Backgrounder - Rethinking capacity building - Traditional capacity building approaches have global Northern biases. Learning from

Development organisations in the global Problematising capacity WHY IT IS IMPORTANT North consistently grapple with how they building The ideas and practice related to can decolonise the way they work and traditional capacity building approaches better integrate gender and intersectionality IIED is now also using gender, intersectionality and decoloniality lenses to need rethinking through gender,. [...] By working with diverse, asymmetries in our partnerships,2 practice enables us to challenge ‘normal’ grassroots organisations in the global and examined how queer theory and practice can enable more equitable and practices and assumptions behind capacity South, we can understand different building activities and programmes.4 models of learning and rethink inclusive development.3 approaches to capa. [...] ‘development’ by global North countries In turn, we were able to reflect on our ways is often used to maintain and justify the how from Northern ‘experts’ on the use of underdevelopment of global South certain technologies, for example, climate- of working, and explore ways to develop countries and their status as a smart agriculture technologies. [...] gender-sensitive and decolonised Capacity-building practices or approaches 1 approaches to capacity building with Kajumba, T and Shakya C (19 May 2021) are often transactional and one-off in Putting gender, intersectionality and social development donors, practitioners and nature, failing to invest in the long-term justice at the centre of transformative grassroots organisations interested in proc. [...] Our The International Institute for Environment This backgrounder has been produced objective is to build awareness and and Development (IIED) promotes with the generous support of Irish Aid document different ways of capacity sustainable development, linking local and Sida (Sweden).