Building capacity is a key enabler of implementation.

Capacity can be specific to an intervention or more generally applicable to any intervention. Selecting staff carefully, providing high-quality training and building networks are crucial in developing individual and collective capacity within an organisation.

Recruitment and selection of staff

Staff should have the appropriate skills and knowledge to implement the intervention. If they don't, they should have the capacity to learn them. This makes selecting and recruiting the right staff essential.

Effective selection and recruitment of staff requires:

• Specifying the required skills and abilities for a specific position
• Developing methods or criteria for identifying these skills and abilities in people
• Selecting people with those skills and abilities, or the capacity to learn or develop them.

Effective approaches to training

Staff should be supported to develop their knowledge, experience and skills in an intervention through training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities. Passive instruction, such as reading or lectures, has been found to have little or no impact on learning outcomes. Training methods that have demonstrated to be effective in enhancing knowledge, skills and behaviours include repetitive, rather than single, interventions, case-based learning, modelling, and practice and feedback (Bluestone et al., 2013).

The advance of web-based technologies has seen the increasing development of e-learning options. E-learning activities provide flexibility and can be completed at the self-directed pace of the learner. It may reduce time and travel costs and offer greater efficiencies in accessing and delivering training. At the same time, e-learning requires self-discipline. Learners may experience a lack of support from peers and tutors. There is limited scope for adapting e-learning to meet the needs of local context. (Lawn et al., 2017).

Research is ongoing about the benefits of e-learning in comparison to face to face approaches. Features that have found to be effective are interactivity, practice sessions, repetition, and feedback (Cook et al., 2010).

Networks

Networks are groupings of connected individuals, organisations and/or agencies. Some networks develop and formalise around a shared interest in a skill or topic. Others are more informal, self-driven and aim to solve specific problems. Interaction allows members to exchange experience and tacit knowledge, and learn improved skills required for implementation.