Reference Documents and Resources - Capacity Development

Since the Paris Declaration in 2005, capacity development has been universally acknowledged as a powerful method for bringing about change. The purpose of Capacity Development (CD) is to enhance the capacities of people, groups, organisations and/or institutions to enable them to perform more effectively and meet their objectives.

Capacity development is an organic process that helps a person, group or organisation to evolve. It involves individual and organisational learning for building social capital and trust, developing knowledge, skills and attitudes and creating an organisational culture that will enable organisations to set objectives, achieve results, solve problems and create adaptive procedures for ensuring their long-term survival.

This CD-Rom presents a selection of documents, books and websites on capacity development. It contains theory for understanding the concept (Chapter 1) and tools for the practical application of the process (Chapter 2). It also advocates establishing a learning organisation before carrying out any form of organisational assessment (Chapter 3). The CD-Rom highlights the importance of the quality of relations between partners in any capacity-building process (Chapter 4) and relates the specific experiences of NGOs (Chapter 5). The CD-Rom may be used by any organisation working in development, emergency relief or human rights. Both practitioners as well as strategic planners will find valuable resources that will help them with their day-to-day activities.

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