Book excerpt: The third and final in a series, this text bridges the conceptual foundations of capacity development and the difficulties and practical realities in the field. It demystifies the process of capacity development to make it more user-friendly. The book has two parts. The first shows how long-standing development dilemmas can be turned into opportunities for capacity development and societal transformation. It proposes a set of principles to guide the search for context-specific approaches as the norm, and based on these default principles the authors explore relevant issues in comprehensible stages through a capacity lens. The second part is a compilation of experiences and lessons from around the world, to showcase promising initiatives and innovative solutions. It forms a casebook of insights and good (rather than best) practices on how development stakeholders can turn development dilemmas into opportunities tailored to the needs of their societies.