Many organizations may interpret community training differently than others. Some training methods include fundraising, training centres, demonstration visits, support with documentation or administrative tasks, on-the-job training, consultations and learning centres. Developing countries are adopting training strategies to avoid being permanently dependent on international aid. It is the approach of "not giving the fish, but teaching how to fish."[5]​.

It should be noted that in this article the noun "organization" is used with two different meanings: as a synonym for "entity" (organism) —The IMF is an international organization— and to designate how things are done or how something is structured —The event was a failure due to poor organization. In Spanish there are 2 adjectives (organizativo and organizacional, the latter most commonly used) derived from this noun, which are used interchangeably.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was one of those that first understood the relationship between community training and development. From the beginning of the 1970-1980 period, UNDP offered guidance to its staff and the countries it sought to help on what was considered "institution building" (a particularized concept of state building).

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), formerly the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), defines training in its field as "the process by which people, organizations and society systematically stimulate and develop over time their capacity to achieve social and economic objectives, through the improvement of knowledge, skills, systems and institutions."[6]​.

In 1991, the term evolved to "community training." The UNDP defines community training as a continuous long-term development process that involves all actors. This includes ministries, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, professionals, community members, academics and others. Community training takes advantage of the human, scientific, technological, organizational, institutional, agricultural and mining potential of a country. The objective of community training is to address problems related to development policies and methods, while considering the potential limits and needs of the people concerned. The UNDP highlights that community training takes place at an individual, institutional, social, and non-training level.[7]​.

Patrick Wakely (1997) of University College London had a similar opinion to the UNDP about the systemic nature of capacity.[9]​ He believed that thinking of training as simply training or improving human resources was too limiting, and that this mentality needed to change.[10]​ He also believed that simply increasing the capabilities of individuals was not enough to achieve sustainable development; An institutional and organizational environment was also needed where these individuals could take advantage of this increase. The 3 essential aspects of training to create better cities, according to Wakely are: human resources improvement, organizational improvement and institutional improvement.

Wakely defines human resources improvement as “the process of providing people with the knowledge, skills, and access to information necessary to act effectively.” This is where Wakely believes there is too much effort and emphasis.

Organizational improvement studies the processes by which things are done within an organization and makes the necessary changes to make these processes more efficient.

Institutional improvement consists of the "changes in laws and regulations" necessary for organizations to increase their capabilities."

Community training is defined as the “process of improving and strengthening the abilities, instincts, skills, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world.”[11]​.

Community training is the element that gives fluidity, flexibility and functionality to an organization or program to adapt to the changing needs of the population for which it is intended.[12]​.

Building new infrastructure or improving existing ones has been considered "economic empowerment" because it increases the capacity of any society (developed or developing) for trade, employment, development and quality of life.[13]​.

Contenido

El término "capacitación comunitaria" (community capacity building) ha evolucionado de términos anteriores como construcción institucional y desarrollo organizativo. En los períodos 1950-1960 y 1960-1970, estos términos se referían a un desarrollo comunitario centrado en mejorar las capacidades tecnológicas y de autogestión de las poblaciones rurales.

En el período 1970-1980, a consecuencia de una serie de informes sobre desarrollo internacional, se puso énfasis en la capacitación técnica (principalmente sobre abonos, semillas, sistemas de cultivo o riego, maquinaria agrícola, etc.) de áreas rurales, y también en los sectores administrativos de países en desarrollo. En el período 1980-1990 el concepto de desarrollo institucional se amplió aún más. El desarrollo institucional se veía como el proceso a largo plazo de construir las instituciones públicas y privadas, y las ONG, de un país en desarrollo.[14]​.

Aunque con anterioridad existían precursores al concepto de capacitación, solo a partir del período 1990-2000 se convirtió en un tema fundamental del desarrollo internacional.

Esto se debió a una confluencia de factores:[15]​.

