Capacity Building - A new perspective

Until today I had always linked the term capacity building to Human Resources building or scaling up. I did not have a holistic view of the term capacity building. This reading refreshed my views on the term "Capacity Building" in the context of not-for-profit organisations. The capacity framework diagram gives a birds eye view of the basics of capacity building.

I also had the impression that capacity could be built only if you had funding/resources. But the case study on the Vera Institue of Justice proved me wrong by demonstrating how innovation could be used to effectively reorganize and restructure the company. Some of the tips I picked up for my social venture from this was

• Creating Volunteer opportunities (Powerful Schools)
• Creating Strategic partnerships/ Alliances ( America's Second Harvest)
• Constantly measuring performance/progress using any methodology like Balance Score cards ( Citizen Schools)

These sound practical ideas could help us develop our ventures into organizations that not only deliver but also perform well internally. I read another paper on capacity building by the Urban Institute and the authors had the view that capacity building was very important for not-for-profits as they interact closely with the community. Working for problems faced by society not-for-profits have the closest link to the community and have constant interactions with them. To enable societies to perform better and play an active role in contributing to the community, it is important for not-for-profits to have great capacity building skills.

I also found the Capacity Assessment Grid, a rather useful and easy tool which could help identify gaps in capacity building process in all areas. I would definitely use this tool in the early stages of my venture to identify strong and weak areas in capacity building.

Though I have learnt a lot from this reading , I am confused as to whether capacity building is something which is done while an organization is being launched or when its growth face begins ! It would be great to have your views on the same.