Traditionally, goals such as community development or community change have been characterized as dualistic or dualistic. Rothman (1969) described these as "problem-solving" and "capacity-building."
"Problem-solving" emphasizes addressing specific, substantive problems and meeting immediate needs within the community. Examples include meeting the needs of certain social welfare groups, such as elderly care, or even physical community development, such as road repair and community activity centers.
"Capacity-building," in contrast, emphasizes fostering the capacity of community members, particularly by fostering partnerships among diverse groups within the community, identifying and nurturing community leaders to participate in community affairs, and strengthening their understanding of civic affairs, thereby enhancing their problem-solving skills, confidence, and abilities.
In practicing dual tasks, community workers also assume multiple roles, including organizer, developer, and planner. However, Capraro (2004) points out that community developers are simultaneously organizers, developers, and planners. In particular, organizers are the most prioritized role, while planners are the most visible and easily implemented (Capraro, 2004).
Within the dual goals of community development and the dual roles of community workers, theoretically, "problem-solving" focuses on resolving community issues and meeting needs, which should be achieved through mobilizing residents' resources and collective efforts. However, implementation experience in various countries often emphasizes external providers providing services to meet needs, while relatively failing to transform relationships and foster cooperation among residents. In other words, while capacity building is a component of traditional community development work, in the rush for quick results, this component may only exist in textbooks or idealistic concepts and is relatively under-implemented. This is what Capraro (2004) criticized: in resident-centered or externally expert-led operations, the role of planners is often limited to neglecting the role of organizers. This has led to the emergence of so-called "conventional community development."
The concept of capacity building was first proposed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1992, with the original intention of correcting flawed community development practices. The United Kingdom's "New Deal for Communities," which promoted socially excluded areas, identified issues such as community overload and deficit, as community organizations lacked the capacity to deliver public services. The UK proposed a new approach, community empowerment or capacity building, as a response (Craig, 2007). This provides theoretical support for community capacity building.