Changes in international development approaches

During the 1980-1990 period, many low-income countries were subjected to "structural adjustment" packages (almost always cuts in social spending). The neoliberal nature of these packages increased income inequality in these countries. In response, a series of “social dimension adjustments” were applied. The growing wealth disparities caused by such structural measures led, in developing countries, to an increase in the importance of NGOs, because they were actively involved in the provision of social services to the poor.

Later, in the period 1990-2000, new emphasis was placed on the idea of ​​sustainable development.[17]​.

Training as a path to sustainable development

With growing concerns about environmental issues, such as global warming, efforts have been made to achieve sustainable development: development that, in the long term, maximizes social, economic, and environmental benefits while protecting the planet. During debates about how to achieve this, it has become commonplace to include discussions of empowering local communities, as well as "related concepts of participation, ownership, agency and bottom-up planning."[18]​ To empower local communities with self-reliance (not dependent on any form of aid), training has become a fundamental part of sustainable development. Many NGOs and development organizations end up making their beneficiary communities chronically dependent on their aid, because they carry out development projects for those communities, instead of what would be desirable, in association with them.

Reports such as the analysis of capabilities and vulnerabilities and ideas from previous decades, such as those of Paulo Freire, highlighted that "no one can develop another" and that development has to be participatory. These arguments questioned the effectiveness of "service delivery programmes" in achieving sustainable development, thus paving the way for greater emphasis on training.

In September 2000 in New York, 190 countries made a commitment in the Millennium Declaration to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This commitment, which helped countries, particularly developing countries, respond quickly and effectively to the then global recession, climate change and other crises, has spurred renewed interest in and commitment to training.

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) strategic plan for development 2008–2013, training is this organization's "fundamental contribution to development." This gives an idea of ​​the importance of training, because it is considered fundamental among the various types of development cooperation. Other types are: direct budget aid, food donation, infrastructure construction, etc.

UNDP promotes a training for development approach in the 166 countries where it operates. It focuses on training at an institutional level and offers the following 6-step process to systematically train:[19]​.

The UNDP integrates this training system in its effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, which were later expanded to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs).[20]​ The UNDP focuses on training at the institutional level because it believes that "institutions are at the heart of human development, and that when they are able to perform better, they maintain that improvement over time, can manage shocks to the system, and can contribute more to the achievement of the goals. development of their country.»[19]​.

He is not the only one who believes this: in Why Countries Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson argue that it is the institutions that govern a certain territory that will make it prosper.

Lant Pritchett, Michael Woolcock and Mate Andrews explain training in developing countries as a four-part process of modernization in the areas of:.

According to this theory, called modernization, improvements over time in these 4 areas lead a country to become developed. The underlying idea is that development aid entities are tasked with facilitating improvements in these 4 areas to accelerate the development process or make the process more equitable.[21]​.

Una de las ideas más fundamentales asociadas con la capacitación es la de capacitar a los gobiernos de países en desarrollo para gestionar los problemas asociados con las transformaciones medioambientales y socioeconómicas. Capacitar a un gobierno local, regional o nacional redundará en una mejor gobernanza que puede llevar al desarrollo sostenible.[22]​ Para evitar el autoritarismo en los países en desarrollo, se ha querido aumentar las capacidades y habilidades de los gobiernos nacionales y locales para que el poder, en lugar de estar concentrado, se difunda a través de todo el aparato estatal.

La capacitación de gobiernos a menudo implica proporcionarles las herramientas para ayudarlos a cumplir óptimamente sus responsabilidades. Entre estas herramientas está la elaboración de un presupuesto, la recaudación de impuestos, la elaboración y aplicación de leyes, la promoción del compromiso cívico, la transparencia, la rendición de cuentas y la lucha contra la corrupción.[23]​.

