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 in India into a ‘community of practice’ to consolidate learnings from across the country and around the world into a strong and value-added network to consolidate learnings across the country and from around the world. The longer-term objective of the forum is to collaborate not only for making our Capacity Development practices better, but also to build and manage knowledge through research papers and action research projects and create a repository of knowledge on Capacity Development.

The second convening of the IIHS Capacity Development Forum was held on 15 – 16 June 2023 in a hybrid format – at IIHS, Bengaluru City Campus and online, with the theme: ‘Enabling Environment for Capacity Development’. The CDF 2023 convening examined the approaches and trends in reimagining policy and mandates, organisational structures and institutional arrangements that have shaped development initiatives. The panels brought together stakeholders from the intersection of various scales, sectors, and components of CD to discuss how an enabling environment can address critical challenges, and support innovations for a full cycle approach to capacity building in the development sector.

The convening comprised panels that brought together capacity development practitioners from the public and private sectors, to discuss various issues on policymaking for large scale capacity building interventions, the emerging role of private sector in capacity development, models for institutionalising capacity development through projects at the state level, and the role of capacity development in strengthening public institutions in India. This was followed by two round table discussions. The first was on the role state level training institutions can play in creating an enabling environment for capacity development, and the second, on ways to develop a community of capacity development practitioners as an important constituent of development practice.