Resources: Capaciteitsontwikkeling

Hier vindt u geselecteerde boeken (recensies), artikelen en links over maatschappijopbouw.

Capacity building for NGOs: making it work
This book is for anyone interested in capacity building with NGOs and other civil society organisations. It provides an overview of trends and current thinking about NGO capacity building, the challenges and constraints. It also addresses the difficult issue of why, despite all our knowledge and experience, capacity building interventions commonly fail to meet expectations.

Capacity Building for NGOs analyses some of the cultural and contextual constraints that undermine our ability to implement appropriate and effective capacity building interventions. It concludes that not only is effective capacity building possible but it can also have a real and tangible impact. This book is about what works in practice and how best to ensure our investment in capacity building is timely, appropriate and successful.

Coaching and Mentoring for Leadership Development in Civil Society
This INTRAC paper addresses seeks to demystify concepts and practices of coaching and mentoring within civil society organisations.

Coaching and mentoring are popular capacity-building tools, especially in the area of leadership development. They are often mentioned in proposals and reviews as key elements of good capacity-building practice. Yet despite their current status, many of us are unclear what coaching and mentoring really involve, and where and when they work. We have a number of questions: What does a coach or mentor actually do? Is there any real difference between them? Where have these approaches come from? Are they really relevant to NGOs? When are these approaches effective? When are they not appropriate?

A reality sometimes: Facing Organisational Closure
Partners, members and PSO strive together towards improving capacities of individuals, organisations and networks. Unfortunately sometimes organisational life cycles also do end. A harsh reality for employees and beneficiaries, but also for colleague and donor organisations. How do you deal with this fact of life and how to support those who have to deal with it?

In 2006 Olive OD&T a South African OD support organisation closed its doors for the last time. Olive staff members went out to look for experiences and learnings on how to handle a closure process. It turned out very little has been written on how to deal with organisational death and closure. Olive decided that writing a publication on this issue had to be one of its last contributions to the sector. Olive went down keeping its core value of reflection and sharing alive.

Bram Langen and Anne Kroon, in 2006 OD practitionera with Olive, have written an interesting publication for leaders, team members and board members of organisations who are entering the ending phase of their organisation's life, for OD practitioners who are invited to support dying organisations in the closure process and outsiders who are close to dying organisation and want to be supportive: members of collegial organisations, close friends of the organisation and international donor agencies.

The publication explores the context of the complete life cycle of an organisation. It deepens understanding of the reasons for dying and for our fascination with death: is it helpful to know what led to death after the fact? The publication also considers how the decision making process occurs and how organisational death is experienced: what affects / feelings are there to be expected and how to work consciously and constructively with them. The publication ultimately gives practical tips on how to deal with closure and looks into what might need to happen after the organisation's closure.

The publication is for sale (€ 10) with PPT Trust in Durban (www.oliveodt.co.za / pptrust@worldonline.co.za) or can be ordered by e-mailing PSO (info@pso.nl).

Investigating the Mystery of Capacity Building
INTRAC, 2006
Capacity building has been a focus of development efforts in the last decade. But we are left with nagging doubts and unanswered questions. Despite all the attention, capacity building remains a mystery. We are not really sure what works and why. Some are not convinced that capacity building makes any positive difference at all. One of the papers used the analogy of seeing capacity building as a crime. It is as if capacity building is an unsolved crime - a mystery.

This paper will investigate this mystery, drawing on the experiences shared by capacity building practitioners through the INTRAC Praxis Programme.

The concept of capacity
What does capacity look like? How does capacity develop endogenously? What is the driving force behind successful capacity development? Does better capacity necessarily lead to better performance? What can outsiders do to support capacity development? ECDPM's research project, Capacity, Change and Performance - has produced some interesting materials.

At ECPDM's site you'll find case material and analytical papers emanating from this study, some of which are in draft version and are open for comments. Specifically we want to draw your attention to:

The Concept of Capacity by Peter Morgan (2004)

Monitoring and Evaluation of Capacity and Capacity Development by David Watson (2006)
The paper relates key points emerging from a review of some of the literature on the topic of capacity, capacity development, and its M&E aspects.This literature represents the perspective of researchers who have surveyed the scene, and practitioners (development institutions or academics) who have invested in capacity development and have reflected on their experiences.

It also synthesises important contributions from systems thinking champions, pertinent to M&E of capacity and capacity development, and reviews some contributions from recently launched innovative approaches to monitoring and evaluating capacity and capacity development. In the light of this body of
experience, it distils the M&E-related features and issues raised in the ECDPM case studies, offers some conclusions, and raises questions for further research and discussion.