Joel S. Migdal explica que los gobiernos pueden fortalecer los Estados débiles capacitando a través de cambios en los sistemas de propiedad de la tierra, ajuste de métodos impositivos y mejora del transporte. Migdal cita la aprobación por México en 1856 de la Ley de desamortización como ejemplo de establecimiento de derechos de propiedad para fortalecer la capacidad administrativa de un Estado. Los nuevos derechos establecen una estructura social que reduce los conflictos entre ciudadanos (concretamente entre campesinos y terratenientes) y mejoran la producción agrícola. Cambiar la manera en que se recaudan los impuestos también ayuda a superar la debilidad de un Estado. Esto se puede hacer subiendo los impuestos o recaudándolos en efectivo (dinero) en vez de en especie (por ejemplo la décima parte del grano resultante de la cosecha). Migdal cita el ejemplo de Egipto en el siglo , que empezó a recaudar impuestos solo en efectivo, como la razón para el aumento de la capacidad económica que se produjo, porque los agricultores se vieron forzados a acudir más al mercado para conseguir el dinero con el que pagar. También decidieron producir cultivos para la exportación con la finalidad de aumentar sus ingresos de efectivo. Esto proporcionó más ingresos al Estado. Migdal explica asimismo que los nuevos medios de transporte pueden fortalecer la capacidad de un Estado a través de la disminución del aislamiento, lo que lleva a mayores oportunidades económicas porque se reduce el coste de transportar mercancías y se favorece el comercio regional. Migdal cita el ejemplo del ferrocarril en India en 1853 como el medio que permitió crecer un 500 % a la industria de exportación de algodón.[24]​.

Algunos ejemplos de capacitación de gobiernos de países en desarrollo:[25]​.

Isomorphic imitation

One form of training that some developing countries have tried is isomorphic mimicry (isomorphic mimicry in English, from the Greek isos, equal, and morphos, form). It is similar to the concept of mimetic isomorphism, used in organizational theory. Isomorphic imitation is the tendency of some governments to try to imitate the successes of others by copying their policies. Although such an approach can be effective in solving certain development problems that have a "one-size-fits-all technical solution", it often fails to take into account the political and organizational realities on the ground and therefore yields little benefit. A failed example of this imitation is legal reform in Melanesia.[28]​ In response to a major international aid mission to improve the quality of the judicial system, a prison and courts were built, costing millions of US dollars ($). However, they have been little used because there has been a lack of bureaucracy and income to support an expensive justice system. As summarized by Haggard et al., accelerated modernization is a completely inappropriate strategy for the legal system to function better, because these solutions often require administrative capacities that developing countries do not have.[29]​ Another example took place in Argentina.[30]​ During the economic crisis at the end of the 1980-1990 period, the government applied fiscal policies recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to curb the high inflation that affected the economy. However, rather than restricting aggregate spending, the attempt at fiscal discipline only shifted spending from the central administration to the provincial ones. Adopting good international practices often does not translate into positive changes; In the case of Argentina, imitation brought little change to its fragile economy (see Economy of Argentina).

Training is used at local, regional, national and international levels. It can be used to reorganize and train governments or individuals. International donors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) often view training as a form of aid to governments in developing countries or to NGOs working there. Historically this has been done through a US contractor that identifies an NGO working in the country and begins to support its financial, technical, monitoring and evaluation systems. The NGO is trained by becoming a sub-implementer of the donor.

Many NGOs also use training aimed at individuals and local communities. In a report commissioned by UNAIDS and the Global Fund, individual NGOs expressed their needs and preferences for donors and governments to give greater space to training. For individuals and national NGOs, training can relate to improved leadership, activism, public speaking, technical competencies, management skills and other areas of personal and professional development.

One of the most difficult problems in training locally is the lack of university students in developing countries.[31]​ Only between 2 and 5% of Africans have completed higher education.[32]​ Damtew Teferra, of Boston University's center for higher education in Africa, argues that local trainers are needed now more than ever, and that resources should be increased for programs focused on improving local skills.[33]​.

