Capacity, Change and Performance

The study was intended to provide some new perspectives on capacity issues. First, it was to use an endogenous perspective of capacity – how capacity develops from within – rather than looking only at what outsiders, usually international agencies, can do to induce it. This implied considering external contributions as only an influence rather than the entry point of the research. Second, the study was to bring in ideas from the capacity literature beyond that produced by the international development community. Third, the study was to provide evidence of good practice in developing capacity.

This study focuses on several key issues: Addressing the concept of capacity;  A focus on the interrelationships among capacity, change and performance; An emphasis on explanation and understanding; A focus on the endogenous aspects of capacity issues; Attention to both theory and practice. During the course of our research we have used a variety of methodological approaches, including case studies, literature reviews and workshops.In this report, we do not make the inflated argument for capacity as the ‘missing link' in development, or something that provides an overarching framework for all other interventions. It seems to us that capacity development cannot exist on its own as a subject or an activity. It must contribute to and borrow from other ways of thinking and acting – such as organizational development – in order to generate any real insights.

Without the experience of public management, for example, the concept of capacity can tell us little about the structure and behavior of public agencies. Without political economics, capacity analyses have little to offer in terms of the effects of political power on organizational adaptation. Without institutional economics, capacity cannot tell us much about the rules of the game that shape the effectiveness of many capacity development interventions. But we believe that the study of capacity issues, in combination with these other perspectives, can provide insight and direction in terms of helping individuals, groups and organizations to improve their abilities to create public value. Multi-perspective thinking seems crucial for understanding capacity issues.