A Results-Oriented Approach to Capacity Change
Capacity development support is a key element in all development assistance provided by Danida and other donors - whether aimed at specific organisations or as part of a wider sector programme support. However, it is generally recognised that the knowledge about how best to deliver and assess the outcome of such support has been limited or contested.

This short version of a larger analytical working paper commissioned by the Evaluation Department is intended to bring about a better understanding of what ‘capacity' of organi-sations means, and in particular which are the potential constraints and the realistic options for changing and enhancing organisations' capacity.

Directory on Service Providers Worldwide
This very useful directory aims to fill a gap in the mapping of civil society activity worldwide, by exploring the current state of civil society support provision.

It provides contact details for a range of civil society support providers and CSO networks, as well as a categorisation according to organisational type, activities, and areas of specialisation.

A very extensive directory of NGO's in the world can be found at the Directory of Development Organisations

Using accountability to support capacity
Thomas Theison, 2007
This article argues that improving accountability relationships is an effective strategy for developing capacity. Effective accountability mechanisms induce public sector organisations to remain relevant and responsive to the needs and demands of the groups they serve.

Creating Space for Grace; God's power in Organisational Change
James, 2004 (for Swedish Mission Council, MSC)

Capacity building for NGOs: making it work
INTRAC, 2007

This book is for anyone interested in capacity building with NGOs and other civil society organisations. It provides an overview of trends and current thinking about NGO capacity building, the challenges and constraints. It also addresses the difficult issue of why, despite all our knowledge and experience, capacity building interventions commonly fail to meet expectations.

Capacity Building for NGOs analyses some of the cultural and contextual constraints that undermine our ability to implement appropriate and effective capacity building interventions. It concludes that not only is effective capacity building possible but it can also have a real and tangible impact. This book is about what works in practice and how best to ensure our investment in capacity building is timely, appropriate and successful.

Stop Teaching Start Learning: The mystery of Capacity Development 
DGIS/DEK (Kwaliteitsafdeling)

Coaching and Mentoring for Leadership Development in Civil Society
INTRAC, 2006

Coaching and mentoring are popular capacity-building tools, especially in the area of leadership development. They are often mentioned in proposals and reviews as key elements of good capacity-building practice. Yet despite their current status, many of us are unclear what coaching and mentoring really involve, and where and when they work. We have a number of questions: What does a coach or mentor actually do? Is there any real difference between them? Where have these approaches come from? Are they really relevant to NGOs? When are these approaches effective? When are they not appropriate? This INTRAC paper addresses seeks to demystify concepts and practices of coaching and mentoring within civil society organisations by adressing these and other questions.

UNDP Technical Assistance / Capacity Building Publications
UNDP

A Results-Oriented Approach to Capacity Change
Boesen, 2005

Capacity development support is a key element in all development assistance provided by Danida and other donors - whether aimed at specific organisations or as part of a wider sector programme support. However, it is generally recognised that the knowledge about how best to deliver and assess the outcome of such support has been limited or contested.
This short version of a larger analytical working paper commissioned by the Evaluation Department is intended to bring about a better understanding of what ‘capacity' of organisations means, and in particular which are the potential constraints and the realistic options for changing and enhancing organisations' capacity.

Praxis Directory of Civil Society Support Providers
INTRAC, 2004

This directory aims to fill a gap in the mapping of civil society activity worldwide, by exploring the current state of civil society support provision.

It provides contact details for a range of civil society support providers and CSO networks, as well as a categorisation according to organisational type, activities, and areas of specialisation.

Learning Network on Capacity Development Information Sheet
UNDP, 2004

Summary Ownership, Leadership and Transformation: Can We Do Better for Capacity Development?
Lopes and Theisohn, 2003

Ownership, Leadership and Transformation: Can We Do Better for Capacity Development? is the third and final book in a series that includes: Capacity for Development: New Solutions to Old Problems (2001) and Developing Capacity Through Technical Cooperation (2002). This third publication bridges the conceptual foundations of capacity development and the difficulties and practical realities in the field. It demystifies the process of capacity development to make it more "user-friendly."

Review of Capacity for Development: New Solutions to Old Problems
Sarr, 2003

This timely book is essential reading for all development professionals and policymakers concerned with capacity development.

From Volunteerism to Professionalism:Technical Assistance of the Netherlands in a change
Hoebing and Van der velden, 2002

The paper shortly descibes the history of TA, its magnitude and organisation. It illustrates that TA is still a very important form of foreign aid as well as an important aid instrument for many donors. In the central part it will deal with the critique on TA, coming from a series of evaluations. It will bring the critique on the selection of experts, their training, on the counterpart system, cost-effectiveness of TA, etcetera. The paper illustrates that this critique did have major effects on TA, which is drifting away from its original forms of personal assistance to institutionbuilding. Furthermore, examples of recent changes in TA from the Netherlands are given. Although the emphasis is on the Netherlands, cases will be presented also from a series of international evaluations. In the final part the authors give an answer to the question if there is a future for TA.