The development sector, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, has many decades of “international technical advisors” working with and mentoring government officials and NGOs. In providing health services, whether AIDS or children's health, community organizations have been founded, and often cultivated, through the strength of their staff and their commitment to being national and even regional leaders in their technical fields. While higher education is still an unmet demand, there are significant resources of experienced personnel. Recent donor initiatives, such as the Global Fund's Strengthening Community Systems,[34]​ or the United States' PEPFAR (Presidential Emergency Plan to Fight AIDS) Technical Assistance to New Partners initiative, are beginning to address organizational capacity needs and skills enhancement as part of the response to a country's health needs.[35]​ To complete the training cycle, the Global Fund and UNAIDS technical support instrument, as well as the technical assistance to civil society organizations, financed by said initiative, are directed and constituted by nationals of the countries where they operate.

Some examples of NGOs and programs that use the term "capacity building" to describe their activities at the local level:[32]​.

The social development of developing countries often depends on the effectiveness of the organizations working there. Organizational training focuses on improving the capabilities of organizations, specifically NGOs. Development failures are often due to an organization's inability to deliver the promised service. NGO training often involves improving skills such as decision-making, policy formulation, evaluation and learning. It is not unusual for donors to finance the training of NGOs themselves, although it is common to finance the training of the beneficiary's state agencies. For organizations, training can relate to almost any aspect of their work: governance, leadership, mission and strategy, administration (including human resources, financial management and legal issues), program development and implementation, fundraising and revenue generation, diversity, partnership and collaboration, evaluation, lobbying and policy changes, marketing, positioning or planning. Training an NGO can be the way for it to fulfill its mission and thus survive. It is an ongoing process that encourages organizations to continually reflect on their work and leadership, and ensures that they are fulfilling the mission they set out to do.[16]​.

Alan Kaplan, who has worked in international development and is a leading expert on NGOs, says that training organizations involves increasing their tangible and intangible assets. For example, an organization needs new computers. She is trained by donating them and teaching her staff how to use them. Tangible assets (computers) have increased, but so have intangible assets (staff knowledge). Kaplan maintains that for NGOs to be able to effectively train in developing areas, they first have to focus on achieving an effective way of working by improving intangibles such as:[41]​.

Kaplan argues that NGOs that develop a conceptual framework and that have good organizational attitude, vision, strategy and structure are more likely to be self-reflective and critical, two qualities that allow for more effective training.[41] Although he states that these qualities are of utmost importance, Kaplan says that other qualities, such as skills, and material resources, such as tools or manuals, are also imperative.

Another aspect of organizational training is the ability of an entity to, at any given moment, correctly assess what is most needed and what is most effective, and change based on this assessment.

Since the advent of community training as the dominant theme of international aid, donors and development workers have struggled to create a simple mechanism to measure the effectiveness of this training. In 2007 David Watson developed specific criteria for effective training evaluation and monitoring. Watson complained that the traditional method of monitoring NGOs, based primarily on a linear results framework, is not sufficient to evaluate training. He argues that to evaluate the training of an NGO a combination of the results of its activities with the improvement of the NGO itself and its cooperation with other entities should be used. Watson studied 18 case studies of training evaluations and found that the following are controlled:[42]​.

In 2007 USAID published a report on the monitoring and control of the training it carried out. According to him, USAID controls:

USAID evaluates why objectives were achieved, or why they were not, and the overall contributions of the projects. Examine qualitative results (more difficult to measure than quantitative ones), collect unexpected results, and review reports on lessons learned. USAID uses 2 types of progress indicators: "output indicators" and "outcome indicators". The former measure immediate changes caused by training, such as the number of people who attended a seed management workshop. The latter measure the impact, such as the increase in grain production in the town where the workshop was held.[43]​.

In Spanish it is common to use this expression, outside of a context of actions in developing countries, to refer to the effects of the expansion of an infrastructure, for example a road[45]​ or an airport.[46]​ In these cases, "capacity" is always in the singular. On the other hand, when we talk about "increased capacity", it almost always refers to people.

