CSO Transparency, Effectiveness and Impact
Civil Society Organizations are considered a force for good and play a variety of roles in development and social change processes. Despite the above positive attributes, CSOs have come under greater public scrutiny and criticism questioning their contribution towards development. Local communities, governments and donors/key stakeholders have in the recent past raised concerns over credibility, legitimacy, efficiency and effectiveness of the CSO sector. This therefore makes a case for introspection to check the ability/capacity of our organizations to practically respond to these questions.
On Friday, 7th June 2024, Vijana Corps in partnership with Development Dynamics hosted the Impact 2024 Uganda edition. This session fostered an interactive conversation on how to build wholesome organizations, holistic programs and lasting change. While facilitating at the meeting, Mr. Maqc Eric Gitau, the CEO – Development Dynamics invited civil society actors to apply their organizations to the above three pillars in equal measure as they are fundamental in ensuring that organizations are not only stable and attractive, but also impactful.
Using a digital assessment tool, the session enabled Civil Society Actors to truthfully reflect on the state of their organizations along the above three parameters. The wholesome organizations parameter focuses on leadership and governance, organizational culture and systems as well as financial sustainability. The Holistic Programs parameter focuses on program design and implementation, theory of change, monitoring, evaluation, learning and adaptation. The lasting change parameter focuses on systems change and advocacy, equity and inclusion, sustainability and scalability.
With the increasing demand for accountability, civic organizations need to deliberately embrace a culture of learning, unlearning and relearning in a bid to remain relevant to the communities they serve as well the partners/stakeholders that support their work. This requires passion and dedication, just like it was put; “Wholesome organizations are those that have the right people in the right places, doing the things they love or believe in” – Rasheed David Mutaha, Movement Building and Strategy Associate, Development Dynamics.