Summary Capacity for Development: New Solutions to Old Problems
Fukuda-Parr et al, 2002

Capacity for Development: New Solutions to Old Problems calls for more ownership among beneficiaries and better use of global knowledge networks.

Capacity Development: Vision and Implications
Lavergne and Saxby, 2001

Conceptual and strategic discussions. Recognising that the concept of capacity development is used in different ways, the paper aims to strengthen understanding of the concept's importance and to clarify the implications of adopting a capacity development approach in development co-operation.

Effective Capacity Building in Nonprofit Organizations
McKinsey and Company, 2001

Effective Capacity Building in Nonprofit Organisations brings some common language to the discussion of capacity building and offers insights and examples of how nonprofits have pursued building up their organisational muscle. The report contributes to the growing national conversation about how to help nonprofits become stronger, more sustainable, and better able to serve their communities.
McKinsey also developed a practical assessment tool for this report that nonprofits can use to measure their own organisational capacity. We hope that nonprofits and funders alike find value in this report.

"Capacity Building": A New Way of doing Business for Development Assistance Agencies
Schacter, 2000

Provides an overview of challenges faced by development assistance agencies as they seek to adopt a capacity building perspective. Explores the operational roots of those challenges, and describes approaches to addressing them. Written from the perspective of international development agencies. Stresses that they must improve their ability to adapt "their way of doing business" to the needs and circumstances of the countries they serve.

Capacity Development Definitions, Issues and Implications for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
Lusthaus et al, 1999

The aim of this paper is to review the recent literature on capacity development, to explore some of the conceptual and practical issues associated with it, and to summarise the implications for planning, monitoring and evaluating results.

The Development Of Capacity
Kaplan, 1999

This Development Dossier is written with the specific intent of improving the practice of development and capacity building. It comprises two pieces. Together these two pieces now form one argument and perspective with respect to new ways of looking at development and capacity building practice. Given that capacity building has become an important and ubiquitous concept within the development sector, yet with little coherent or collective appreciation - either for the theory or the practice - this publication is timely and challenging and will, hopefully, inspire new ways of apprehending and practising development. The arguments presented here are radical alternatives to conventional development and capacity building practice. As such, they will inevitably be treated with a certain degree of scepticism, given our fear of the unknown, our resistance to change, and the moribund sense of the impossibility of adapting and modifying a vast and complicated system which has been dedicated to pursuing a particular approach.

Capacity and Capacity Development - Some Strategies
Morgan, 1998

This brief note tries to unbundle some of the issues to do with capacity development and capacity. Looks at underlying themes that need to be kept in mind when dealing with capacity development issues. Sets out some of the main strategies/approaches to capacity development that project designers and participants, implicitly or explicitly, use.

NPI: A Strategic Approach to Development Partnering, Chapter 3: Local Capacity Building
NPI (USAID), 1997

This article starts by setting the stage for local capacity building under the New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) with a discussion of definitions, parameters and key elements. It then provides a theoretical overview of capacity building that introduces the pertinent considerations for strengthening the capacity of an organization. The article goes on to discuss assessing organizational capacity and the main tools used to both evaluate capacity and to strengthen it. The chapter ends by illustrating some of the innovative approaches currently being used to strengthen the capacity of organisations and partnerships and discussing the major lessons learned by missions about capacity building during the NPI Learning Phase.

From Technical Cooperation to Capacity Development: Changing Perspectives in CIDA
Baser and Bolger, 1996

CIDA and other donor agencies have come under increasing pressure in recent years to address concerns with aid effectiveness and, in particular, the sustainable impact of their programming. Criticism has been directed at all forms of assistance, but most notably technical co-operation, which in the 1991 UNDP Human Development Report was described as the aid category "ripest for reassessment. The pressures have contributed to a gradual reorientation in CIDA's programs towards programming which emphasises ‘capacities to be developed' in support of long-term self-management.

Building Sustainable Capacity: Challenges for the Public Sector
Hildebrand and Grindle, 1994

This study is part of an effort to assess and support more effective capacity building initiatives in developing countries. This study focuses primarily on public sector capacity. After exploring the importance of capable states to national development, this study focuses attention on the concepts of capacity and capacity building. An analytic framework for assessing capacity is presented and discussed. Some case studies are given.