Resources search

This book is the result of the Evaluating Capacity Development (ECD) Project, begun by ISNAR in January 2000, which aimed to improve capacity development efforts in research and development organizations through the use of evaluation. It explains how the project used an action-learning approach, bringing together people from various countries and different types of organisations. Six evaluation studies were conducted over the course of three years: exploring capacity development in a rural development NGO in Bangladesh; towards strategic management in a Cuban agricultural research institute; understanding capacity development in a plant genetic resources centre in Ghana; assessing organisational change in an agricultural faculty in Nicaragua; strengthening participatory research capacities in a Philippines root crops research centre; and expanding capacities in a rural development institute in Vietnam. Chapter 1 provides background reading on the ECD project that gave rise to the book. Chapter 2 discusses basic concepts of organisational capacity, capacity development and evaluation. Chapter 3 addresses two fundamental issues: why managers should be concerned with organisational capacity development and why they should evaluate capacity development efforts. Chapter 4 discusses issues related to the 'how' of capacity development. Chapter 5 discusses partnerships for capacity development while 6 outlines approaches and methods for evaluating organisational capacity development. Chapter 7 discusses how to utilize evaluation processes and results to advance capacity development and performance in an organisation