; conflict of interests among local partners; overcoming resistance to women’s participation; sustainability of water systems; and ownership of water projects.
The article states that capacity building of CBOs is a challenging task. To be successful, capacity building must be treated as a planned process that involves several complementary stages as listed above. Similarly, the clarity on the purpose, use of capacity building methods, and the focus for the sustainability of the programmes are vital for any organisations or programmes that deliver capacity building to CBOs. Hence the capacity of local communities and CBOs can be enhanced by organising themselves, imparting knowledge and skills, sharing management and technical tools and systems, networking with local and outside partners, and building institutional frameworks that help CBOs to function independently in a sustainable manner.
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