Best Practice Speaker: Bob Macadam
Affiliation(s): Rural Enablers P/L

Keywords: Capacity building, learning, extension, institutional arrangements

The Capacity Building for Innovation in Rural Industries Co-operative Venture commissioned a set of 3 projects in 2002. The authors undertook Project C, “Improving Institutional Support Arrangements for Rural Capacity Building”. In their Report, Growing the Capacity of Rural Australia: the task of capacity building, they construed capacity building as:

"... externally or internally initiated processes designed to help individuals and groups associated with rural Australia to appreciate and manage their changing circumstances, with the objective of improving the stock of human, social, financial, physical and natural capital in an ethically defensible way".

They argued that the stock of human and social capital is developed through learning - but learning is not the sole outcome of capacity building - all forms of capital may be enhanced, and are inter-changeable. Extension and/or education programs are commonly equated with capacity building but this is called into question. The implications for extension principles and practice are reviewed.

Key learning points. Effective capacity building

• Maintains a focus on outcomes as improvements in the stock of capital sought by stakeholders.
• Defines and engages the relevant communities of practice, and builds a common agenda and willingness to collaborate among their members
• Depends on political and institutional commitment to the goal of capacity building programs, and the alignment with it of strategically important organisations.
• Depends on availability of skilled practitioners, on their reflective practice, and on research into all its aspects.