Past Research Projects

Revisiting Capacity Development Approach through the Analysis of Case Studies

From around the year 2000, donors, including JICA, began applying holistic capacity development (CD) concepts in their efforts to revisit past aid approaches, including technical cooperation. Holistic concepts encompass people, organizations, societies and institutions. As part of their activities, and in collaboration with partner developing countries, donors undertook and produced a large number of CD case studies. While useful insights on CD have come from these studies, it is generally observed that few of them have gone further than case descriptions and most are lacking in academic rigor. Building on these existing CD studies, this research project undertakes comparative in-depth analysis of multiple cases by applying relevant analytical frameworks from various academic disciplines such as economics, political science, and management and organization studies. The objective is to contribute to further improvement in the effectiveness of JICA aid operations.