Civil Society Organizations in Kasese district want to have direct involvement with donors in community needs assessment.
The CSOs are also calling for unrestricted funding to give implementing partners decisions to make projects. They argue that their direct involvement would enable them to strengthen their organizational structures and access direct funding to implement their projects.
Godson Mumbere, the Executive Director of Vision International Actors says that it is ideal that collaborations between donors and key local stakeholders start right from the co-designing of projects to avoid duplication of works and pave the way for long-term results.
He argues that for a long time, donors have pointed out that local partners cannot handle specific projects, and yet the latter are not given opportunities to participate in the creation processes.
Fatina Masika from the Great Peace Centre says local CSOs understand the real challenges in their areas and as such it is important that they are involved in the project designs.
She is advocating for platforms where the donor community can interface with the local partners so that they can advise on the priorities of development challenges in the region.
Kenneth Bwambale from the Centre for Citizens Conserving the Environment says most local donor-supported projects are implemented with restricted budgets.
He is advocating for institutional rather than project-based funding to allow the direct implementing partners to work on the most pressing community needs.
Noume Oyot Oyaro, the Executive Director Capaids Uganda, says her organization is running a “leadership labs project focused on giving safe space to both CSOs and donors to appreciate the value of jointly co-designing and co-creating solutions to improve efficiency in community development.
While meeting CSO members in Kasese district on Wednesday, Oyaro said they are convening meetings with CSO members in the country to provide a platform for local and national actors who are the experts in the given community to ensure that services go directly to the key population.
CAPAIDS Uganda in partnership with CIVICUS has initiated the Local Leadership Lab project (LLL) to listen and provide a safe space for CSOs through dialogues and idealization on how to overcome the challenges.
CAPAIDS Uganda is serving as a secretariat of the Local Coalition accelerator and Charter for Change working group Uganda.
Oyaro says they are working together to pilot approaches to service delivery and develop a holistic systems-change strategy that will enable the coalition to create a new pattern for sustainable, locally designed financing.
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