In a project that was rolled out 2years ago to strengthen the capacity of civil society organization and create an enabling environment for achievement of SDGs in Kenya, CSOs and community groups in the counties of Turkana, Kitui, Kwale and Kilifi attributes their successes to the training initiatives supported by PEN Kenya.
During the 1st round of advocacy meetings in the 4 counties, need assessment was conducted for Civil Society Organization networks to identify their specific training needs which includes resource mobilization, governance, conflict resolution, group dynamics and social accountability. Members of the CSOs also proposed county specific local resource persons to convey the content of the trainings into local perspective.
In Kitui and Turkana, members of CSO networks were trained on resource mobilization facilitated by a local resource persons identified by the network members. These trainings given the changing donor strategies which has resulted to a very competitive space for CSOs are necessary for local CSOs to build their capacity in order to prepare and take advantage of the localization agenda which is seeking for more funding for local CSOs but only with the required capacity.
The training involves developing RM strategy, elevator pitch and development of consortium. The workshop adopted a participatory approach which included plenary sessions, case studies, group exercises, scenarios methodology, brainstorming and presentations. A model that provides an opportunity for participants to contribute effectively to the discussions while relating the workshop objectives to their specific organizational scenarios.
The model was the same for Kwale and Kilifi as they were trained by one local resource person though different thematic areas such as governance, resource mobilization and conflict resolution respectively.
Kwale training content involved, introduction to governance, internal governance to CSOs, succession planning and management, overcoming resistance to change. Introduction to resources, donor matching techniques, RM techniques and donor relations management. The content equipped participants with skills in mobilizing resources, bridging management gaps in their organizations. e.g Executive Director working with G for Girls secured a 2-year grant worth 40 million after PEN Kenya’s capacity building training on governance and resource mobilization.
In Kilifi, governance and conflict resolution was quite critical in fostering a working relationship among the members of the consortium and between Kilifi CSO network and the county government.
The CSO network had disintegrated into two factions due to disagreements, poor governance and management of the network. PEN Kenya also organized a focused group meeting between the two CSO factions to identify the genesis of the split and unite them. The two factions have since amalgamated into one entity, signed a self-regulation with county implementing partners, had elections to elect new leaders, established an engagement framework with the county government and has therefore metamorphosed into the most suitable platform to advance CSOs interest in development, governance and other issues pertinent for enhancing service delivery and citizen transformation in the County.
