Basics of capacity development for disaster risk reduction

This paper seeks to promote a common understanding of what capacity development means for disaster risk reduction, including considerations on how it develops in both conceptual and practical terms. It is intended as a reference for the broader global community who work at the international, regional, national and sub-national levels in disaster risk reduction.

This paper reflects on and seeks to offer insights on two broad questions: What is capacity? And what does capacity development mean for disaster risk reduction, in the context of the Hyogo Framework for Action? What can external partners do to best support countries’ own efforts and processes to develop their capacity? Readers are encouraged to draw upon elements of the paper that may be useful to their respective contexts and work. By design the paper does not focus on any specific thematic area for disaster risk reduction capacity development, nor does it focus on any specific target group or types of capacities.