Practical Uses of the Human Capability Framework - An Outsiders's View of a Concept Guiding Public Policy and Research

Abstract

The Human Capability Framework (HCF) was presented at LEW 9 as a really exciting concept that had proved very useful in Massey University's Labour Market Dynamics Research Programme. It had come from the Department of Labour. Personal amazement at the apparent change of direction in the Department's thinking this represented was succeeded by the realisation of its immediate usefulness for a research funding application then in process. This paper explores the author's perceptions of the original model and its origins. Then the outcomes that have flowed from the use of the model in the succeeding two years is considered. After an initial explanation of the HCF, there is an analysis of its use as a policy tool at national and regional levels. Its use in various research projects is described as well. The paper concludes with a consideration of the academic acceptability of the concept and some questions for further research.