Capacity Development International

What Capacity Development International does

Capacity Development International (CDI) is a privately held, UK-based health consultancy headquartered in Liverpool, co-founded and operated by Dr Vicki Doyle (20+ years of international health experience) and Ema Kelly (15+ years). The firm specializes in developing the capacity of individuals and institutions to strengthen health services and systems in low and middle-income countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

CDI's offering is organized around four integrated professional service lines: Training and Education (bespoke courses and postgraduate programmes including a Professional Certificate Course in International Health Consultancy delivered at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine); Evaluations (rapid, mixed-method evaluations using robust frameworks); Strategy and Institutional Development (critical thinking facilitation and institutional change support); and Technical Assistance (quality improvement, capacity development, capacity assessments, and evaluation tool design). There is no proprietary technology platform — the firm's "product" is its codified methodologies, evaluation frameworks, and the senior expertise of its two directors.

CDI monetizes entirely through fee-based professional services engagements, won primarily via referral and network channels (the European ESTHER Alliance, LSTM, and repeat institutional clients). Its customer base consists of international health organizations and NGOs (UNICEF, Oxfam Ireland, GAVI, European ESTHER Alliance), government health ministries and national AIDS control programmes (Namibia, Kenya, Bhutan), and academic institutions. The firm is independently owned by its founders with no disclosed institutional investors, no funding rounds, no subsidiaries, and no app or software products.

Name

Capacity Development International

Legal name

Capacity Development International

Website

https://capacity-development.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Capacity Development International is a Liverpool-based health consultancy co-founded by two senior directors, delivering bespoke training, evaluations, strategy facilitation, and technical assistance to NGOs, governments, and academic institutions strengthening health systems in low and middle-income countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Systems Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), All Other Business Support Services (561499)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH), Program & Project Implementation (TA Delivery) (BPADAEAA), Health Workforce Development & Capacity-Building (HLAJAKAM)

Keywords

• Health systems strengthening
• Capacity development consulting
• Health workforce training
• Institutional development services
• Technical assistance health

Headquarters

HQ city

Liverpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Direct consultancy engagements providing evaluations, strategic planning facilitation, and technical assistance to health organizations in low and middle-income countries.
2. Training and Education Programmes: Delivery of bespoke training courses and postgraduate education programmes including the Professional Certificate Course in International Health Consultancy delivered at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Capacity Development International is a Liverpool, UK-based consultancy that develops the potential of individuals and institutions to strengthen health services and systems in low and middle-income countries. The firm delivers four core service lines: Training and Education, Evaluations, Strategy and Institutional Development, and Technical Assistance, supporting clients such as government health bodies, NGOs, and global health partnerships.

Product overview

Capacity Development International (CDI) is a UK-based consultancy offering a portfolio of four integrated service offerings: Training and Education (bespoke courses and postgraduate programmes), Evaluations (rapid mixed-method evaluations), Strategy and Institutional Development (strategic planning and process redesign), and Technical Assistance (quality improvement and capacity development). CDI's highlighted projects include the Professional Certificate Course in International Health Consultancy, SQALE Programme, European ESTHER Alliance support, Oxfam Ireland's Development Programme support, and Institutional Health Partnerships evaluations. The services are designed for individuals and institutions strengthening health services in low and middle-income countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Evaluations

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Oxfam IrelandmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Completed evaluation of development work in 5 African countries, then engaged to facilitate and quality assure design of next 5-year programme in development and humanitarian work.
• European ESTHER AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Multi-year engagement evaluating the network of 12 European countries active in Institutional Health Partnerships, facilitating the 2015-2020 strategic plan, and producing literature review on IHP effectiveness published in Globalisation and Health.
• Liverpool School of Tropical MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership with the Capacity Research Unit for rapid baseline assessments of research capacity in African universities. Co-founding relationship where CDI was established to improve effectiveness of development assistance in health.
• African Research NGOs (Ethiopia & Uganda)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacilitated strategic planning for African-owned research NGOs in Ethiopia and Uganda.
• Universities in Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi and EthiopiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine's Capacity Research Unit to undertake rapid baseline assessments of research capacity in universities across these four African countries.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Itad: UK-based monitoring, evaluation, and learning consultancy with strong overlap in international development MEL work. Itad competes directly for evaluation and strategic-review mandates that CDI services, including health systems strengthening programmes.
• Royal Tropical Institute (KIT): Netherlands-based institute delivering health systems capacity building, training, and advisory services in LMICs. KIT's combination of academic training (Master's in International Health) and applied TA parallels CDI's LSTM partnership model, and both target similar ministries and global health actors.
• Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET): UK-based NGO focused on institutional health partnerships between the UK and low- and middle-income countries. THET operates in the same niche as CDI — supporting, evaluating, and facilitating health partnership programmes — and CDI has direct working experience with THET's sister network, the European ESTHER Alliance.
• Health Partners International: Specialist consultancy delivering health systems strengthening, performance management, and TA services in LMICs. Closely comparable in scope, geography, and client base to CDI, though typically operating at slightly larger contract scale.
• Options Consultancy Services: UK-headquartered consultancy providing technical advisory, evaluation, and programme design services in sexual and reproductive health, health systems, and education across Africa and Asia. Like CDI, Options is a UK boutique focused on health programming in LMICs, competing for similar donor contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Palladium: International development consultancy with a large health practice covering health systems, supply chain, and programme design across LMICs. Palladium is a frequent prime contractor on donor frameworks, often competing with boutique firms like CDI for subcontracted TA roles.
• Management Sciences for Health (MSH): Global nonprofit working across health systems strengthening, infectious disease programmes, and pharmaceutical management in LMICs. MSH operates at significantly larger scale than CDI but competes for the same health systems TA and capacity-building engagements.
• Oxford Policy Management: Established UK international development consultancy providing evaluation, TA, and policy advisory across health and other sectors. OPM is a larger incumbent that competes for the same donor-funded evaluations and TA mandates that CDI pursues, particularly with FCDO and multilateral funders.
• Mott MacDonald (International Development Division): Large UK-headquartered engineering and development consultancy running a dedicated health and social development practice. Competes for larger donor framework contracts where CDI may serve as a local expert or sub-contractor.

Emerging players

• ThinkWell: Global health systems and financing consultancy working on strategy, policy, and evaluation for governments and donors in LMICs. ThinkWell's strategic facilitation and health-systems focus overlaps directly with CDI's Strategy and Institutional Development service line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/capacity-development-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Capacity Development International