PSO & EASUN: 'Don´t get married after one night'

August 17, 2011 - How do organizations model a reflective approach to partnership development? This is just one of the questions EASUN and PSO try to find an answer to. Most of the time our collective efforts are fruitful. Even if the answer to a question is to not do anything yet. Do we have your attention? Then read about why and how we work together.

Modeling a reflective approach to partnership development: 'Don't get married after one night'.

One of the insights shared in a PSO learning event, where EASUN (East African Support Unit for NGOs, based in Arusha, Tanzania) joined in, was: “don’t get married after one night.” The learning event was exploring the whole question of civil society-business partnership in the new environment of service delivery in social development work. The insight was made to underscore the importance of CSOs not sacrificing their identities by rushing headlong into such partnership ventures, attractive as they may seem.

Partner and friend
EASUN is one of PSO’s Southern partners and critical friends. The insight also applies also very much to the relationship that EASUN and PSO have been building since 2008 in an effort to join hands in supporting the capacity development of civil society organizations, particularly in the South.

Collective activities undertaken so far include the ‘Moshi dialogue’, where Northern and Southern civil society organisations engaged in an international dialogue on relationships in aid. Furthermore, in April 2010, EASUN, CDRA, PRIA and PSO gathered in Madurodam, The Hague to rethink aid interactions from a wider, global perspective.

Other shared interests and activities have been on improving approaches to capacity development, organisational learning and civil society relations with the business sector.  EASUN is, together with PSO and CDRA, a member of the “Barefoot Collective” on learning practices in organizations and social change. Reflecting their critical focus on social change, PRIA, EASUN, CDRA, PSO and INTRAC recently launched the ‘Civil society crossroads initiative’ aimed at re-inventing civil society development from a bottom-up and local perspective.

Focus and transformation
EASUN’s transformational work in East Africa is aimed at developing capacities of civil society organizations to create and sustain relations, knowledge, activities and language that produce ethical outcomes in organizational and social development. As an example, “ethical leadership” has been intensified as the development focus in EASUN’s training and other institutional development activities. This is a capacity area that will enhance the abilities of CSOs to generate the kind of impact that can be associated with the vision and identity of the sector.

Identity management forms the core of EASUN’s institutional development (ID) interventions, i.e. facilitating civil society organizations to enact their values and strengthen their foundations as voluntary advocacy organizations. Knowledge sharing, networking and movement building activities make up 80% of EASUN’s work. The remaining 20% involves training transformational leaders, and OD interventions to strengthen the capacities of CSOs to manage their social accountability through gendered and participatory governance, including systems and policies that take account of the needs of marginalized groups, such as people living with HIV/Aids.

EASUN considers leadership to be a critical capacity area for democratizing governance. EASUN’s new strategic direction (2010-2013) focuses its training, coaching and OD interventions on developing transformational leadership skills in East African civil society. This is done through creating platforms where civil society organizations examine their questions and develop ethical leadership skills for building CSOs as institutions that outgrow individual leaders.

Building partnerships consciously and carefully
EASUN is “small” and “huge” at the same time: physically small (as an administrative unit), but with a huge purpose, designed to work through professional associates and collaborating with others who share its cause and stated purpose.  It is in this line of thinking that EASUN and PSO are working together to promote good practices in capacity development, and popularize those through joint advocacy. Both EASUN and PSO recognize that advocacy work is best performed through movement building. ‘The partnerships that we are currently developing involving EASUN, PRIA, CDRA, PSO and others globally is much more than just drawing on the intellectual or skilled resourcefulness of specific individuals and institutions involved in capacity development. In fact, we are creating a movement for promoting alternative practices in capacity development. From my point of view, that is why EASUN is buying into this relationship and committing valuable staff time to its advancement.’ (Mosi Kisare, director EASUN)

Both EASUN and PSO continue to appreciate learning and acting together within a rare kind of partnership between Northern and South based organizations.

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