10 Shifts from Traditional to Transformational Capacity Building

Are you interested in making a real difference through capacity building? Check out these key factors that can elevate your efforts from traditional to transformational capacity building! 💪🌍

1. 🤝 Stakeholder involvement and collaboration: Engage key stakeholders to foster ownership and collaboration, creating a sense of collective responsibility and driving sustainable change. Work together.

2. 🌍 Contextualized approach: Customize your strategies based on the unique cultural, social, economic, and political context of the communities you serve. It's about relevance and equity.

3. 🔎 Ask questions: Start with a thorough understanding of strengths, challenges, and gaps. By identifying critical areas for improvement, you can help find targeted interventions that bring about holistic change.

4. ⚙️ Network coordination: Avoid duplication of efforts by joining forces. Maximize your resources, time and stakeholder engagement by convening others around your shared mission. If no one else is convening them, you need to.

5. ⏳ Long-term perspective: Sustainable change takes time and commitment. Invest in continuous learning, growth, and adaptation, and build capacity that withstands challenges and stands the test of time.

6. 🤝 Holistic training and support: Offer ongoing support, mentoring, coaching, and resources to support individuals and organizations. Foster a culture of continuous learning and growth together.

7. 📊 Ask more questions: Find out what is working. Track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make adjustments. Stay responsive, adaptive, and accountable to maximize your impact.

8. 🏢 Institutional and systemic change: Go beyond individual skill development and address broader organizational and systemic challenges. Work to create an environment that enables everyone to use their skills and knowledge at all levels.

9. 💰 Find funding pathways: Ensure long-term impact by exploring diverse funding sources and strategies, while empowering communities to mobilize their own resources. Look for pathways that can support ongoing or recurring funding—like public budgets, fee for service revenue and alumni relationships.

11. 🔑 Local ownership and empowerment: Individuals, organizations, and communities need to take charge of their own development. Nurture local leaders with your train the trainer, coaching, and advising efforts to create lasting change from within.

If you're passionate about driving transformational capacity building efforts, focus on a couple of these shifts. What you put your attention on, grows. Grow transformation! 🌱

You’ve got this. ❤️