Many organizations may interpret community training differently than others. Some training methods include fundraising, training centres, demonstration visits, support with documentation or administrative tasks, on-the-job training, consultations and learning centres. Developing countries are adopting training strategies to avoid being permanently dependent on international aid. It is the approach of "not giving the fish, but teaching how to fish."[5]​.

It should be noted that in this article the noun "organization" is used with two different meanings: as a synonym for "entity" (organism) —The IMF is an international organization— and to designate how things are done or how something is structured —The event was a failure due to poor organization. In Spanish there are 2 adjectives (organizativo and organizacional, the latter most commonly used) derived from this noun, which are used interchangeably.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was one of those that first understood the relationship between community training and development. From the beginning of the 1970-1980 period, UNDP offered guidance to its staff and the countries it sought to help on what was considered "institution building" (a particularized concept of state building).

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), formerly the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), defines training in its field as "the process by which people, organizations and society systematically stimulate and develop over time their capacity to achieve social and economic objectives, through the improvement of knowledge, skills, systems and institutions."[6]​.

In 1991, the term evolved to "community training." The UNDP defines community training as a continuous long-term development process that involves all actors. This includes ministries, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, professionals, community members, academics and others. Community training takes advantage of the human, scientific, technological, organizational, institutional, agricultural and mining potential of a country. The objective of community training is to address problems related to development policies and methods, while considering the potential limits and needs of the people concerned. The UNDP highlights that community training takes place at an individual, institutional, social, and non-training level.[7]​.

Patrick Wakely (1997) of University College London had a similar opinion to the UNDP about the systemic nature of capacity.[9]​ He believed that thinking of training as simply training or improving human resources was too limiting, and that this mentality needed to change.[10]​ He also believed that simply increasing the capabilities of individuals was not enough to achieve sustainable development; An institutional and organizational environment was also needed where these individuals could take advantage of this increase. The 3 essential aspects of training to create better cities, according to Wakely are: human resources improvement, organizational improvement and institutional improvement.

Wakely defines human resources improvement as “the process of providing people with the knowledge, skills, and access to information necessary to act effectively.” This is where Wakely believes there is too much effort and emphasis.

Organizational improvement studies the processes by which things are done within an organization and makes the necessary changes to make these processes more efficient.

Institutional improvement consists of the "changes in laws and regulations" necessary for organizations to increase their capabilities."

Community training is defined as the “process of improving and strengthening the abilities, instincts, skills, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world.”[11]​.

Community training is the element that gives fluidity, flexibility and functionality to an organization or program to adapt to the changing needs of the population for which it is intended.[12]​.

Building new infrastructure or improving existing ones has been considered "economic empowerment" because it increases the capacity of any society (developed or developing) for trade, employment, development and quality of life.[13]​.

Contenido

El término "capacitación comunitaria" (community capacity building) ha evolucionado de términos anteriores como construcción institucional y desarrollo organizativo. En los períodos 1950-1960 y 1960-1970, estos términos se referían a un desarrollo comunitario centrado en mejorar las capacidades tecnológicas y de autogestión de las poblaciones rurales.

En el período 1970-1980, a consecuencia de una serie de informes sobre desarrollo internacional, se puso énfasis en la capacitación técnica (principalmente sobre abonos, semillas, sistemas de cultivo o riego, maquinaria agrícola, etc.) de áreas rurales, y también en los sectores administrativos de países en desarrollo. En el período 1980-1990 el concepto de desarrollo institucional se amplió aún más. El desarrollo institucional se veía como el proceso a largo plazo de construir las instituciones públicas y privadas, y las ONG, de un país en desarrollo.[14]​.

Aunque con anterioridad existían precursores al concepto de capacitación, solo a partir del período 1990-2000 se convirtió en un tema fundamental del desarrollo internacional.

Esto se debió a una confluencia de factores:[15]​.

