Estah Mission

Networking Communities to bridge the digital Drive.

During the six months of its existence, the NGO Capacity Enhancement Unit has succeeded in forming working relations with many south and local NGOs. Several meetings in Andhra and other districts have proved effective in publicizing the role and work of this Unit. The first step in working together to strengthen networks among member organizations of the Forum began by working with the Forum’s 11 district DLOs to identify training needs and problems

Training Needs Assessment for south India NGOs

The first needs assessment was carried out in Andhra Pradesh through a meeting of 200 local NGOs from Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Nellore, Kakinada, VIZAG, Karimnagar, Mahaboobnagar Vijayawada, Rajamundry, Bangalore and Chennai in December 2009. These were the 14 NGOs involved in the Capacity Building program developed by CRS. About 25 photocopies of questionnaires were distributed to these 14 NGOs who were requested to pass on the extras to other NGOs in their respective districts. From NGOs in these districts, only around three have returned these questionnaires.

The above meeting in Andhra was also used by the Forum and ESTAH to inform Civil Society Organizations as widely as possible about the Small Grants Program for such organizations, including conditions of application and the process of submitting proposals, contact details at the NGO Forum and so on. Training needs assessments together with disseminating information.

Steps in Implementation:

  • Obtaining the local NGO registry from the Government
  • Identifying NGOs focused on Capacity Building.
  • Direct contact with NGOs focused on Capacity Building to confirm whether they have

    • staff capable of becoming facilitators and trainers.

  • Composing a list of local NGOs with staff capable of becoming facilitators and trainers.

The following discussion topics were prepared, each with two or three pages of explanation and questions for group discussion:

  1. profit and non-profit
  2. voluntarism
  3. good governance
  4. accountability
  5. environmental sustainability, gender equity and human rights