ABSTRACT
Local people must develop their own capacities for achieving the political economy they want. Outsiders can help in a limited way, but only if they fully acknowledge the political context of their work, prevent misappropriation of their resources and focus on the support and development of local capacities. As they operate in political contexts, agencies also operate in a "policy context" set by the international disaster response and development communities. This context affects their own agency-specific policies and programming approaches. Areas in which the general context influences agency actions include policies on funding, project phasing, partnership arrangements and inter-governmental relations. Capacities and Vulnerabilities Analysis has implications for agencies and organizations that set the broad relief policy context. Each of their policies should be assessed in terms of its impact on non-governmental organization work as it, in turn, affects local capacities and vulnerabilities.
