Giving Compass' Take:
- This article discusses municipalities as the missed opportunity within capacity-building.
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If we consider which players have the greatest potential reach and influence to lead in capacity building, why has so little attention been directed at municipalities?
Cities are accustomed to providing services to nonprofits and individual citizens. They establish and regulate policy change focused on the public good, and serve as the backbone to our society’s infrastructure. Traditionally, city funding has been tied to programmatic support with a focus on outputs instead of outcomes. But more recently, the social sector has seen the beginnings of a shift towards system-wide outcomes and the interdependence of all the players in the social sector – including municipalities.
From our vantage point, few municipalities are currently investing in building capacity of the social sector in this way and at this scale.