Partnership and Learning Programme
Strengthening civil society from the grassroots has been BEARR’s mission since it was established. The Partnership and Learning Programme is a new scheme designed with this in mind, to create a supportive partnership, helping them to develop their capacity and downward accountability. We will provide opportunities to share lessons learnt with each other and with us.
Our aim is to help deepen their roots and broaden their outreach, to encourage confidence and creativity within these small groups to serve their communities better, to engage with their beneficiaries to be more involved in their decision-making processes. We hope this way of working will give everyone involved, our partners and BEARR alike, a better insight into the importance of a vibrant civil society at all levels. Over time, we hope these CSOs will develop their networks, collaborating with other actors, to have greater impact.
We are rolling out the programme this year, starting with Ukrainian partners. If successful we envisage expanding it to other groups of countries in the BEARR region in the coming years. This year’s partners are currently being selected, and we will share their names on this page in due course.
What the programme offers
Each participating organisation will receive a one-off grant of £5,000 in the first year, to strengthen their organisation and support their own vision for its development. The funding can be used flexibly, but with a clear focus on organisational development rather than project or service delivery. We will encourage each group involved to carry out an organisational self-assessment as a baseline against which they can choose priority areas and measure progress.
The first year of the programme is intended as the start of a longer relationship. Beyond the grant, we hope to build partnerships that include closer contact, shared learning and mentoring over several years.
How it is different from our usual funding
This programme is not simply another round of grant funding. In return for the grant, we ask participating organisations to engage with us more closely, through individual or group online calls to share feedback and reflections. We are keen to hear your views on our work, on the future of civil society in your country, on your organisation’s plans, and on how you are building capacity and resilience.
Who can take part
The Partnership and Learning Programme is by invitation only. Rather than a broad, open call, we chose to focus on a small number of organisations we know fairly well, so that the support and learning we offer can be meaningful and specific to each one.
