Transferring ownership of development work to local agencies is a goal highlighted more and more by institutional funders. To help local organizations become more effective and sustainable, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) began an internal project in 2012 called "Strength in Solidarity" to boost its ability to carry out capacity strengthening work. Funded by the GHR foundation, the project aimed to transform the systems, processes and skills used for capacity strengthening within CRS.

The final evaluation of the eight-year project was carried out through a survey and led by two external consultants. This brief summarizes the findings related to the wider industry goal of transferring ownership of development projects to local actors. Though local leadership and localization are concepts that were not included in the project's initial goals, CRS asked the consultants to include them as part of their evaluation. To satisfy that request, they interviewed selected CRS staff and other informants.