CAPACITY BUILDING

Capacity building is about systematically investing in developing an organisation‘s

internal systems (for example its people, processes and infrastructure) and its external

relationships (for example with funders, partners and volunteers) so that it can realise

its mission and achieve greater impact.

Capacity building is not about building bureaucracy — it is about creating the

organisational ability to achieve demanding objectives.

The keys to successful capacity building are:

Making explicit choices about which elements of organization capacity most

need attention Building a coalition of managers and board members who support those

priorities Developing a strategy for building that element of capacity Marshalling sufficient resources to ensure the changes are significant and

sustainable Appointing a champion with sufficient power and authority to oversee the

change.

The term capacity building is much more prevalent in the US than in the UK — and the

US has much more literature about it than the UK. However, the capacity building that

organisations have been doing on both sides of the Atlantic is very similar, so the

material transfers well across the Atlantic.

ELEMENTS OF CAPACITY BUILDING

Two American authors (Light and Hubbard) argue that there are four key elements that

shape the ultimate success of a capacity building project:

The desired outcome or goal of the capacity building activity The change strategy selected to realise that goal The champions guiding the effort The time, energy and money invested in the process.

The first key to thinking about how to approach capacity building is to recognise that

these four elements are all inter-related. Although the desired outcome should

determine the change strategy, which informs who should champion the effort and how

much time and money it requires, in practice all four are in a dynamic relationship. The

resources available will affect the choice of outcome and the champion may influence

the chosen change strategy.

THE DESIRED OUTCOMES

The desired outcomes of capacity building projects in this research fell into four

categories:

Internal management systems such as the strategic planning process, financial

management systems, information systems and performance management

processes External relationships such as collaborations with other organisations,

fundraising, volunteer recruitment, changes in demand for a service, clarification

of the mission and improved marketing Leadership such as top management and board skills, the clarity of

responsibilities and the ability of the chief executive Internal structures including management and governance structures,

delegation, access to technology and diversity amongst staff.

CHANGE STRATEGIES

The second of the four key elements of capacity building was the change strategy.

The approach organisations take to capacity building was seen as critical to its overall

success. ‘Discerning what kind of change strategy is likely to be most effective at any

given time is a crucial skill for both nonprofit leaders and capacity building funders

alike’.

However, there is no straightforward methodology for moving from the analysis of the

problem to the creation of an appropriate change strategy. Heterogeneity is a defining

characteristic of the nonprofit sector, so it is hardly surprising to discover that it is

difficult to generalise about effective intervention points and capacity building

strategies.

The temptation is to conclude from any analysis of capacity that many components

require attention and to attempt to address them all. However, organisations have

limited capacity to build capacity. The constraints are usually a combination of senior

management time and money. So the leadership has to make tough choices about the

amount of capacity building that the organisation can sustain and how to allocate these

critical capacity building resources.

Managers acknowledge that sustainable development usually requires continuous effort

over a period of time to change people’s habits and behaviour and to create new ways

of working. There is an ever-present danger of putting insufficient effort into building

each component of capacity. Effort spread too thinly over too many fronts, may result in

none being advanced in a significant and sustainable way.

CHAMPIONS

The third key element of a capacity building programme is the need for a champion.

One or more people have to have the capacity building initiative at the top of their

agenda, be planning the overall approach, driving the implementation timetable and

promoting it to everyone affected.

One of the reasons why capacity building fails is the lack of a champion who has the

skills, time and resources to make a success of the initiative. All capacity building

initiatives ultimately have to become embedded into the organisation‘s culture – its way

of doing things – and this requires the sustained effort and dedication that is best

provided by a champion.

RESOURCES

The fourth key element is resources. According to the Brooking‘s Institution Nonprofit

Effectiveness Project around one third is supported by external funding, one third from

organisation‘s own resources and one third used a combination of both.

Research into a sample of funders that have capacity building programmes shows that

‘high’ resources funders spent an average of just under $200,000 per organisation and

‘low’ resource funders spent an average of $27,500 per organisation.

One of the consequences of larger and longer term capacity building funding is that

funders tend to be in regular contact with recipients – often talking on a weekly basis.

This provides external pressure to maintain the momentum of the initiative and an on-

going source of advice and support.

Based on Paul Light and Elizabeth Hubbard, The Capacity Building Challenge,

Washington, Brookings Institution, 2002

GOOD PRACTICE IN GIVING CAPACITY BUILDING ADVICE

Organisations in the US seek assistance from many sources including large for-profit

consulting firms, for-profit and nonprofit consulting boutiques, solo practitioners,

volunteer brokers, management support organizations, foundations, associations and

academic centres.

