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Abstract
Strengthening national capacity for designing public policies and program
interventions is fundamental for achieving development goals. Yet results of capacity
strengthening programs have shown mixed results in the last fifty years. Capacity
development, as a field of scientific enquirty still lacks a unified framework among
development professionals.
Capacity development is defined as the process by which individuals, groups,
organizations, institutions, and societies increase their ability to perform core functions,
solve problems, define and achieve objectives, and understand and sustainably deal with
development issues. The concept of capacity as an integral component of development
agendas is not new, yet it has only recently been acknowledged that development plans
and goals cannot be achieved without adequate local capacity. Increased attention to the
lack of capacity and the absence of relevant institutions has brought to light their
importance in the successful design, implementation, and evaluation of development
plans, programs, and policies. Despite this now common wisdom, research-based
information on how to strengthen institutions and institutional capacity in developing
countries is severely lacking.
This paper attempts to review the emerging theories, frameworks, approaches,
and analytics of capacity development. After developing a rationale for capacity
development research, it presents potential research themes. Arguing for a new
economics of capacity development, it concludes with some possible impacts of
considering capacity strengthening as a research domain.