Capacity Building and Empowerment: A panacea and a challenge for agency-university engagement

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Gateways Cover 2008 Vol 1
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Published: Sep 29, 2008
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/ijcre.v1i0.626

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Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar
University of Illinois at Chicago
Fabricio Balcazar
University of Illinois at Chicago
Edurne García Iriarte
University of Illinois at Chicago
Tina Taylor-Ritzler
University of Illinois at Chicago

Abstract

Capacity building is an effective strategy for promoting organizational change and/or improving the quality of social services. In this article I present an empowerment approach to capacity building. In doing so I propose a number of principles that can promote capacity building and collaboration between social service agencies and universities from an empowerment perspective: keeping the control of the capacity building process in the agency; developing competencies that matter to the people in the agency; engaging in supportive roles; maintaining a strengths-based approach to capacity building; focusing on sustainability, institutionalization and utilization of acquired skills; and paying attention to cultural and contextual issues. Further, the challenges and benefits of the empowerment approach to university-agency collaboration are discussed in this article.

Article Details

Issue
Vol 1 (2008)
Section
Practice-based articles (Non-refereed)
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, University of Illinois at Chicago

Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar, Ph.D. is a community psychologist, Professor and Head of the Department of Occupational Therapy, and Co-Director of the Center for Capacity Building for Minorities with Disabilities Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Suarez-Balcazar research examines service providers’ capacity for evaluating the impact of their programs and providing evidence-based, culturally competent services to ethnically diverse populations with disabilities. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Fabricio Balcazar, University of Illinois at Chicago

Fabricio E. Balcazar, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development and Director of the Center for Capacity Building for Minorities with Disabilities Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Balcazar has conducted research over the past 25 years on the development of systematic approaches for promoting the empowerment of minorities and under-served populations, including Latinos and African Americans with disabilities and their families. Dr. Balcazar is a fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Edurne García Iriarte, University of Illinois at Chicago

Edurne García Iriarte, M.S., is a doctoral candidate in the Disability Studies program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mrs. García obtained her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Salamanca (Spain). Her dissertation focuses on the participation of adults with intellectual disabilities in empowerment evaluation and self-determination.

Tina Taylor-Ritzler, University of Illinois at Chicago

Tina Taylor-Ritzler, Ph.D. is the research director of the Center for Capacity Building for Minorities with Disabilities Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Taylor areas of research include conceptualization and measurement of capacity building for evaluation and the study of the impact of cultural competence training on consumer outcomes. Dr. Taylor has collaborated in the development of approaches for promoting empowerment on multi ethnic populations with disabilities.