An intensive study of the most committed and successful providers concluded their

approaches could be boiled down to nine principles:

1. Every organisation is capable of building its own capacity – the most successful

providers of capacity building support carry a deep respect for their client‘s

ability to build their own capacity and genuinely recognise that an organisation is

in charge of its own capacity building

2. Trust between the organisation and the provider is essential – both parties must

feel free to communicate openly, to ask for help beyond the usual, to risk

disapproval, to listen and to learn

3. Organisations must be ready for capacity building – exhibiting the following

qualities: o The organisation is open to change and willing to question itself o The organisation can clearly describe its mission o Key members believe that capacity building will help to further the

mission o The organisation is prepared to commit the necessary time and resources

to capacity building.

4. Ongoing questioning means better answers – the provider facilitates a climate in

which questioning and feedback are encouraged

5. Team and peer learning are effective capacity building tools – working in pairs

and learning experiences for people who work in teams are good for capacity

building

6. Capacity building should accommodate different learning styles – some people

learn by doing, some by experimenting, some need to talk, some need to think,

some are more visual and some more verbal – all need to be taken into account

7. Every organisation has its own history and culture – the better a provider‘s

understanding of an organisation‘s situation, the more powerful the capacity

building

8. All people and all parts of an organisation are interrelated – no matter how

specific the issue, it connects with the rest of the organisation and must be dealt

with in that way. Change has a far better chance of success if it involves people

from many levels, staff, constituents and board members

9. Capacity building takes time – intensive long-term training and apprenticeships

prepare people to build organisations and can take place in stages.

Based on: Allison Fine, Nancy Kopf and Colette Thayer, Echoes from the Field,

Washington, Innovation Network, 2002

A CAPACITY BUILDING FRAMEWORK

McKinsey, the management consultancy, conducted case studies on 13 nonprofit

organisations that engaged in capacity building over a 10 year period. The research led

to the creation of the ‘Capacity Framework’ which defines seven essential elements of

nonprofit capacity the elements are:

Aspirations: An organisation’s mission, vision, and overarching goals, which

collectively articulate its common sense of purpose and direction Strategy: The coherent set of actions and programs aimed at fulfilling the

organisation’s overarching goals Organisational Skills: The sum of the organisation‘s capabilities, including such

things (among others) as performance measurement, planning, resource

management, and external relationship building Human Resources: The collective capabilities, experiences, potential and

commitment of the organisation’s board, management team, staff, and

volunteers Systems and Infrastructurer: The organisation‘s planning, decision making,

knowledge management, and administrative systems, as well as the physical and

technological assets that support the organisation Organisational Structure: The combination of governance, organisational design,

inter-functional coordination, and individual job descriptions that shapes the

organisation’s legal and management structure Culture: The connective tissue that binds together the organisation, including

shared values and practices, behaviour norms, and most important, the

organisation‘s orientation towards performance.

They saw these elements as being related in the following hierarchy:

They used this research to develop a Capacity Assessment Grid which provides a model

of excellence against which organisations can assess their capacity. It can be used to

identify areas of capacity requiring most attention.

CAPACITY-BUILDING APPROACHES

Individual capacity-building activities reviewed include both formal and informal

models of continuing education. Many capacity-building models embrace a formal

structure that typically relies on academic institutions to provide structured, continuing

education programs targeting working professionals. Some of these formal approaches

also include less structured elements in their programs, such as networking and

mentoring opportunities to enhance the educational process. Other models embrace a

more informal learning structure that creates and makes available educational

resources, which professionals independently access as they choose.

Community capacity-building models we identified include information sharing,

conducting community-wide assessments of services and needs, facilitating training

experiences in communities, collaboration and cooperation among community entities,

increasing access to medical professionals in communities, and the provision of

technical assistance for data analyses to communities. These themes reflect the basic

philosophy of the community-centered approach to public health practice.

State capacity building can include many elements utilized by individual and community

capacity-building models, but on a larger scale. Infrastructure and network development

and strategic planning are typically accomplished as statewide activities, whether

directed by state government agencies, academic institutions, or a formal statewide

association of concerned organizations. Statewide needs assessments can help to inform

these activities, as well as indicating the most useful foci for programs increasing

individual and community capacities. State agencies can further support individual

capacity-building programs through formal accreditation and certification requirements.