Changes in international development approaches

During the 1980-1990 period, many low-income countries were subjected to "structural adjustment" packages (almost always cuts in social spending). The neoliberal nature of these packages increased income inequality in these countries. In response, a series of “social dimension adjustments” were applied. The growing wealth disparities caused by such structural measures led, in developing countries, to an increase in the importance of NGOs, because they were actively involved in the provision of social services to the poor.

Later, in the period 1990-2000, new emphasis was placed on the idea of ​​sustainable development.[17]​.

Training as a path to sustainable development

With growing concerns about environmental issues, such as global warming, efforts have been made to achieve sustainable development: development that, in the long term, maximizes social, economic, and environmental benefits while protecting the planet. During debates about how to achieve this, it has become commonplace to include discussions of empowering local communities, as well as "related concepts of participation, ownership, agency and bottom-up planning."[18]​ To empower local communities with self-reliance (not dependent on any form of aid), training has become a fundamental part of sustainable development. Many NGOs and development organizations end up making their beneficiary communities chronically dependent on their aid, because they carry out development projects for those communities, instead of what would be desirable, in association with them.

Reports such as the analysis of capabilities and vulnerabilities and ideas from previous decades, such as those of Paulo Freire, highlighted that "no one can develop another" and that development has to be participatory. These arguments questioned the effectiveness of "service delivery programmes" in achieving sustainable development, thus paving the way for greater emphasis on training.

In September 2000 in New York, 190 countries made a commitment in the Millennium Declaration to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This commitment, which helped countries, particularly developing countries, respond quickly and effectively to the then global recession, climate change and other crises, has spurred renewed interest in and commitment to training.

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) strategic plan for development 2008–2013, training is this organization's "fundamental contribution to development." This gives an idea of ​​the importance of training, because it is considered fundamental among the various types of development cooperation. Other types are: direct budget aid, food donation, infrastructure construction, etc.

UNDP promotes a training for development approach in the 166 countries where it operates. It focuses on training at an institutional level and offers the following 6-step process to systematically train:[19]​.

The UNDP integrates this training system in its effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, which were later expanded to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs).[20]​ The UNDP focuses on training at the institutional level because it believes that "institutions are at the heart of human development, and that when they are able to perform better, they maintain that improvement over time, can manage shocks to the system, and can contribute more to the achievement of the goals. development of their country.»[19]​.

He is not the only one who believes this: in Why Countries Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson argue that it is the institutions that govern a certain territory that will make it prosper.

Lant Pritchett, Michael Woolcock and Mate Andrews explain training in developing countries as a four-part process of modernization in the areas of:.

According to this theory, called modernization, improvements over time in these 4 areas lead a country to become developed. The underlying idea is that development aid entities are tasked with facilitating improvements in these 4 areas to accelerate the development process or make the process more equitable.[21]​.

Una de las ideas más fundamentales asociadas con la capacitación es la de capacitar a los gobiernos de países en desarrollo para gestionar los problemas asociados con las transformaciones medioambientales y socioeconómicas. Capacitar a un gobierno local, regional o nacional redundará en una mejor gobernanza que puede llevar al desarrollo sostenible.[22]​ Para evitar el autoritarismo en los países en desarrollo, se ha querido aumentar las capacidades y habilidades de los gobiernos nacionales y locales para que el poder, en lugar de estar concentrado, se difunda a través de todo el aparato estatal.

La capacitación de gobiernos a menudo implica proporcionarles las herramientas para ayudarlos a cumplir óptimamente sus responsabilidades. Entre estas herramientas está la elaboración de un presupuesto, la recaudación de impuestos, la elaboración y aplicación de leyes, la promoción del compromiso cívico, la transparencia, la rendición de cuentas y la lucha contra la corrupción.[23]​.

