SNV is committed to supporting people’s efforts to create their own futures in their own ways. In line with such an ambition, this book is about capacity and its development. Not in abstract concepts or policy prescriptions, but rooted in what people across the world do every day to improve living standards, to strengthen performance in sectors of work and to change their societies. The creation of this book reflects a strategic choice. Some 10 years ago, SNV decided to pay increased attention to capacity development as a professional discipline. We saw that conventional project implementation methods were not doing enough to foster local capacities, ownership and sustainability. So we began to focus on providing advice, support and facilitation for changes led by local actors. This proved to be an enriching journey. Meaningful lessons emerged from both good and difficult experiences. For example, we found ourselves focusing overly on demand, reacting to local ‘needs’ without sufficient understanding of wider problems and policy challenges in the sector concerned. We looked thoroughly into the internal workings and capabilities of clients, but at the cost of adequate concern for their external performance and collaboration. We struggled to combine change expertise with sector knowledge.