Capacity building is a strategy and capacity gain is an outcome Capacity building as a strategy needs to be evaluated so that judgements can be made about their effectiveness Evaluating capacity has been a much neglected aspect of PHN practice but there is an increasing body of intelligence and useful evaluating tools Evaluation Evaluating Capacity Gains

The key issues and challenges in measuring capacity include:  Multiple understandings of terms - shared terminology cannot be assumed when working at multiple levels or across sectors → data collection and analysis issues  Evolving understanding of capacity – the definition and nature of capacity is evolving → measurement tools can be lengthy and complex  Invisibility of capacity building - Community empowerment is explicit in health promotion creating a culture of invisibility around capacity building → difficulty in recognising, describing and measuring capacity building  Dynamic contexts - contextual aspects can influence the measurement of capacity: staff turnover, health system renewal, conflicting perspectives, conflicting personalities etc Challenges in Measuring Capacity