Direct Service vs. Capacity Building

This week’s tip is on direct service vs. capacity building. VISTA members should generally not be doing direct service. Their primary purpose is capacity building. ln March 2015, the Office of lnspector General investigated a VISTA project where they found "13 VISTA Assignment Descríptions (VADs) that impermissibly allowed the sponsor to assign VISTA members to perform direct service." Make sure your VISTAs are engaging in appropriate service activities.

Here are a few links that cover the differences between direct service and capacity building:

https://www.vistacampus.gov/resources/vistas-and-capacity-building

https://www.vistacampus.gov/resources/direct-service-versus-capacity-building

https://www.vistacampus.gov/direct-service-or-capacity-building-0

https://www.vistacampus.gov/types-service

There are certain instances when VISTAs can do a limited amount of direct service. See more here: https://www.vistacampus.gov/when-provide-direct-service-0. It is recommended that you, your site supervisors, and members all understand these differences.