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Capacity Building Your Organisation

"Capacity Building improves the ability of an organisation to develop its structures, systems, people and skills in order to deliver effective business strategies."

Why is capacity building important?

Capacity building is about looking at your organisation's current position and assessing strengths and weakness. Your organisation should be contantly seeking ways to improve so that it can achieve its aims, become financially sustainable and meet the changing needs of its users.

Organisations often struggle to obtain and retain staff, access funding and participate in local agendas when their organisational structures, policies and procedures are weak.

The government has recognised the mutual benefits, for both itself and the voluntary sector in strengthening the support and assistance available for improving infrastructure, as it has sought to increase the role of the voluntary sector in service delivery.

Change Up and Capacity Builders are both government initiatives designed to help boost performance by putting in place the necessary support structures that voluntary sector organisations require.

Generally, capacity building can be broken down into one of the following three areas:

1. Institutional capacity building - Development and strengthening of external links e.g. creating effective partnerships
2. Organisational capacity building - Focuses on people, culture, systems and processes to meet specific goals
3. Individual capacity building - Building the skills of individual workers

Typically, capacity building can focus on the following areas:

• Finance
• Systems and processes
• People Skills
• Knowledge
• Behaviour

More from CSAS

 Links

• Capacitybuilders
  Capacitybuilders was set up in 2006 to take over the management of the ChangeUp programme and to work with other funders to build capacity of the Third Sector, they do this by improving support for third sector organisations.
  www.capacitybuilders.org.uk/
  
  
• NCVO, The National Council for Voluntary Organisations
  NCVO is a national membersip organisation for voluntary groups and is at the leading edge of research into, and analysis of, the voluntary sector.
  www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/
  
  
• London Voluntary Service Council
  LVSC provide up-to-date information on management and funding, advice and support for voluntary and community groups, a library and information service, practical publications and short courses for those working in the sector.
  www.lvsc.org.uk/
  
  
• London Voluntary Sector Training Consortium
  LVSTC help voluntary and community sector organisations to provide high quality training/services by and for socially excluded groups in London with particular attention to funds available from the European Union.
  www.lvstc.org.uk/
  
  
• LawWorks for Community Groups
  LawWorks - a project of national charity, the Solicitors Pro Bono Group - was set up 6 years ago to match small not-for-profit organisations, including social enterprises in need of free legal advice, with a network of volunteer lawyers.   To date the charity has helped around 1000 organisations receive free advice in all areas of law including company law, employment, property law and intellectual property. Over 80 law firms and companies participate in this national scheme. To find out more visit the LawWorks website: www.lawworks.org.uk. To reach an online application form click here.