The policy shift towards sustainability has led to increased diversity of stakeholders in land management. This thesis explores how capacity building projects affect the way stakeholders are included in emerging platforms for change. It does so by combining action research and narrative analysis in a case study of a project that aimed to develop social capability in rural Victoria, Australia. The thesis concludes with ways to improve capacity building methodologies and the reflexive performance within platforms for change.

Voluntary and community organisations are fundamental to society because they are major stakeholders in building the social capital that underpins healthy and well-functioning communities. Yet many of these organisations are small and possess limited resources when measured against the challenges and needs that they address. This raises the issue of the capacity of organisations within the sector to operate effectively. Within the range of capacity issues, governance is consistently rated as an area requiring development. This research seeks to contribute to a better understanding of issues impacting on the governance capacity of voluntary and community sector organisations within the overall context of capacity building. A focused study in the Taranaki region examines the factors impacting on the governance of community organisations providing social services. The research identifies the level of governance capacity demonstrated within the organisations studied and also explores the level of awareness around the need to enhance governance capacity. The research examines a range of frameworks and models used to build governance capacity to see if they could be adapted for the Taranaki region. The study suggests that, although a number of frameworks and models are useful, every situation is different, and models must be responsive to the social and cultural context and the particular history and mission of each organisation. As a result, the study concludes that further work should be undertaken to develop a model of governance for the voluntary and community sector.

Doctor of Philosophy / Operating in the space between state, market and society, nonprofit housing associations are part of a new generation of hybrid organisations. Unlike traditional organisations delivering publicly subsidised affordable rental accommodation, governance is networked not hierarchical. The state can influence - through subsidy, regulation and direct intervention - though seldom chooses to directly control. Housing associations regularly partner with public sector agencies, private developers and other nonprofit or hybrid organisations. Networking is used to share resources, build local coalitions and increase institutional learning. This thesis uses a cross-national case study approach to develop frameworks leading to a deeper understanding of what housing associations are becoming. The topic is addressed through the research focus on how to strengthen housing association capacity, taken to be ‘the capability of an organisation to achieve goals’. Nine associations of three organisation types, selected from the city regions of San Francisco, Melbourne and Manchester, provided rich documentary and interview information. This was supplemented by interviews with senior staff at networked organisations identified through snowballing techniques. Organisational capacity is often seen as a set of attributes that housing associations possess, such as a mission statement and governance procedures. This has led to a narrow focus on capacity building through professionalisation, introducing management approaches from the private sector. The research findings suggest the importance of broader approaches to strengthening organisational capacity, for example though collaboration between associations by merger, group structure, or procurement partnerships. Capacity can also be built with assistance from both traditional and emerging networked support organisations. Trade and professional bodies, together with consultants, lobby organisations, researchers and community groups form part of a broader web. The success of contemporary housing associations depends not only on the skills of individuals working for the organisation, but their ability to make connections across the wider environment - organisational capacity strengthened through network power.

Voluntary and community organisations are fundamental to society because they are major stakeholders in building the social capital that underpins healthy and well-functioning communities. Yet many of these organisations are small and possess limited resources when measured against the challenges and needs that they address. This raises the issue of the capacity of organisations within the sector to operate effectively. Within the range of capacity issues, governance is consistently rated as an area requiring development. This research seeks to contribute to a better understanding of issues impacting on the governance capacity of voluntary and community sector organisations within the overall context of capacity building. A focused study in the Taranaki region examines the factors impacting on the governance of community organisations providing social services. The research identifies the level of governance capacity demonstrated within the organisations studied and also explores the level of awareness around the need to enhance governance capacity. The research examines a range of frameworks and models used to build governance capacity to see if they could be adapted for the Taranaki region. The study suggests that, although a number of frameworks and models are useful, every situation is different, and models must be responsive to the social and cultural context and the particular history and mission of each organisation. As a result, the study concludes that further work should be undertaken to develop a model of governance for the voluntary and community sector.

The designation and enforcement of protected areas in southeast Brazil severely restricted livelihoods of rural inhabitants, who had limited options to adapt to new settings. Serious challenges emerged from deficiency in local capacity for the organization, management, and application of mitigation interventions. However, the Cananéia Oyster Producers’ Cooperative managed to overcome numerous challenges and was a finalist for the United Nations Development Programme’s 2002 Equator Prize for simultaneous poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. Qualitative research methods, including Rapid Rural Appraisal tools, were employed to examine the cooperative’s self-organization, cross-scale institutional linkages, and livelihood and conservation impact. Through various coordinated endevours such as the adoption of oyster rearing beds, depuration station, education, and designation of an extractive reserve, cooperative members have been able to improve their livelihoods while minimizing environmental impact. Lessons learned from the cooperative on simultaneous poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation are presented in the final chapter of this thesis. / May 2006

