The Learning Network on Capacity Development (LenCD) is an informal network of analysts and practitioners aimed at creating a global community of practice around capacity development. Its objectives are to facilitate the sharing of lessons and distill quality criteria for good practice; promote research, share experiences, monitor outcomes and carry out other empirical work; foster country-level, regional and international dialogue and collaboration; promote the mainstreaming of capacity development issues into agency operations; and act as a key partner to advance the OECD/DAC's capacity development agenda.

The network emerged from several streams of research and conferences over recent years and was established in June 2004. LenCD was instrumental in organizing a roundtable on capacity development as part of the Paris High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness and in substantively guiding the development of a widely agreed reference paper "The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice" adopted by the DAC in 2006. LenCD organizes annual global events such as the Nairobi Forum in October 2006 "Addressing the Paris Declaration: Collective Responsibility for Capacity Development."

LenCD has partnered with the OECD/DAC in the preparations for the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness and will continue to engage in an emerging agenda post Accra.