The purpose of the course I created for and teach annually at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is to create a framework to conceptualize and subsequently engage in development as an integral component of capacity building. Development conveys the significant scope of strategic planning and creative yet disciplined execution required for effective sustainable results. I designed the course for those who engage in development from any perspective: as a grant maker or seeker – individual, corporate, foundation, NGO or other – at global, national or local levels. My premise is that development is most successful when approached within the synergy of overall institutional organizational coherence. This principle holds true at all times, but is particularly significant during difficult economic times... more