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For capacity building efforts to be truly responsive to the needs of partners, it is important for initiatives to be flexible. While programmes should try to identify needs during initial capacity assessments, new needs may emerge during the programme. Programmes will be well placed to meet emerging needs if they build in flexible resourcing arrangements, conduct close monitoring, and provide opportunities for ongoing reflection with partners about capacity building needs and approaches.

There can be great value in bringing together WROs and CSOs from different geographies within and across regions to share lessons and for peer support. Spotlight Initiative has supported such learning opportunities. Some programmes developed communities of practice where organisations came together to discuss recent evidence, and convened annual programme meetings with a strong emphasis on reciprocal learning.

For example, Spotlight Initiative hosted a Global Learning Symposium in 2022, bringing together over 200 stakeholders from governments, civil society and the UN system, along with…

Capacity building efforts should be tailored to the needs of partners and their contexts. Involving partners in the design of capacity building efforts can help identify which approaches they have found useful or less effective in the past. Capacity building efforts can also introduce new approaches informed by best and innovative practice but should be mindful of partner preferences.

Involving partners in the design of capacity building initiatives can also help identify what is achievable within resource constraints. Partner engagement at this stage can help build an understanding of the…

It is important to recognise the existing skills that all organisations have, including WROs and CSOs, rather than privileging the expertise of one over others. For example, WROs may have more practical and lived experience of what works when advocating to end VAWG in a particular context or the needs of communities on the ground. On the other hand, an INGO may have more experience writing funding proposals and navigating donor applications. Additionally, UN and Government entities may have more experience and comfort presenting to high-level stakeholders. In an equitable partnership, the…

Effective capacity building efforts require commitment from all levels of the programme from the onset. This commitment should be reflected in the programme vision, operational plans and resource investments. Funders can support this by including capacity building as a core deliverable with specific resource allocation in requests for proposals. This approach then allows programme managers to develop a capacity building strategy for all levels of the programme, including the programme team, implementing partners, other partners, field staff, local champions and community facilitators.

Lesso…

Capacity building for WROs and CSOs should be built on the recognition that WROs and CSOs are vital to establishing, participating and strengthening women’s movements and driving efforts to end VAWG. Capacity building efforts should therefore focus on strengthening WROs and CSOs to continue this vital work. Capacity building efforts should be designed in collaboration with WROs and CSOs, using a participatory approach, to ensure they reflect the needs and priorities of WROs and CSOs themselves. Capacity strengthening might be focused on meeting a programme’s aims, but can also go beyond the…

In order to ensure that they leave no one behind, EVAWG coalitions need to recognise that women and girls may face multiple forms of discrimination such as class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, and age. Initiatives supporting coalitions should promote an intersectional approach to EVAWG activities, recognising the interconnected nature of social identities. They should also ensure that the voices of women and girls that are marginalised within communities are prioritised and amplified within coalitions. This is key to ensuring that activities carried out by EVAWG…

Donors, governments and INGOs often have access to extensive networks of influential stakeholders and decision-makers. They can support women’s movements by both amplifying their messages through these networks and facilitating networking opportunities with these stakeholders. In this way, donors, governments and INGOs can play a vital role in ensuring the voices, concerns, and ideas of women’s movements are heard by those in positions of power and are more likely to be considered during decision-making processes.

It is important that coalition building is led by civil society. Organisations and donors wanting to strengthen EVAWG coalitions could look to work with existing coalitions and structures, offering to play a role in funding or convening meetings and networking opportunities. For example, this might involve hosting meetings in a central location where the coalition members can come together to plan their activities. Different coalition members may face varying challenges in attending these meetings. For example, CSOs with limited funding may find it hard to cover the costs of travelling to and…

Since coalitions are usually made up of organisations with different skillsets, they may benefit from opportunities for knowledge sharing and reciprocal learning. Reciprocal learning involves different organisations sharing skills with each other, which could be achieved through communities of practice. For example, representatives from international NGOs might be well placed to support CSOs in building their skills in understanding how to navigate funding structures, while CSOs might be well placed to support international NGOs in identifying what activities are likely to be effective within…