Cross-collaborations and interdisciplinarity have become buzzwords in academia as it has been identified and argued, that going beyond traditional academic boundaries is essential for providing solutions to complex, societal problems. Currently, most of the scholarly literature on collaboration focusses on sub-issues, such as arguments for and against the crossing of fields and disciplines, while there is a lack of practical case studies exemplifying its effect. The objective of this research was therefore to explore the arguments underlying initiatives to start an introductory collaborative program for young academics, identify these programs’ roles in the researchers' collaboration capacity, and thus, to gain understanding of how collaborative programs can contribute in the process of equipping young researchers with valuable tools to tackle today's and tomorrow's complex challenges linked to United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. The research for this thesis was done in two steps: (1) to search for a conceptual framework on the topic of research collaboration, and (2) presenting a single-case study of one example of a collaborative research enhancing program by conducting qualitative interviews with key respondents. This thesis explicitly includes an assessment of current theories on the development of collaborative and interdisciplinary research teams and the relevance of these for enhancing scientific capacity of innovation, effectiveness and progress. It concludes that collaborative research is an ambiguous and fluid concept. Although concepts and theories around this phenomenon have been proposed, there is no coherent consensus on the concept in the scholarly literature. Furthermore, the case study presented in this thesis offers a unique insight into young researchers’ experiences of participating a collaborative research program. It is recognized that there is a consensus among the persons interviewed that participating in a collaborative research program has greatly contributed to the individual researcher’s professional development. It is further recognized that the lack of standardized indicators for collaborative outputs implicates on the possibility to argue for the proposed benefits of collaborative research in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals.

p. 1 - 113 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-01-22T20:31:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 BBBBBBBBB.pdf: 360648 bytes, checksum: 90e7b9b5bd5c0d99ab74589c19841a3f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-01-22T20:31:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BBBBBBBBB.pdf: 360648 bytes, checksum: 90e7b9b5bd5c0d99ab74589c19841a3f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Estudo sobre a “Capacidade de Gestão no Sistema Estadual de Vigilância Sanitária da Bahia: Enfoque do Planejamento Estratégico e Instrumentos de Gestão” tendo por objetivos: a) avaliar como a capacidade de planejamento dos gestores municipais contribui para que os municípios cumpram as metas pactuadas na área de Vigilância Sanitária; b) analisar os Planos de Saúde (2002-2005) e os Planos de Vigilância Sanitária (2006), dos municípios em gestão plena e/ou com adesão ao TAM, como instrumento de gestão municipal; c) avaliar a contribuição do planejamento, das ações de Vigilância Sanitária, para a ampliação da capacidade de gestão; d) avaliar a capacidade dos municípios em cumprir as metas pactuadas na Programação Pactuada Integrada (PPI) e no Termo de Ajuste e Metas (TAM) no ano de 2006. Tem como marco referencial o método de planejamento proposto por Carlos Matus, o “Planejamento Estratégico Situacional (PES)”, que é um método direcionado para o setor público, no qual os atores são os partidos políticos, governantes, dirigentes de organizações públicas, empresariais e sindicais. È um estudo de natureza descritiva, do tipo qualitativo no qual, os municípios em Gestão Plena do Sistema Municipal ou que aderiram ao Termo de Ajuste e Metas até dezembro de 2006 se constituem no campo de investigação. Os sujeitos do estudo foram os secretários municipais de saúde e os coordenadores municipais de VISA. No que se refere às técnicas de análise, como fontes primárias foram utilizadas entrevistas semi-estruturada e questionários e secundária a análise documental dos relatórios de supervisão da DIVISA, Planos Municipais de Saúde e Planos Municipais de Vigilância Sanitária. O método de análise de dados foi análise de conteúdo, utilizando como subcategoria a análise estrutural. A partir dos dados produzidos foram identificadas cinco categorias de análise: a realidade; a imagem-objeto; a situação-objetivo; a estratégia de ação e o gerenciamento da execução. O estudo apresentou a dicotomia entre o discurso marxista de planejamento proposto pelos coordenadores federal e estadual do sistema de VISA e o modelo de organização que se alinha com o modelo burocrático proposto por Weber. No que se refere ao processo de trabalho o modelo tende a se amoldar ao proposto por Taylor. Os resultados demonstraram que os sujeitos, na sua maioria, não detêm conhecimento sobre o processo de planejamento em saúde, bem como da importância do planejamento para a capacidade de gestão e conseqüentemente para o alcance dos objetivos organizacionais e das metas pactuadas. Como principais resultados foram identificados que os municípios alvo deste estudo, na sua maioria, apresentam uma baixa capacidade de gestão; demonstram uma incipiente capacidade de planejamento; insignificante participação da vigilância sanitária municipal na elaboração dos Planos Municipais de Saúde; os Planos de VISA não assumem as ações de Média Complexidade pactuadas por meio do TAM; os instrumentos de gestão e programação não são utilizados na elaboração dos Planos Municipais de Saúde e nos Planos de VISA e no discurso o planejamento é ascendente, mas na prática o planejamento é descendente. Para transformar essa realidade, este estudo propõe o fortalecimento do sistema municipal de VISA por meio: do apoio e do assessoramento aos gestores municipais para que estes assumam as competências e responsabilidades originadas do processo de pactuação; da inclusão das ações de VISA de baixa e média complexidade no Plano Municipal de Saúde e no Plano de VISA; da capacitação dos gestores municipais e os profissionais de VISA na área de: políticas públicas de saúde, gestão e planejamento. / Salvador

