Praxis Note 18. Capacity Building at the Grassroots

This paper explores the use of organisational development (OD) for capacity building of community-based organisations (CBOs) in South Africa. The author works for Community Connections, a South African non-profit support organisation which predominantly provides support to CBOs and community workers. In 2004, the organisation initiated an OD pilot programme, which has been accompanied by research for a doctoral thesis from this year. The aims of the pilot programme and the research are to examine in what ways OD facilitation can support the capacity building of CBOs, and hence contribute to community development and civil society strengthening. This paper presents initial reflections.