Identifying the Challenges and Strategies for Institutional Capacity Building in Neighborhood Communities: A Qualitative Study

Institutional capacity building in neighborhood communities can be used as a tool to empower neighborhood communities to play a role in the process of urban development of the neighborhood. The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges and strategies of institutional capacity building in neighborhood communities with emphasis on the Tehran. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was document review. At this stage, while reviewing the theoretical literature and research background, the general framework of study questions for the second phase of the study was determined. The second phase of the study was a qualitative research with a conventional qualitative content analysis approach. Participants, who were selected by purposeful sampling method with data saturation criteria, included 20 experts in various fields related to the city and related issues. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed by the proposed method of Granheim and Landman. In order to increase the credibility and quality of the results, the four criteria of Guba and Lincoln were observed. The results were categorized into 2 main categories, 13 subcategories and 284 codes. The main categories were: Challenges and barriers to institutional capacity building, capacity building strategies.Institutional capacity building as a participatory process requires empowerment of local people and communities. Properly performing this process is overcoming the challenges and obstacles of capacity building. Overcoming these barriers requires the cooperation and coordination of capacity building elements,including non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and popular activists