In this article, we present an emergent capacity development approach that we are developing through participatory action research in Peru and Ecuador, which we call ‘systemic theories of change’ (STOC), for organisational capacity development. We argue that capacity development should be understood as systemic learning. The STOC approach promotes reflection about how we as individuals, organisations, and broader social groups and societal configurations, understand how change occurs. This makes it possible to build improved strategic and methodological clarity about how we might continually develop the capacities to contribute more effectively to emergent, social change in highly complex environments.