Capacity Development - Capacity Development in Times of Crisis and Transitions

Capacity Development in Times of Crisis and Transitions

‘Back to basics’ and ‘building back better’: Capacity Development has long been seen by its practitioner as the HOW of development. Capacity development, in its widely accepted interpretation, can strengthen the state by improving the domains of institutions and their arrangements; of leadership and of people management; of knowledge and of information systems; and of voice and accountability. These then need to be complemented by fully functioning and effective national systems; capacities to deliver basic services; and capacities to manage development resources effectively. The core cross-cutting capacities to dialogue and negotiate, to plan and design, to manage and implement, to monitor and evaluate - how do these compendia of doing the basics right - link to the innovative and expanded responses needed in match the world’s complex development realities. And where these capacities have been destroyed or have fled due to wars, economic failure and natural disasters, a focus on retaining existing capacity assets, motivating a return of capacity, and ‘building back better’ is the principle of underlying capacity development during times of crises.