News

CIVIL SOCIETY: What would Civil society do to achieve better results if they had time, ample resources, and no pressure at all from funders to generate progress reports of all sorts?
Ideally, they would continually track and reflect on their performance in a manner that would help them improve their programs. They would internalise the truly vital metrics that would help them measure their current performance against their strategy and the needs they are trying to meet. They would gather data relevant to decisions about what to stop, start, continue, and refine – all with an eye toward increasing their impact.
Unfortunately, even though measument is perhaps the single most powerful tool that civil societies and their donors can use to get better together, it’s rarely deployed to that end.
Happy talk prevails in public because donors and grantees need each other and share a common passion. In private, however, hand-wringing may become the order of the day as reporting-related frustrations accumulate.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: What do you understand by an effective donor-grantee partnership? When civil society leaders are asked what, in their experience, distinguishes the most effective donor-grantee partnerships, they invariably cite the same three characteristics: clear communications, consistent expectations, and a sense of mutuality and respect.
In essence, they are saying, “Treat us the way you’d want to be treated if our situations were reversed”. It sounds simple, but in reality a lot can get in the way, even when there is a single donor decision maker. When there is more than one, the chances for confusion and miscommunication increase exponentially.
Nothing in life is static, and donor-grantee relationships are no exception to this rule. Even when donors and grantees have created the basis for an effective partnership-through careful mutual selection and by “right-sizing” a grant (resource it right)-it will require continuing care and vigilance to remain effective. It will also require a commitment on both sides to share the “brutal facts”. Why? Because the goals that the donor and grantee jointly agreed to will likely evolve over time as the strategy is implemented and evolves.
Consequently, the more clarity there is, the better:Clarity about the funding strategy and goals;about how and when go/no-go, decisions will be made about milestones and expected outcomes;about application and reporting requirements.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: How may partnership be persued in the donor/grantee relationship?
In real partnership, donor and grantee together and continually explore opportunities to build upon and leverage their relationship through innovative strategies, enhanced collaboration with other organizations and constituents, and increased financial and/or non-financial support.
When the two parties work together productively, the benefits that accrue from that working relationship outweigh the costs. The higher these net benefits are, the more productive the relationship.
The time and influence a donor contributes to a grantee can often be as valuable (or even more valuable) than the grant itself.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: What can donors and grantees do to ensure that the grantee has what it takes to get the job done?
To begin with, both have to ask whether the overhead in question is an important piece of the organization’s ability to do its work well. For most civil societies of any size, for instance, it would be hard to argue that a capable accountant would be a “bad” overhead. The same applies to a human resource function that will help to develop an organization’s people and build its managerial bench strength, or an up-to-date information technology platform that will help staff make better decisions, or a chief operating officer who can manage the organization’s administrative systems, leaving the executive director free to focus on program issues, and to develop funding, avoiding burn out. “Good” overhead, in its many forms, is simply what it takes to achieve the results that the civil society and its supporters seek.
A growing number of pioneering donors and grantees are taking powerful and exemplary steps to recognize good overhead, and to ensure that the beneficiaries and causes they are passionate about, have the most and best support possible.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: How to resource it right?
The Civil society starvation cycle is comprised of “Unrealistic funder expectations, Pressure on Civil society to conform; followed by, Misleading reporting and Overhead phobia”.
Donors tend to reward organizations with the leanest profiles. They also prioritize their funding towards programmatic activities. Civil society leaders feel pressure to conform to donors’ expectations by spending as little as possible on overhead and by reporting lower-than-actual overhead rates. Ultimately, it is the beneficiaries who suffer. Even the most successful Civil society organizations are not immune to the starvation cycle.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: How to resource it right?
Even the most elegant strategy is useless if it can’t be fully and effectively implemented. That’s why both donors and grantees need to understand and agree on just what it will take to achieve the outcomes they seek. And then ensure that the necessary resources are committed to the effort.
But experience has shown that no one wants to pay for overhead, as a result, many organizations are trapped in a “starvation cycle”. The cycle begins with donors (public as well as private) who have unrealistically low assumptions about what it actually costs to run an organization. Organizations depend on external funding, they feel obliged to conform to those unrealistic expectations insofar as humanly possible. For that matter, they cut overhead to the bone and underreport administrative expenditures. Unfortunately, this only serves to reinforce the unrealistically low assumptions that kicked off the cycle in the first place.
Donors expect grantees to do more and more with less and less, and the organization is starved for the resources necessary to deliver results.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: How ineffective collaboration undermines philanthropic results for society, and what can be done about it?
How can donors and grantees learn to work well together? Reduced to the essentials, there are three imperatives of effective collaboration – for which both parties must share responsibility. They are resource it right, make sure that the grantee has what it takes to get the job done. Pursue partnership, develop shared goals and a productive working relationship (which demands a certain level of strategic clarity and a reasonable “cost-of-capital” burden on the grantee). Get better together, create the necessary conditions for learning and continuous improvement. These imperatives appear simple; experience has shown, however, that following them almost always requires confronting – and overcoming – some deeply ingrained dynamics, assumptions and behaviors.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: What level and sources of funding for civil society stakeholders?
When the economic growth is robust, corporations, governments and individuals are more willing and able to give charities, provide official development assistance and invest in civil society activities. Weak economic growth creates the opposite dynamic.
“Governments should view civil society not as a threat but as an asset. A genuine democracy is like a three-legged stool. One leg is responsive, accountable government; the second leg a dynamic job-creating private sector; and the third leg is a robust and vibrant civil society.” by Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State (Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society 2012 Summit, Washington DC: US Department of State)

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: Where will our funding come from?
Indeed this is a strategic concern of any Civil society leader!
Financial sustainability is the top priority for organizations dealing with budget cuts and the shifting priorities of the donor community. Civil society leaders identified competition for resources and visibility as a key barrier for effectiveness. Several opportunities have been identified and even a necessity to rationalize and/or merge organizations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Online technology, which can connect funders and beneficiaries, or individuals and causes, cutting out the middleman, is perceived as a significant challenge to traditional business models of international civil society organizations. Overall it is felt that, in this period of great uncertainty, and when resource competition is driving division, the sector would benefit from greater cohesion.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda

CIVIL SOCIETY: Who belongs to it?
While descriptions vary across institutions the civil society ecosystem typically includes:
NGOs, non-profit organizations and civil society organizations (CSOs) that have an organized structure or activity and are typically registered entities and groups.
On-line groups and activities including social media communities that can be organized but do not necessarily have physical, legal or financial structures.
Social movements of collective action and/or identity, which can be on-line or physical.
Religious leaders, faith communities, and faith-based organizations.
Labour unions and Labour organizations representing workers.
Social entrepreneurs employing innovative and/or market oriented approaches for social and environmental outcomes.
Grassroots associations and activities at local level.
Cooperatives owned and democratically controlled by their members.
Here the focus is on civil society actors working positively to reduce societal harms and increase societal benefits. They aim to improve social cohesion; increase levels of economic and social development; reduce the burdens of poverty, ill-health and inequality; promote the interests of marginalized groups; extend the protection of social, civil and political rights; protect the environment, and provide services such as health, education and other forms of community development.

Birungi K. Desiderius
077 2 426 607
Executive Director
Better World Uganda
P. O. Box 406, Hoima-Uganda