The new approach to capacity The 2002 UNDP report pinpointed a number of fallacies in terms of how capacity building – or technical cooperation – had previously been approached. Local ownership, sustainability and awareness of recipient communities were emphasised as key features of how to do capacity building more effectively. Awareness of the importance of these issues grew during the early and mid 2000s. In 2002 the Network on Governance and Capacity Development of the OECD asked the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) to carry out a study of developing countries’ successes with building capacity and improving performance. The study focused on the endogenous process of capacity development – what Derick W. Brinkerhoff describes as ‘the process of change from the perspective of those undergoing the change’. The idea of capacity as capacity development gained credence during the 2000s, and it differs markedly from the way in which capacity has previously been conceptualised and practiced by international and bilateral donors. Capacity as capacity building has been a top-down, externally designed and controlled activity primarily aimed at enhancing predefined technical skills and In contrast, approaches to capacity development claim to focus on the importance of nurturing already existing practices and capacities. Capacity development is being perceived as country-led and country-owned. Donors increasingly believe that sustainability is obtained by engaging closely with the motivation, support and aspirations of people within the recipient country. Capacity emerges as something intimately connected to what country actors believe and do. Consequently, outside actors can only play a supporting role in developing and reinforcing capacity. Capacity development is a process-oriented conception. It is believed to facilitate sustainability and long-term learning through practice rather than provide quick results (that are assumed to often
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