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Capacity Building in the Children and Young People’s Sector in Ireland: A Field-Level Study

Resource type: Case Study

Mary Rafferty and Anne Colgan |

This case study focuses on Atlantic’s role in helping build the capacity of the children and young people’s sector in the Republic of Ireland between 2004 and 2014.

The report found:

  • Building capacity at the field level requires a strategic and systemic approach, which includes attention to the parts—organizations, structures, leaders and resources—and to the whole—relationships, common concepts and language, and agreed principles.
  • A medium- to long-term engagement with the field allows learning to happen during as well as after investment and development.
  • The use of multiple partners at many levels, with a range of entry points and different scales of investment, increases the diffusion of innovation and learning throughout the field.
  • A consistent focus on outcomes for children and young people grounds a wide range of strategic developments in positive impact.

The Atlantic Philanthropies commissioned this report.