What is capacity development?

Strengthening ‘Competence, Confidence, Commitment’. It touches any aspect of an organisation as well as its people, so that they can achieve greater impact.

For us at All We Can, the most important element is that capacity development is not something that should be ‘done to’ an organisation or its people but should originate from – be owned – and driven by them.

It should continue as a human process of learning and improvement that involves positive shifts in their identity, relationships, and power, in a never-ending journey.

Why is capacity development important?

We imagine a world where resource-poor communities, can transform their thinking and experience, instead of waiting for outside help. They create their own thriving futures. Our core belief is that such real transformation can only begin at the grassroots level. Since transformation is not something that can be done for somebody by someone else: the process must be conceived, owned and driven by the experience of an individual; and then collectively as a community.

We’ve all heard the saying ‘teach someone to fish, rather than give them a fish’… but what if the river runs dry? Transformation gives the ability to successfully adapt to circumstances.

How do we support our partners with capacity building and why?

We help enable communities to begin and pursue this journey. We do this by working to strengthen exceptional local organisations that want to put ownership, power, and results in the hands of the communities they work with. By strengthening and working through organisations, we reach and impact many more people than if we only worked with communities directly.

Central to this, is enabling organisations to examine and strengthen different aspects of themselves, like the layers of an onion: each layer is critical to their overall performance, and they range from the tangible (like what they do and funding) to the less tangible (like values and how they work).

The main areas we currently focus on with our partners are – designing even more impactful programs; enhancing leadership; building financial sustainability; and good governance.