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How well does your capacity building actually work?
Many public agencies as well as public and private funders provide their services through grants and contracts with intermediary organizations. These intermediaries may be nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, other government agencies or individuals. In order to ensure the public is receiving the best possible services, public agencies and funders often spend a significant amount of time supporting their grantees and contractors through technical assistance, capacity building and professional development services.
But does this work actually work?
This interactive toolkit offers a four-step process public agencies, grantmakers and others can use to assess your efforts to build the capacity of your intermediaries.
Establish assessment purpose and common definitions
Calculate resources spent on capacity building
What do we mean by capacity building?
Capacity building services develop human capital by equipping individuals and organizations with the knowledge and skills needed to perform more effectively. Capacity building activities can range in type and topic but have in common a focus on the professional development of the individuals and organizations within a specific arena. Other terms used for capacity building include technical assistance and professional development.
Capacity building activities can include:
- Public outreach to help others learn about how to apply for your application or proposal process
- Professional development workshops provided by your agency
- Scholarships to attend trainings provided by others
- One-on-one support by phone or email
Learn more about this concept at the Urban Capacity Building Network.
Not sure if this toolkit can help you?
Don't have time to complete the full assessment?
