This capacity development brief summarizes the results of a multi-donor team review of four examples of post-crisis capacity development interventions in the Solomon Islands in 2005-08 whose performance was frequently cited as successful by local stakeholders. Although not based on post-project evaluations, the review found a number of patterns and potential lessons: (1) responding to immediate needs fosters national ownership
(2) 'quick wins' can lay the basis for wider system impact
(3) being clear on 'capacity for what' is key to project success, (4) critical mass in capacity means taking a team approach
(5) training must be grounded in time-relevant and actively operational tasks
(6) a coaching and partnering style is essential and, certainly, not optional
and (7) leadership becomes catalytic in capacity development when a broader coalition is engaged, and in some cases supports a 'heroic individual' as its leader.