Now that we know that top-down policy solutions have simply not delivered the goods, there is an urgent need to develop new ways of using local knowledge and ideas, and bring them to a higher, politically relevant level. Capacity development refers to a concept and method that has been looking for ways to connect different kinds of knowledge for many years now. But we need to ask the question: how relevant has capacity development really been for pro-poor development? Has it managed to generate social change?

As the authors of the book Capacity Development in Practice emphasize, there is some confusion about what capacity development is actually all about. Linking the local and the international sounds well and good, but in practice it is a highly complex process. The authors argue that the multi-actor dynamics in capacity development have been underexposed. Capacity is now all about collaboration and creating new solutions, and thus also about power, politics and interests.

This appears to be the right time to focus on questions of effectiveness and results of capacity development. Is capacity development really on the brink of maturity? And what is needed to fulfil its promises? The Broker also wants to widen the capacity development debate by connecting it to other online debates at The Broker, for example those about civic driven change and complexity theory.

We want to challenge practitioners, policy makers and academics to offer their opinions, views and reflections. You can send your comments and blog posts to evert-jan@thebrokeronline.eu or editor@thebrokeronline.eu.