A ‘toolbox’ is a set of structured practical knowledge tools that explain how to perform a certain task, function or role. It includes approaches and best practices, as well as step-by-step guides, training manuals and case studies. Accordingly, this toolbox is a selected set of 55 tools1 to support youth groups and emerging community-based organisations (CBOs) in building their capacities in six areas; gender-focused capacity (11 tools), leadership capacity (10 tools), management capacity (7 tools), action capacity (12 tools), innovation capacity (8 tools) and adaptive capacity (7 tools). The rationale and definitions of these six capacities and how they were selected are shown in the second section of this toolbox. 

This toolbox aims to support these youth groups and emerging CBOs by proposing useful, practical tools to foster their capacities-organisational capacity to engage actively with gender equality and women’s empowerment issues.

This toolbox is aimed at two main groups;
1) Youth groups; informally organised groups of young women and men who are actively engaged with their communities. Mostly, they act as volunteers to solve problems or improve certain conditions in their communities, and
2) Emerging community-based organisations (CBOs);
newly formed community-based organisations, often formed from existing networks, such as local neighbourhoods, people sharing the same interests, or even friends who have a shared social goal. They are still in the process of negotiating their structure and developing their procedures and activities.