DIG designs and implements targeted and high-impact capacity building plans for local organizations that serve the urban poor. There is extensive demand for capacity building in the developing world. DIG has created selection criteria based not only on assessing needs but also on leveraging concrete opportunities through tailored assistance to local, innovative organizations. DIG offers tailored organizational, financial, and administrative support, among others, depending on an organization’s needs. Capacity building approaches include training, technical assistance, on-site support, workshops and study tours to transfer knowledge and best practices. Through its global work, DIG has gained valuable insight into the types of institutions that enable the poor to influence decision-making and planning processes; the types of institutions that respond more effectively to targeted capacity building initiatives; the types of capacity building initiatives most effective in increasing an organization’s ability to serve its constituency in a streamlined and cost-effective manner; the roles demographic and political contexts play in the success of training and technical assistance efforts; and factors of scale and replicability that enable successful capacity building initiatives to be replicated elsewhere.
