Capacity Development in Practice

Capacity development is the key to development effectiveness. Since the mid-nineties,    capacity has gained importance due to the realization that for development to be effective, strengthening local institutions, rules of the games, and incentives is critical. This insight has led donors and recipient countries to shift the focus from project-based short-term technical fixes to programmatic approaches that emphasize country ownership and capacity. More . . .  

Key Issues in Capacity Development

Anti-Corruption and Transparency

Ensuring accountability and effective management of public resources are some of the basic responsibilities of many governments in the world, especially those in developing countries. In this age of globalization, transparency and effectiveness in public sector management is critical in determining a government’s ability to ensure economic competitiveness, good governance, and building capacity in a sustainable manner.

Effective Service Delivery

The structures to facilitate popular participation in many developing nations are still largely in their infancy. A culture of civic responsibility and respect for diversity needs much nurturing and propitious conditions to grow. An in-depth reform of the State in developing countries in particular is essential for development.

Leadership

There is a growing recognition across the development community that leadership development is a strategic line of action in the broader effort to strengthen governance and leverage development outcomes. In countries with weak institutions, such as in the post-conflict client countries, leadership is phenomenally important. Experience from the past decade demonstrates that high-quality political leadership is crucial for reform in the process of building good governance and shifting patterns of corruption.

Science and Technology

Several studies suggest that capacity development will increasingly depend on a country’s ability to understand, interpret, select, adapt, use, transmit, diffuse, produce and commercialize scientific and technological knowledge in ways appropriate to its culture, aspirations and level of development.

Gender and Culture

Gender is an issue of development effectiveness. New evidence demonstrates that when women and men are relatively equal, economies tend to grow faster, the poor move more quickly out of poverty, and the well-being of men, women and children is enhanced (Integrating Gender into the World Bank’s Work: A Strategy for Action).

The Peer Review Mechanism

On the forefront of emerging governance modalities is the extended peer review mechanism which allows for proposed policies and state actions to be evaluated, justified, strengthened by a review process, and the intended outcomes monitored against verifiable benchmarks.

Thematic Approaches to Capacity Development

Agriculture
An enabling environment for pro-poor agricultural growth is essential for ensuring that public investments are effective. Governments must establish supportive legal, administrative, and regulatory systems to correct for market failures, facilitate efficient operation of the private sector, and protect the interests of the disadvantaged. Achieving these results requires new skills and analytical capacities, investments focused on public sector and institutional reforms, human resource development, and strengthening the capacities of sector institutions, both public and private.

Community Empowerment 
The World Bank Institute's Community Empowerment and Social Inclusion Program, in partnership with the Attacking Poverty Program and the Social Development Group in Europe and Central Asia, is supporting the development of regional and national networks of local institutions and individuals working to build capacity for community-driven development in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Investment Climate
Improving the investment climate for the private sector is essential to the development of enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and farms, and the growth of employment opportunities, which is crucial for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. The WBI/Investment Climate Program aims to build the capacity of governments to foster healthy business climates that enable robust private sector growth.

Poverty and Growth
The World Bank Institute's Poverty and Growth Program (PGP) aims to help support poor and middle-income countries to design and implement effective poverty reduction strategies by delivering customized "country learning programs."

Social Protection
The Social Protection Program at the World Bank Institute supports the World Bank's agenda on dealing with the growing importance of social protection issues, the Bank's lending portfolio, and responds to the increase in demand for complementary services such as technical and policy advice and capacity development.

Statistical Capacity Building
Statistical capacity in many member countries is not adequate to develop and monitor social and economic policies and programs. The World Bank thus offers technical assistance to member countries to help create an adequate statistical base for the analysis of economic, financial and social developments necessary to guide policy making.

Trade
The World Bank Institute's Trade Program has supported client countries to develop a sound national trade policy, to develop the capacity to participate in the WTO, and to develop an understanding of the benefits and costs of increased trade liberalization.

Water
The Water Program at the World Bank Institute (WBI) supports national and international capacity development for sustainable water resources management. It also promotes informed policy dialogue on water sector reform and public-private partnerships, and supports efforts in improving water supply and sanitation services. The Water Program helps support country efforts endeavors to advance a learning approach that best addresses the challenges in the water sector and the needs of the Bank's client countries.