Abstract

The Capacity Development Forum (CDF) is an initiative of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) that aims to bring together diverse stakeholders involved in capacity development (CD) in India into a ‘community of practice’ to consolidate learnings from across the country and around the world. The long-term objective of the forum is to create an open access repository of knowledge and set up a platform where CD practitioners can collaborate on making capacity development initiatives more effective.

The first convening of the CDF was held virtually on 8-9 December 2021on the theme: ‘Design and Delivery of Individual Capacity Building Programmes’. This convening focused on the design and delivery of capacity development for urban practitioners at an individual scale, across different sectors of the Urban. Conversations were grounded in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time, its impact on capacity development programmes, the consequent shift to online modes of delivery, the choice of pedagogical tools and technological solutions, and the overall outlook for the future of CD practice. The convening comprised panels and dialogues that brought together capacity development professionals from across different sectors of the Urban to discuss how individual capacity building can develop institutional capacities in Urban India and the Global South, leadership for capacity building, types and components of individual capacity building that can result in large-scale change.

Some of the key takeaways from the discussions at the CDF 2021 were:

• the centrality of community ownership and involvement in recognising and
  owning both problems and solutions,
• the importance of design thinking, data analysis, and evidence-based decision making in formulating policies and programmes,
• the recognition of learning as both personal and social, as well as being a
  continuous activity, and the necessity of using different formats, technology, and platforms to enable it in various ways.