The Capacity Building Index (CBI): User manual
Created by AVSF, the Capacity Building Index (also called IFI for its acronym in French) proposes a method for assessing the strengthening of organizations, whether farmers’ organizations (at different organizational levels, such as grassroots or umbrella organizations) or partners in cooperation actions. This assessment is based on a shared analysis of 6 key organizational strengthening components, identified empirically through the work of AVSF and its partners:
1) Technical capacities,
2) Administrative and financial capacities,
3) Political impact capacities,
4) Representativeness/ legitimacy,
5) Democratic governance,
6) Economic model (financing diversification of and self-financing capacity).
The CBI can be used with any type of organization, a farmers’ organization (FO) and/or a partner that need to be strengthened within the framework of the implementation an action or a partnership with a structure such as AVSF. The CBI is first of all a tool to be used by the members of an organization to assess the evolution of their structure. It is therefore a participatory tool, which implies a significant level of involvement of the partners/FOs and their members in a self-assessment process.
