The idea and practice of systems thinking and their relevance for capacity development

The European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) is engaged in a research project on the issues of capacity, change and performance sponsored by the GOVNET (Governance and Capacity Development Network) of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris.1 The purpose of the research is to contribute to the on-going debate on capacity and capacity development that is taking place around the world in both high and low income countries. We are giving particular attention to clarifying the nature of capacity and how it emerges, declines or sustains itself in a variety of settings.