Guide to Distinguishing Tools Used for Local Capacity Strengthening

A plethora of tools are available and frequently used in capacity strengthening work with local actors, especially organizations. In light of USAID’s new Local Capacity Strengthening (LCS) Policy, this document offers guidance to assist USAID staff and partners select which tool categories are most useful for performance measurement, capacity action planning, and risk mitigation. This document also outlines considerations about what constitutes a high-quality tool in each category. Ultimately, understanding how to properly determine the purpose and evaluate the quality of a tool is important to ensure that USAID and partners engaged in local capacity strengthening activities can effectively embody the principles outlined in the LCS Policy in our work.