Glossary Term

Capacity

A combination of the strengths, attributes, and resources of individuals or available within a community, society, or organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals.

In a humanitarian response, the agreed goal should be to prevent or reduce human suffering. The capacity needed to do this work should be understood in relation to specific contexts and crises and not as a standard list of technical criteria. Some parts of capacity in humanitarian responses include respect for humanitarian principles and the ability to prepare for, anticipate and deliver quality humanitarian assistance, strengthen the resilience of affected people, and manage resources. Just as important, however, are understanding the context, meaningfully relating to affected people and other stakeholders, and the ability to bridge humanitarian and development activities, among others.