ABSTRACT
Capacity building is a process for improving the ability of persons, groups, organisations or systems to meet objectives, address stakeholders’ needs and, ultimately, perform better. 1 Capacity building is a process rather than a discipline, and generally involves measurable performance objectives, defined outcomes, implementation strategies and outcome/performance measures. The term ‘capacity building’ originated in the language of international development during the 1990s, as a broadening of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) 1970s concept of ‘institutional building’. The UNDP outlines that capacity building takes place on an individual level, an institutional level and the societal level. In the health systems context, the individual level refers to the individual job performance and behaviours/actions of health workers and leaders. Important elements at this level include: job requirements, skill levels and needs, performance reviews, accountability and career progression, access to information, training/retraining, and professional networking. The organisational level refers to the infrastructure and operations that need to be in place within each organisation to support the collection, verification and use of data for organisational development. Important elements at this level include: management process, communication process, human resource system and personnel structure, financial resources, information infrastructure and organisational motivation. The system level refers to the capacity building functions across different organisations and how they interact, as well as the supportive policy and legal environment. Important elements at this level include: policies, laws and regulatory actions that govern the collection and use of health-related information, resource generation and allocation, systems for management and accountability, and resources, processes and activities across different organisations. 2
