Resources/Inputs: The resources introduced through the intervention. These resources are primarily "Time" (people & skills) and "Things" (physical, logistical or technical resources) introduced by the appropriate use of "Money" (the intervention) to improve the quality of "Time" and "Things" available to either the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries.
Capacity: The optimization of "Time" and "Things" so as to create a new context (capacity) for the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries to view their current situation. There are a variety of explanations (depending on the source) for what capacity building is. However, there is a simple formula to follow for any (all) organizations in order to measurably increase your capacity. Time, things and money are the only three resources that any (all) organizations have available to them. It is the optimization of these resources that builds capacity.
+ Time (Human Resources): the people available and their knowledge, skills and attributes
+ Things (Logistics & Infrastructure): the physical, logistical, technological resources that are available to us
+ Money (Financial Resources): the financial resources that give us flexibility to buy additional time (e.g. recruitment, over-time, training) or things (additional tangible resources) should we need them (see "What is Capacity Building")
The intervention introduces "Time" inputs that in turn create "competencies" within the intermediaries &/or beneficiaries; and "Thing" inputs that create/improve "capabilities" within these groups. It is the combination of "competency" and "capability" that builds capacity. Optimising these three resources is measured against the stated objectives of the organisation, programme &/or partner. Normally these are the strategic objectives for a period – for example the Results Framework; towards which it intends to concentrate its resources/capacity. And the points of intervention that an organisation can make in order to optimise the combination of resources (time, things & money) in order to achieve these strategic objectives are:
+ Competency focuses on “Time” – increasing the abilities of the human resources (staff, consultants, donors, supporters, volunteers, partners, beneficiaries etc.).
+ Capability focuses on “Things” – what tangible resources are available to the organisation to allow it to exploit its competencies (i.e. what these human resources, where, when, how, etc. ).
+ Cost is the enabling resource “Money” that allows us to invest in the organisations competency (buying better Time) and in the organisation’s capability (buying more appropriate things). Note: "Cost" is the "money" element of the intervention and it is the balance between "costs" and "capacity" that will determine how sustainable the intervention can be.
Community: The scale-up and diffusion of new capacities across the wider group (The Innovation Adoption Lifecycle) through community-led sharing of new capacity via social-cultural channels and through the facilitated programme mechanisms.
Attitudes: Peoples willingness to change based on the new capacity that exists and their ability to (re)interpret their context and situation based on this new capacity. A willingness to change is not change in itself, but without it there cannot be a sustainable change.
Behaviour: Sustainable change in people’s day-to-day behaviour as they incorporate this new capacity into their daily lives & routines. Behavioural change is sustainable change as, while attitudes can change (revert to old behaviours), accepted behaviours tend not to.
And some supporting Science on theories that support this approach:
“A number of theories have been developed to describe how changes in factors at the individual and interpersonal levels of the social ecological model work (Partners in Action – Washington; Models, Factors and Theories of Change).
- Cognitive behavioural theories: Health Belief Model, (HBM) addresses the individual’s perceptions of the threat posed by a health problem (susceptibility, severity), the benefits of avoiding the threat, and factors influencing the decision to act (barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy; The Stages of Change (Transtheoretical) Model describes individuals’ motivation and readiness to change a behaviour; The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) examines the relations between an individual’s beliefs, attitudes, intentions, behaviour, and perceived control over that behaviour; The Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) names seven stages in an individual’s journey from awareness to action. It begins with lack of awareness and advances through subsequent stages of becoming aware, deciding whether or not to act, acting, and maintaining.
- Theories Governing Social Change: Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) describes a dynamic, ongoing process in which personal factors, environmental factors, and human behaviour exert influence upon each other; Community Organization and Other Participatory Models emphasize community-driven approaches to assessing and solving health and social problems; Diffusion of Innovations Theory addresses how new ideas, products, and social practices spread within an organization, community, or society, or from one society to another; Communication Theory describes how different types of communication affect health behaviour.
