If one is to believe testimony from the recipients of capacity building programs, past successes in economic and social development have been largely due to the skills that have been learned. It is almost a ‘no-brainer’ that where there are few skilled people available, skills development will be the key value driver in any successful project.

We are told testimony alone is not good enough. A secondary and tertiary source of information is also needed to prove the point. However, measurable impact may happen over a period that cannot always be seen during the life of the project. Often businesses, funding agencies or project implementers can't wait for the extended period of time needed for the project to demonstrate impact because they are looking for quick wins that can be celebrated and encouraged immediately. This often prevents us from finding the long term permanent solutions because everyone begins working for the kudos that come sooner rather than later.

The bottom line is - if you can't measure it now, don't do it. How are we to look at out of the box solutions if immediate results are what we always want? This sort of thinking has a stranglehold on innovation.

Where are the long term players of yesteryear? We seem to be monitoring, evaluating and controlling them into extinction.