Capacity-building : an approach to people-centred development

Capacity-building is an integral part of development theory and practise. However, aid agencies that ignore people's existing strengths may create dependency and so make people more vulnerable than before. This book considers specific and practical ways in which NGO's can contribute to enabling people to build on the capacities they already possess. It reviews the types of social organisation with which NGO's might consider working and the provision of training in a variety of relevant skills and activities. The particular importance of using a capacity-building approach in emergency situations and of the dynamic and long-term nature of the process is also emphasised.