Southern Governorates NGO Capacity Building Project (MNCB)

Project Start Date: August 2008

Originally the Maysan NGOs Capacity Building (MNCB) project, MNCB was expanded to build capacity in Nasiriya and Basra in late 2008. The goal of this project is to promote the growth and effectiveness of civil society organizations in the Maysan, Nasriyya, and Basra provinces so they can ensure that the interests of citizens are weighed by public institutions that make policy and allocate resources.

To achieve this goal, IF will organize four workshops (two in Northern Iraq and two others in the South) to build the capacity of 20 pre-selected independent NGOs. Ten NGOs will be selected from the Maysan governorate through training in concepts and practices that strengthen civil society institutions and expand their impact, including: organizational governance, and five NGOs from the Basra and Nasiriya governorates. Training will focus on building capacity in the following areas: leadership, organizational management, financial management, organizational mission and values formulation, strategic planning, outreach to community and stakeholders, networking, advocacy, project design, project implementation, management, and monitoring.

The project has 2 objectives:

To achieve objective one, IF will train the 20 pre-selected NGOs in:

Organizational governance and management, leadership skills, mission formulation, strategic planning and community outreach.

To achieve objective two, IF will train the same 20 NGOs in:

Project planning, project implementation, proposal writing, networking, advocacy and communication with stakeholders.

The anticipated outcome of the project is to develop a politically active civil society in the provinces with the necessary tools to effectively deliver programs and services and improve the lives of their communities.