Local Results a Global Challenge

What is Capacity 2015?

The United Nations Development Programme has launched a new and important capacity development initiative - Capacity 2015. It is based on the results, success, achievements and lessons derived from a decade of successful innovation in capacity development for sustainable development by Capacity 21 and other partners. The main objective of Capacity 2015 is to help countries to develop capacities so that they may reap the benefits from globalization and meet or surpass the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) while achieving sustainable development. The MDGs are a set of inter-related goals that contribute to sustainable development. Capacity 2015 will provide the enabling capacities to help countries progress towards the MDGs. The programme will build upon experience gained during the ten years since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and will help countries to move from strategic planning for sustainable development to effective implementation. It will ensure that
processes of sustainable development put in place during the 1990s are
utilized to face the challenges of the 21st century. Capacity 2015 will be a broad-based partnership at the local, national, regional and global levels. Capacity development activities at each of these levels will have impact at others. Regional Capacity 2015 strategies will be nested under the global Capacity 2015 programme and will provide the strategic orientation to help countries to develop and implement national and sub-regional capacity development initiatives.

Why is Capacity 2015 Needed?

The chances of achieving real progress in development have never been better. At the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Doha and the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, the donors made pledges that will result in real increases in aid, and they demonstrated a determination that real progress will be made. They have committed to tear down trade barriers that harm the poorest, and support developing countries in addressing constraints that prevent them from fully realizing the benefits from trade and investment flows. At the same time, initiatives like the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) demonstrate the determination of developing countries to tackle corruption and take responsibility for good governance, establish sound policies and invest in their people to overcome the challenges that have kept them poor.

Development today will flourish only within the new parameters of economic globalization and international security. Globalization presents huge opportunities, and concerns about global security provide additional incentives to the developed world to assist developing nations. During the 1990s we saw remarkable agreement on what needs to be done to ensure an equitable, sustainable and prosperous future. For the first time, the world agreed on a set of development targets: the Millennium Development Goals. For the first time the world began to take steps towards achieving a form of development that will be inherently sustainable and will not undermine its own foundations through over-exploitation of resources or people.

The 1990s also brought about significant social and governmental changes. Many countries decentralized their authority, and it can be seen that in most successful countries, much authority and responsibility for making changes has moved from the
central level to the local level. From the points made above it is obvious that many of the incentives that are needed for the implementation of successful sustainable development strategies are in place. What is needed now is a major initiative, broadly supported by the UN system, the International Financing Institutions and bilateral donors, to ensure that the promises of Doha and Monterrey are delivered. For this to be possible, countries will need major assistance to strengthen their capacities to engage in the global economy while achieving the MDGs. A key theme from Monterrey was “the need for capacity building to strengthen institutional performance in each of the areas covered by the FfD agenda.”

What will Capacity 2015 Do?

Developing the capacities of nations will be achieved first and foremost at the local level and with the full involvement of local participants. We foresee local government, local communities and the private sector coming together to create vibrant and sustainable economies that will be the permanent basis of long-term national development. It will be very important to ensure that the lessons of the 1990s are not lost. A constant aim will be to ensure that new challenges are met utilizing the processes and principles of sustainable development that we have developed during the last decade. At last we will see Agenda 21 moving to implementation. The MDGs will be our targets and our judge. Capacity 2015 will provide a practical way of making sure that all of our development efforts are aimed at achieving or exceeding the MDGs, and will help countries to maintain their focus and to monitor their progress. Based on the recent evaluation of Capacity 21 as well as the input and needs identified by the nations that worked with Capacity 21, a number of proposed areas of action have been outlined for further programme support.

Proposed Areas of Action for Capacity 2015

• Capacity development at the local level to improve local governance and promote local economies. (The achievement of the MDGs will require societies to manage their affairs well and to improve livelihoods throughout communities)


• Implementing national and local sustainable development strategies through local level initiatives. (This will ensure that development remains sustainable while meeting the needs of communities and achieving the MDGs)


• Promoting public-private partnerships at the local level to stimulate local development and improve livelihoods. (Improved partnerships will enable the private sector to play its role in development while allowing the public sector to fulfill its regulatory and welfare obligations)


• Implementing the Multilateral Environmental Agreements at the local level. (Global sustainability requires local action, and local action requires global support)


• Building national policies that help local development. (National capacities will need to be strengthened to facilitate the pro-motion of policies that help countries to benefit from globalization, and to transfer those benefits to the local level)


• Stimulating sustainable development in the Small Island States while reducing their vulnerability. (The Small Island Developing States need support to interpret and implement the principles of Capacity 2015 in terms of their unique and vulnerable situations).


• Creating knowledge, learning and information networks for capacity development. (Access to knowledge is a pre-requisite for benefiting from globalization and empowering local communities and governments)


• Promoting decentralization and increased participation at the local level by strengthening local leadership and improving human resources development. (Local leadership always has been, and always will be, where change takes place)