Rethinking Absorptive Capacity

In development, stabilization, and peace building, donors increasingly recognize the importance of being sensitive to the local contexts of their efforts. Yet the use of "blueprints" remains widespread. Even when standard approaches are modified for particular aid partners, there often remains a poor fit between donor efforts and local conditions. The waste and disruptions that result are even greater in high-profile and politically sensitive situations, when political considerations demand large-scale responses. When recipients cannot absorb the aid and attention they are offered, the common response is "capacity building" -- as if the source of the problem is the recipient's implementation capacity. In this report, the authors present the results of their research on the sources of absorptive capacity. They find that this sort of "blaming the victim" mentality, while common, is not always justified. While it is true that many aid recipients do not have adequate capacity for implementation, it is equally true that many aid programs are designed and implemented without an adequate appreciation of local desires, resources, capabilities, and challenges. Absorptive capacity, in other