Cette thèse s’articule autour de la question suivante : comment la fondation, organisation à but non lucratif, peut contribuer à une perspective de développement dans une économie fondée sur la connaissance ? Premièrement, nous analysons les missions philanthropiques de renforcement des capacités qui nous permettent de distinguer deux trajectoires de renforcement créatrices de connaissances : la valorisation des connaissances autochtones (tacites) et le transfert de connaissances explicites. Deuxièmement, nous établissons une typologie des fondations créatives qui oeuvrent pour le développement à travers leur capacité de transfert et de coproduction de connaissance. Grâce à une étude empirique qualitative menée auprès de trente trois fondations de sept nationalités, nos résultats statistiques et économétriques montrent que les activités lucratives de la fondation ont un impact favorable à l’amélioration des capacités de transfert de connaissances. Par ailleurs, la fondation de statut privé, n’est pas la plus dynamique en matière de transfert de savoirs. L’identification de ces facteurs essentiels au renforcement des capacités permet une meilleure coordination entre les acteurs renforçateurs et renforcés issus de cultures différentes. Les communautés de pratique et épistémiques qui émergent de ces relations de renforcement placent les fondations créatives au centre des perspectives de développement pour les pays du sud. Notre analyse du développement met en exergue la contribution des initiatives philanthropiques créatrices de connaissances comme le renforcement des capacités. / This thesis deals with the question of how a foundation, non profit organization, can contribute to the development in knowledge based economy? Firstly, we analyze the philanthropic mission of capacity building that enables us to discern two trajectories of creative knowledge building: the development of indigenous knowledge (tacit) and explicit knowledge transfer. Secondly, we establish a typology of creative foundations which work at the development through their capacity of transfer and coproduction of knowledge.Through a qualitative empirical study conducted among thirty three foundations of seven nationalities, our statistical and econometric results show that “profit-making activities” of the foundation have a positive impact on improving knowledge transfer capabilities. Besides, the private foundation is not the most dynamic in the transfer of knowledge. The identification of these critical factors in capacity building allows for better coordination between actors “reinforcers” and reinforced from different cultures. Communities of practice and epistemic Communities emerging from this relationship place the foundations at the center of creative development prospects for the South. Our analysis of the development highlights the contribution of knowledge-creating philanthropic initiatives such as capacity building.

abstract: ABSTRACT Intermediating between farmers and development projects, farmers’ organizations (FOs) have the potential to improve rural market access and promote equitable growth by reducing transaction costs, strengthening producer bargaining power, and enabling collective action. Capacity building of FOs is a cornerstone of rural development policies and programs, such as the United Nations World Food Programme’s Purchase for Progress (P4P) project, which partnered with 830 FOs representing 1.7 million farmers from 2008 through 2014. Despite significant donor investment, a unifying framework defining the concept and measurement of capacity building has eluded development practitioners. The core challenge originates from the paradigm shift away from top-down development toward participatory capacity building. Motivated by the practical difficulties encountered in ceding control to beneficiaries to enable their empowerment and self-determination, this study seeks to clarify conceptualizations of FO capacity and FO capacity building, to refine monitoring and evaluation of capacity building initiatives, and to develop and validate indicators and indices of organizational maturity and capacity. Drawing on a critical review of the capacity building literature, this study develops an integrated, multi-level, capacity building framework and elaborates different levels of FO participation at each stage of the capacity building process. Through this lens, the research analyzes 11 organizational capacity assessment (OCA) tools and methodologies, and constructs 33 indicators of functional organizational capital to address OCA content gaps in conflict resolution, member participation, adaptive capacity, and the drivers of organizational change and collective action. The research further proposes methodological changes for increasing member participation in OCA to reduce reporting bias, to build knowledge and planning capacities, and to engender empowerment. The indicators developed are tested on primary data gathered from P4P (treatment) and non-P4P (control) FOs in Ghana and Malawi. Results show that P4P has positively impacted the organizational capacity of participating groups, although there are regional differences. The statistical analysis validates most of the indicators and indices developed from this study’s participatory capacity building framework. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of what FO capacity building means and how to measure it. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2016

This thesis aims to increase the knowledge and capacity of Canadian communities and their small businesses in order to enable their transition towards sustainability. This was accomplished through interviews with Canadian Community Economic Development (CED) experts, and surveys from Small Business (SB) operators in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. We suggest the potential roles for CED proponents and SB operators include: (1) Shared development of community vision; (2) Local business networks for sustainability; (3) Community capacity building through dialogue.