Joel S. Migdal explica que los gobiernos pueden fortalecer los Estados débiles capacitando a través de cambios en los sistemas de propiedad de la tierra, ajuste de métodos impositivos y mejora del transporte. Migdal cita la aprobación por México en 1856 de la Ley de desamortización como ejemplo de establecimiento de derechos de propiedad para fortalecer la capacidad administrativa de un Estado. Los nuevos derechos establecen una estructura social que reduce los conflictos entre ciudadanos (concretamente entre campesinos y terratenientes) y mejoran la producción agrícola. Cambiar la manera en que se recaudan los impuestos también ayuda a superar la debilidad de un Estado. Esto se puede hacer subiendo los impuestos o recaudándolos en efectivo (dinero) en vez de en especie (por ejemplo la décima parte del grano resultante de la cosecha). Migdal cita el ejemplo de Egipto en el siglo , que empezó a recaudar impuestos solo en efectivo, como la razón para el aumento de la capacidad económica que se produjo, porque los agricultores se vieron forzados a acudir más al mercado para conseguir el dinero con el que pagar. También decidieron producir cultivos para la exportación con la finalidad de aumentar sus ingresos de efectivo. Esto proporcionó más ingresos al Estado. Migdal explica asimismo que los nuevos medios de transporte pueden fortalecer la capacidad de un Estado a través de la disminución del aislamiento, lo que lleva a mayores oportunidades económicas porque se reduce el coste de transportar mercancías y se favorece el comercio regional. Migdal cita el ejemplo del ferrocarril en India en 1853 como el medio que permitió crecer un 500 % a la industria de exportación de algodón.[24]​.

Algunos ejemplos de capacitación de gobiernos de países en desarrollo:[25]​.

Isomorphic imitation

One form of training that some developing countries have tried is isomorphic mimicry (isomorphic mimicry in English, from the Greek isos, equal, and morphos, form). It is similar to the concept of mimetic isomorphism, used in organizational theory. Isomorphic imitation is the tendency of some governments to try to imitate the successes of others by copying their policies. Although such an approach can be effective in solving certain development problems that have a "one-size-fits-all technical solution", it often fails to take into account the political and organizational realities on the ground and therefore yields little benefit. A failed example of this imitation is legal reform in Melanesia.[28]​ In response to a major international aid mission to improve the quality of the judicial system, a prison and courts were built, costing millions of US dollars ($). However, they have been little used because there has been a lack of bureaucracy and income to support an expensive justice system. As summarized by Haggard et al., accelerated modernization is a completely inappropriate strategy for the legal system to function better, because these solutions often require administrative capacities that developing countries do not have.[29]​ Another example took place in Argentina.[30]​ During the economic crisis at the end of the 1980-1990 period, the government applied fiscal policies recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to curb the high inflation that affected the economy. However, rather than restricting aggregate spending, the attempt at fiscal discipline only shifted spending from the central administration to the provincial ones. Adopting good international practices often does not translate into positive changes; In the case of Argentina, imitation brought little change to its fragile economy (see Economy of Argentina).

Training is used at local, regional, national and international levels. It can be used to reorganize and train governments or individuals. International donors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) often view training as a form of aid to governments in developing countries or to NGOs working there. Historically this has been done through a US contractor that identifies an NGO working in the country and begins to support its financial, technical, monitoring and evaluation systems. The NGO is trained by becoming a sub-implementer of the donor.

Many NGOs also use training aimed at individuals and local communities. In a report commissioned by UNAIDS and the Global Fund, individual NGOs expressed their needs and preferences for donors and governments to give greater space to training. For individuals and national NGOs, training can relate to improved leadership, activism, public speaking, technical competencies, management skills and other areas of personal and professional development.

One of the most difficult problems in training locally is the lack of university students in developing countries.[31]​ Only between 2 and 5% of Africans have completed higher education.[32]​ Damtew Teferra, of Boston University's center for higher education in Africa, argues that local trainers are needed now more than ever, and that resources should be increased for programs focused on improving local skills.[33]​.

