There are three main reasons why community capacity building matters:
First, and most importantly, it is the way in which communities can work to improve their quality of life by taking up issues and opportunities that matter to them.
Secondly, it is an important part of shifting from a passive, blaming culture to one of activity, integration and shared endeavour.
Thirdly, government policy encourages community engagement across a wide range of policy areas, but this needs to be underpinned by taking steps to ensure that communities have the capacity to engage.