A study of Swedish public agencies' current thinking, approaches and experiences of capacity development in development cooperation programs (SPA-CAP)  is a 14 month project conducted by Lund University, Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety at the Faculty of Engineering. The aim is to provide a systematic and constructive critical assessment of how Swedish public agencies conceptualize and operationalize their capacity development in different partnering contexts within the framework of international development cooperation. Specifically, the study aims to answer the following questions:1) What is the modus operandi of Swedish public agencies working on capacity development programs in different partnering contexts?2) To what extent do the current state-of-the-art thinking, approaches and support mechanisms correspond to going with or against the grain in catalysing and supporting change in different partnering contexts?3) How could the capabilities, resources and commitment of the Swedish government and Swedish public agencies be organized differently for more effective capacity development in different partnering contexts?  The study is taking place in with the participation of Network for Learning, which consists of twenty Swedish public agencies. Four case studies related to  public agencies in the Network for Learning will be conducted.The study will provide a critical map of the framings, tools, methods, experiences, good practices, internal and externalchallenges that characterize the capacity development programs of Swedish public agencies within the framework of international development cooperation. It will also give a critical assessment of the dilemma the current state of play and support mechanism may present against the emerging reflective and adaptive approaches of building state capabilities. The study will include concrete ideas and recommendations to Swedish public agencies, the Swedish government and possible donors (ein terms of what they can do to make theircapacity development efforts and approaches in international cooperation more efficient and effective. Finally, the study will result in a preliminary exploration of what support mechanism(s) could be established to facilitate iterative learning and response to  to requests for assistance from agencies.