The development sector, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, has many decades of “international technical advisors” working with and mentoring government officials and NGOs. In providing health services, whether AIDS or children's health, community organizations have been founded, and often cultivated, through the strength of their staff and their commitment to being national and even regional leaders in their technical fields. While higher education is still an unmet demand, there are significant resources of experienced personnel. Recent donor initiatives, such as the Global Fund's Strengthening Community Systems,[34]​ or the United States' PEPFAR (Presidential Emergency Plan to Fight AIDS) Technical Assistance to New Partners initiative, are beginning to address organizational capacity needs and skills enhancement as part of the response to a country's health needs.[35]​ To complete the training cycle, the Global Fund and UNAIDS technical support instrument, as well as the technical assistance to civil society organizations, financed by said initiative, are directed and constituted by nationals of the countries where they operate.

Some examples of NGOs and programs that use the term "capacity building" to describe their activities at the local level:[32]​.

The social development of developing countries often depends on the effectiveness of the organizations working there. Organizational training focuses on improving the capabilities of organizations, specifically NGOs. Development failures are often due to an organization's inability to deliver the promised service. NGO training often involves improving skills such as decision-making, policy formulation, evaluation and learning. It is not unusual for donors to finance the training of NGOs themselves, although it is common to finance the training of the beneficiary's state agencies. For organizations, training can relate to almost any aspect of their work: governance, leadership, mission and strategy, administration (including human resources, financial management and legal issues), program development and implementation, fundraising and revenue generation, diversity, partnership and collaboration, evaluation, lobbying and policy changes, marketing, positioning or planning. Training an NGO can be the way for it to fulfill its mission and thus survive. It is an ongoing process that encourages organizations to continually reflect on their work and leadership, and ensures that they are fulfilling the mission they set out to do.[16]​.

Alan Kaplan, who has worked in international development and is a leading expert on NGOs, says that training organizations involves increasing their tangible and intangible assets. For example, an organization needs new computers. She is trained by donating them and teaching her staff how to use them. Tangible assets (computers) have increased, but so have intangible assets (staff knowledge). Kaplan maintains that for NGOs to be able to effectively train in developing areas, they first have to focus on achieving an effective way of working by improving intangibles such as:[41]​.

Kaplan argues that NGOs that develop a conceptual framework and that have good organizational attitude, vision, strategy and structure are more likely to be self-reflective and critical, two qualities that allow for more effective training.[41] Although he states that these qualities are of utmost importance, Kaplan says that other qualities, such as skills, and material resources, such as tools or manuals, are also imperative.

Another aspect of organizational training is the ability of an entity to, at any given moment, correctly assess what is most needed and what is most effective, and change based on this assessment.

Since the advent of community training as the dominant theme of international aid, donors and development workers have struggled to create a simple mechanism to measure the effectiveness of this training. In 2007 David Watson developed specific criteria for effective training evaluation and monitoring. Watson complained that the traditional method of monitoring NGOs, based primarily on a linear results framework, is not sufficient to evaluate training. He argues that to evaluate the training of an NGO a combination of the results of its activities with the improvement of the NGO itself and its cooperation with other entities should be used. Watson studied 18 case studies of training evaluations and found that the following are controlled:[42]​.

In 2007 USAID published a report on the monitoring and control of the training it carried out. According to him, USAID controls:

USAID evaluates why objectives were achieved, or why they were not, and the overall contributions of the projects. Examine qualitative results (more difficult to measure than quantitative ones), collect unexpected results, and review reports on lessons learned. USAID uses 2 types of progress indicators: "output indicators" and "outcome indicators". The former measure immediate changes caused by training, such as the number of people who attended a seed management workshop. The latter measure the impact, such as the increase in grain production in the town where the workshop was held.[43]​.

In Spanish it is common to use this expression, outside of a context of actions in developing countries, to refer to the effects of the expansion of an infrastructure, for example a road[45]​ or an airport.[46]​ In these cases, "capacity" is always in the singular. On the other hand, when we talk about "increased capacity", it almost always refers to people.