Understanding North–South municipal partnership conditions for capacity development: A Dutch–Peruvian example

Network strategic assessment approach for dialogue and capacity development in NGOs

“…Moreover, in the private sector the concept is viewed as a basic determinant for companies to improve their performance and profit (UNDP, 2002), and in civil society public and private NGOs have linked their success to their readiness to develop their capacities (OECD, 2006). In addition, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank have adopted the concept (Bontenbal, 2009), and declared capacity development a critical factor to reach the Millennium Development Goals (OECD, 2006). Furthermore, UNDP (2009) has designed a capacity development process consisting of five functional capacity steps (Figure 1).…”

“…Despite the fact that definitions for capacity development have caused confusion on its scope and meaning (ECDPM, 2008;Bontenbal, 2009;Kühl, 2009), what is important to understand is that capacity refers to the abilities or skills needed to achieve objectives, and capacity development to the means to use and develop these abilities or skills (UNDP, 2002).…”

“…By using a multi-level approach, capacity development could be a way for organizations to engage with actors in various societal sectors and reach multi-actor agreements (OECD, 2006). Multi-actor agreements could be an opportunity for organizations to reach sustainable results through partnerships in projects that focus on developing existing capacities (Bontenbal, 2009). Moreover, multi-actor agreements could entail that organizations become engaged in networks, which can be a powerful tool providing members with a forum to access and exchange information, skills and methodologies (UNDP, 2002).…”

“…Moreover, Jordan and Van Tuijl (2000) state that NGOs find it challenging to generate trust and effectively carry out actions in local and international decision making arenas to bridge organizational, cultural, professional and individual borders. In addition, it is claimed that NGOs are often perceived as institutions that consult from a distance, which leads to difficulties in coordination with partners, duplicity of projects and a lack of optimization in the use of resources (Bontenbal, 2009). Most importantly, it is argued that, even though assessing the capacities of NGOs is vital for an effective implementation of their programmes, NGOs give limited formal consideration to organizational capacity assessments (Schuh and Leviton, 2006).…”

“…As a way to tackle these challenges and increase the potential of NGOs becoming effective platforms for dialogue and change, Edwards and Hulme (1996) and Bontenbal (2009) suggest that NGOs should identify and develop their key capacities by engaging in a partnership approach where participation, learning, reciprocity and transparency are emphasized. This idea is shared by Banerjee (2006) who stresses that NGOs should develop certain capacities to reach their high-end goals of survival and effectiveness.…”