When social and economic development experts talk about building capacity, they usually mean teaching communities and organizations how to solve their own problems. What they usually leave out is spiritual development.

That’s where Taking Action in a Changing World steps in. Written by Aaron Emmel, a Baha'i involved in human rights advocacy, Taking Action is about promoting prosperity and justice, and, as the author writes, is geared to those “who want to leave the world a better place than they found it.” The book is scheduled to come out this spring and is being published by George Ronald Publisher.

Without a spiritual component, attempts at building capacity often fail, Mr. Emmel said in a recent phone interview, because developers view those they’re trying to empower as an empty vessel rather than “a mine rich with gems.” Building capacity, he says, should be about “discovering and strengthening the divine qualities that are within every human soul.”

“At its heart,” Mr. Emmel says in Taking Action, “community development isn’t about building roads or donating computers. It’s about transforming souls.” To reach that goal, the author recommends that countries, companies and communities draw on spiritual principles. He writes that he is inspired by the teachings of the Baha'i Faith, which include individual empowerment and initiative, universal compulsory education, participative decision-making, a scientific approach to solving problems and harmonization of a person’s inner and outer life — principles that “are a Baha'i child’s way of life by the time he or she turns 12."

Having grown up in the developing country of Belize, Mr. Emmel says he is familiar with the mindset of those who build capacity in the traditional way. In fact, he says, that mindset served as his impetus for writing Taking Action in a Changing World.

“Community developers came in and said Belize wasn’t developed enough to be developed,” he says. “That says more about the developers than it does about Belize. If the ideas developers have for other people aren’t working, then it’s time for developers to change their way of thinking.”

As an example, Mr. Emmel points to a recent social action workshop he conducted for Baha’is in Belize that addressed development principles from a Baha'i framework.

“They were excited about this approach to developing their country,” says Mr. Emmel, who describes projects in his book that have worked well using Baha'i principles. One such project is the Badi Foundation in Macau, which he says bases its programs on the needs of the community it serves.

Once residents of the community identify their needs, he says, the foundation shows them how to improve social and economic development through collaboration and cooperation, and scientific technology.

Mr. Emmel says another successful organization is ADCAM, the Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon, which tackles the problem of massive child employment in Brazil at the expense of a child’s education. In addition to improving children’s lives through cultural, educational and recreational programs, he says, ADCAM goes to the grassroots level to examine why children work in the first place. It also helps families understand the importance of education and develops income-generating enterprises to reduce the family’s reliance on child labor.

When asked if people might think Taking Action in a Changing World appears too idealistic, Mr. Emmel replied, "Not after they read it, because it shows how to translate ideals into concrete action.”