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Capacity & Capacity-Building - Overview

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Capacity and Capacity Building
Sufficient capacity for health, safety, security, economic and social development means having the necessary knowledge, skills, commitment, time, authority and resources among individual professionals and volunteers, having assigned positions, staffing, policy and financial resources at different organizational levels in and across several systems. These capacities and commitments to ongoing capacity-building requires social, economic, environmental and political support in the wider community, national or state/provincial jurisdiction and society environments to conduct and support effective health promotion, safety and social development efforts.
Different types and levels of capacity are present within:
  • individuals who are, in part, responsible for their own health and development, and based on their genetic and economic endowment, intelligence, attributes, knowledge, skills and attitudes can choose from among a wide or narrow variety of situations, practices and life options.
  • families and parents, who form the first setting that develops capacities within individuals, who can choose among a wide or narrow range of practices, situations and life options
  • communities and neighbourhoods which have geographical, economic, learning, social, political and economic attributes that affect their ability to develop in healthy, sustainable and productive ways
  • professionals and volunteers who have awareness, knowledge, skills, beliefs that can be mobilized effectively to perform their assigned roles in various inter-locked systems
  • semi-autonomous front-line delivery organizations such as schools, clinics, physicians’ offices that can organize some of their capacities to achieve some of their specific priorities within the fixed and broader mandate of their respective systems
  • local health, education, police and social services authorities that can assign, organize, structure some of their human and financial resources to achieve some of their specific priorities within the fixed and broader mandate of their respective systems
  • national and state/provincial health, education, law enforcement, social service and other ministries that can secure financial resources from taxation and assign, organize, structure some of their human and financial resources to achieve some of their specific priorities within the fixed and broader mandates established through their respective governance structures and within the broader social, economic and political context of their
Capacity-building is the development of knowledge, skills, commitment, structures, systems and leadership to enable effective health promotion. It involves actions to improve health at three levels: the advancement of knowledge and skills among practitioners; the expansion of support and infrastructure for health promotion in organizations, and; the development of cohesiveness and partnerships for health in communities (World Health Organization, Glossary of Health Promotion Terms, Geneva.)
Organizational & System Capacity:
The concept of organizational capacity can be applied to school health, safety & social development programs at two levels, first in defining the baseline or minimum staffing, financial and policy requirements and secondly, by defining several operational capacities that promote effectiveness.
Baseline Capacity
The basic or baseline capacity of health, school and other systems to promote learning, health, safety and social development requires an essential number of staff, minimal financial resources and legislative/policy authority to operate a minimally effective and coordinated school-based or school linked approach or to implement a defined number or type of programs, services and policies. These basic capacities include the physical aspects of the schools, social supports such as parent and community involvement, essential preventive health and other services, core instruction in health, family studies, physical education, environmental studies, social studies and moral/spiritual/religious instruction and essential policies requiring schools, agencies and ministries to work together.
Although there are many organizations who have advocated for particular capacities such as staffing ratios for school nurses or minimum time to be devoted to health education learning in mandated curricula, the evidence base and the actual experiences with these specific baseline capacities is not well researched nor often discussed by systems decision-makers.
Operational Capacity
Working with the baseline capacity summarized above, a number of operational capacities are also required within schools, neighbourhoods, agencies, ministries and systems as well as among the professional and other staff assigned to work with or within schools in order to maintain their overall educational effectiveness, health, safety and social development as well as to implement and sustain programs. These capacities (World Health Organization, 2003, McCall, 2007) include:
  • the ability to coordinate policy across multiple systems and at different levels,
  • assigned staff to coordinate programs and services,
  • formal and informal mechanisms for cooperation,
  • ongoing workforce development,
  • ongoing and effective knowledge exchange,
  • regular monitoring, reporting,evaluation and Improvement
  • strategic management of issues and priorities
  • an explicit plan for sustainability of the system and core programs.
This summary was first posted in June 2012. Currently it has been posted as  an "first edition" version..The following organizations and individuals contributed to this topic; We encourage readers to submit comments or suggested edits by posting a comment on the Mini-blog & Discussion Page for this section or posting a comment below:. 
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This summary was first posted in June 2012. Currently it has been posted as  an "excerpt/adaptation", "first draft" or "revised draft" and "first or revised edition" version..We encourage readers to submit comments or suggested edits by posting a comment on the Mini-blog & Discussion Page for this section or posting a comment below:
Due to the length of Handbook Sections (similar to a book chapter) prepared for this web site and knowledge exchange program, we post these documents as separate documents. Click on this web link to access the draft or completed version on this topic. Come back to this page to post any comments or suggestions. 

This summary was first posted in June 2012. Currently it has been posted as  an "excerpt/adaptation", "first draft" or "revised draft" and "first or revised edition" version..We encourage readers to submit comments or suggested edits by posting a comment on the Mini-blog & Discussion Page for this section or posting a comment below:
 Bibliography/Toolbox on
Key research, reports and resources on this topic are highlighted below.  Many of the topics in this web site also have extensive bibliographies/toolboxes (BTs) published as separate documents. Click on this web link to access the full version of our Bibliography/Toolbox on this topic. These lists use our outline for these collections that we have developed over several years of curating these materials.
Research
Reports, Resources


Understand the Approach/ Program & Its Effectiveness in Different Contexts on Different Aspects of HPSD, Populations


How to Implement, Maintain, Scale Up, Sustain, Build Capacity, Leverage to Support Core Components.


How to integrate within Education Systems

Use of Ecological/ Systems Approach



Research Questions/
KDE Agenda
Understand the Approach/ Program & Its Effectiveness in Different Contexts on Different Aspects of HPSD, Populations


How to Implement, Maintain, Scale Up, Sustain, Build Capacity, Leverage to Support Core Components.


How to integrate within Education Systems

Use of Ecological/ Systems Approach



Research Questions/
KDE Agenda
The following additional resources are posted on this web site or published by other credible sources. Please send any suggested additions to i[email protected]
Section: Capacity & Capacity-Buildoing
For updates and reader comments on this section, go to our Mini-Blog on Capacity & Capacity-Building

(The number of summaries completed or drafted in this section are listed below.
- Overview
- Key Definitions/Elements
  • Different Types of Capacities
  • Capacity-Building
- Key Concepts/Insights
  • A Never-ending Challenge and Multiple Tasks
- How to Implement, Maintain, Scale Up, Sustain, Build Capacity,
- Organizational & System Capacity
    - Baseline Capacities
  • Core staffing: defining & monitoring
  • Core Funding
  • Core Time Allocated in Curriculum & Extended Education Activities
  • Core Responses/Waiting for Services
    - Operational Capacities
  • Coordinated Policy & Leadership
  • Assigned Coordinators/Not Focal Points
  • Informal & Formal Mechanisms for Cooperation and Coordination
  • Ongoing Workforce Development
  • Ongoing Knowledge Exchange & Development
  • Regular Monitoring, Reporting, Evaluation & Improvement (MREI)
  • Strategic Joint Management of Issues & Priorities
  • Explicit plans for sustainability & succession
- Specific Capacities
  • in creating consensus among organizations
  • in program planning & evaluation
  • in surveys and data-based decisions
  • in research and knowledge development
How to integrate within Education Systems

Use of Ecological/ Systems Approach



Research Questions/
KDE Agenda