Capacity Building - Definitions

Definitions

The organizations interpret capacity building in their own ways and focus on it rather than promoting one-way development in developing nations. Fundraising, training centers, learning centers and consultants are all some forms of capacity building. To prevent international aid for development from becoming perpetual dependency, developing nations are adopting strategies provided by the organizations in the form of capacity building. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was one of the forerunners in developing an understanding of capacity building or development. Since the early 70’s the UNDP offered guidance for its staff and governments on what was considered "institution building.” In 1991, the term evolved to be “capacity building.” The UNDP defines capacity building as a long-term continual process of development that involves all stakeholders; including ministries, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, professionals, community members, academics and more. Capacity building uses a country’s human, scientific, technological, organizational, and institutional and resource capabilities. The goal of capacity building is to tackle problems related to policy and methods of development, while considering the potential, limits and needs of the people of the country concerned. The UNDP outlines that capacity building takes place on an individual level, an institutional level and the societal level.

• Individual level - Capacity-building on an individual level requires the development of conditions that allow individual participants to build and enhance existing knowledge and skills. It also calls for the establishment of conditions that will allow individuals to engage in the “process of learning and adapting to change.”

• Institutional level - Capacity building on an institutional level should involve aiding pre-existing institutions in developing countries. It should not involve creating new institutions, rather modernizing existing institutions and supporting them in forming sound policies, organizational structures, and effective methods of management and revenue control.

• Societal level - Capacity building at the societal level should support the establishment of a more “interactive public administration that learns equally from its actions and from feedback it receives from the population at large.” Capacity building must be used to develop public administrators that are responsive and accountable.

The World Customs Organization - an intergovernmental organization (IO) that develops standards for governing the movement of people and commodities, defines capacity building as "activities which strengthen the knowledge, abilities, skills and behaviour of individuals and improve institutional structures and processes such that the organization can efficiently meet its mission and goals in a sustainable way."It is, however, important to put into consideration the principles that govern community capacity building.

Oxfam International – a globally recognized NGO, defines capacity building in terms of its own principals. OXFAM believes that capacity building is an approach to development based on the fundamental concept that people all have an equal share of the world’s resources and they have the right to be “authors of their own development and denial of such right is at the heart of poverty and suffering.”

Organizational capacity building - another form of capacity building that is focused on developing capacity within organizations like NGOs. It refers to the process of enhancing an organization’s abilities to perform specific activities. An Organizational capacity building approach is used by NGOs to develop internally so they can better fulfil their defined mission. Allan Kaplan, a leading NGO scholar argues that to be effective facilitators of capacity building in developing areas, NGOs must participate in organizational capacity building first. Steps to building organizational capacity include:

• Developing a conceptual framework
• Establishing an organizational attitude
• Developing a vision and strategy
• Developing an organizational structure
• Acquiring skills and resources

Kaplan argues that NGOs who focus on developing a conceptual framework, an organizational attitude, vision and strategy are more adept at being self-reflective and critical, two qualities that enable more effective capacity building.