What is capacity building?

Capacity building is the development of an organisation’s core skills and capabilities, such as leadership, management, finance and fundraising, programs and evaluation, human resource management, service delivery, external relations in order to build the organisation’s effectiveness and sustainability. It is the process of assisting an individual, organisation or group to identify and address issues and gain the insights, knowledge and experience needed to solve problems and implement change. Capacity building is facilitated through the provision of technical support activities, including coaching, training, specific technical assistance and resource networking. It is the process by which individuals, groups, organisations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to:

•       perform core functions, solve problems, define and achieve objectives;

•       understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner.

All organisations must confront change successfully in order to grow and achieve sustainability. Established and experienced organisations are challenged to increase their efficiency and quality while newer, inexperienced organisations often struggle for basic survival in a constantly developing environment. Capacity building programs assist in the holistic development of an organisation’s developmental and organisational needs.

Capacity building is the process of equipping all actors to perform effectively both in doing their own thing in their own field and level of operation, and in working in collaboration or partnership with others operating in other fields and at other levels. It is an essential component of both empowerment and enabling.

To many people capacity building means training or human resource development. Certainly this is a very major component of it. However, if decision-makers, managers, professionals and organizational leaders are to operate at full capacity, they need more than just their own abilities. They need an institutional and organisational environment conducive and supportive of their efforts, energies and capacities. Institutional and organisational constraints present as great an impediment to the effective management of organisations as the inability of professionals, technicians and ordinary people. To be effective capacity building must embrace all three aspects of development: human resource development; organisational development; and institutional development.