Fishing for sustainability : the role of capacity building in development administration

Thus argues this monograph on the evolution of and experience with capacity building. First, the authors argue that development practitioners must look beyond the establishment of infrastructure to the role of organizational capacity as the means for ensuring self-sustaining development. Next, three approaches to defining capacity (dynamic/impact, static/internal, boundary-spanning) are presented; the first appears to provide the most practical guidance. Based on an analysis of field experience in Indonesia, Jamaica, and Liberia, the authors then discern seven factors critical to successful capacity building. Five of these - risk sharing, multiple levels, demonstration, collaboration, and emphasis on learning - are process-oriented; the other two - incentives and resource base - are substance or structure-oriented. Finally, the state of the art in capacity building is summarized and future directions are suggested. For donors, this assessment suggests that: simple resource tranfers (e.g., block grants) will not build capacity; capacity building efforts must involve many levels of an organizations" hierarchy; and capacity building must be explicitly included in project designs. A 156-item bibliography is appended.