Improvement of organizational capacities is central to the current thinking and practice of the international development community. Yet the field is often dominated by donor rhetoric and lofty policy talk, while the practice of actually doing it is poorly understood or disregarded as a distinct specialist domain. Written by experienced practitioners from different continents, this state of the art book is designed to make capacity building better appreciated, more professional and increasingly effective in achieving local, national and international development goals.

A carefully selected range of topics draws on reprints of key texts as well as commissioned articles, many accompanied by suggestions for further readings. A bridging theme and innovative messages focus on understanding professional capacity building as a practice connecting different elements, actors and levels of human organization to help produce effective development results.

The volume is crafted for an audience of practitioners in capacity development with special attention to those working at intermediate levels between local and the national scales—consultants, managers, front-line workers, trainers, facilitators, leaders, advisors, program staff and activists. Funding agencies and commercial companies involved with aid investment will also find much of use.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Part I: Perspectives: Dimensions of Capacity and Its Development
Multiple DimensionsAlan Fowler, Independent Adviser, South Africa
Multiple Actors
Multiple Levels

Part II: Establishing Your Practice
Advisers' Roles
Thematic and Change Expertise
Ownership, Authority and Conflict
Whose Values Count?
Organizational Development as a Source
'Reading' Situations
Dialogue

Part III: Working with Connections
Institutions, Power and Politics
Public Accountability
Micro-Macro Gap
Working with Value Chains
Engaging with Community Based Organizations
Leadership Development
Knowledge Networking

Part IV: Improving on Results
Measuring Capacity Development
Time Matters
Self-Reflection
Accountability and Learning

Part V: Looking Ahead
Taking Stock
Capacity Development Market?
What Next?