The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), my current and semi-frequent employer, does a lot of its work to help developing countries through those countries’ local civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). But in many developing countries, these CSOs and NGOs are small, are new, and/or are unfamiliar with practices that can help them be sustainable and very effective.

UNDP has curated a list of capacity building tools and resources for CSO strengthening, with toolkits, guides and classes from a variety of organizations. This list is meant to be used by UNDP country offices and programs as they work with CSOs and NGOs for program delivery.

It’s an excellent list and I’m sharing it here. If you have updates, send them to nadine.ravaud@undp.org; remember that resources should be easy-to-access and free or VERY low-cost.

Resource mobilization and fundraising

• Open Challenge Fundraising Toolkit (online fundraising), GlobalGiving (2014)
• The Online Fundraiser’s Checklist 2.0., Network for Good (2014)
• Guide to financial management for NGOs, MANGO UK (2014), with templates of financial documents
• Donors’ civil society strategies and partnership modalities, UNDP (2012)
• 10 principles of good practice for the intellige! nt funder, CIVICUS (2011)Introduction to fundraising planning online course in EN and SP, The Foundation Center (2014)
• Getting ready for foundation fundraising online course, The Foundation Center (2014)
• Before you seek a grant recorded webinar, The Foundation Center (2014)
• Grant seeking basics recorded webinar in EN and SP, The Foundation Center (2014)
• Introduction to finding funders recorded webinar in EN and SP, The Foundation Center (2014)
• Guide to funding research online course, The Foundation Center (2014)
• Developing a financing strategy and Writing a funding proposal, CIVICUS (2001)
• Resource mobilization toolkit, Towards financial self-reliance: A handbook on resource mobilization for civil society organizations in the south, Trainer manual and web-based interactive course, Aga Khan Foundation (2001)

Internal governance and management

• Compendium of toolkits for non-profit management organizational development, CIVICUS (n.d.)
• Strategic thinking and planning in civil society organizations: A course toolkit, INTRAC (2008)
• Strategic planning for civil society organizations, CIVICUS (2011)
• Guidelines for annual reports and financial statements for non-governmental organizations, Dóchas–the Irish association of NGOs (2013)
• A budget guide for civil society organizations working in education, The Commonwealth Education Fund (n.d.)
• Accounting regulations for charities, DYOA (2005)
• Guide to good governance programming, Mercy Corps (2011)
• Principles and guidelines for good NGO governance: A Handbook, ECNL (2004)
• The role of legal reform in supporting civil society: An introductory primer, UNDP (2009)
• Turning public budgets towards sustainability: A guide to environmental-social budgeting, Global Policy Forum (2014)

Code of good practice for civil participation in the decision-making process

, Council of Europe (2009)
• The art of knowledge exchange, The World Bank Institute (2012)
• Internal communication toolkit, CIVICUS (2011)

Civil society accountability

• Accountability for civil society by civil society: A guide to self-regulation initiatives, CIVICUS (2014)
• Ensuring credibility and effectiveness: Designing compliance systems in CSO self-regulation, One World Trust (2010)
• Civil society accountability, principles and practice: A toolkit for CSOs in the Pacific region, One Worl! d Trust and the Commonwealth Foundation (2009)
• Code of ethics and conduct for African civil society organizations, African Women’s Development and Communications Network (2003)

Capacity analysis and capacity building

• Capacity building compendium: A Collection of capacity building tools and resources, Papua New Guinea CBSC (2008)
• NGO capacity analysis toolkit, International HIV/AIDS Alliance (2004)
• Measuring institutional capacity, USAID Center for Development Information and Evaluation  (2000)
• CBO capacity analysis: A toolkit for assessing and building capacities for high quality responses to HIV, International HIV/AIDS Alliance (2007)
• Civil Society’s role in pov! erty and social impact analyses: A resource guide and toolkit for engagement,  UNDP (2009)
• A user’s guide to civil society assessments, UNDP (2010)
• Civil society empowerment: A toolkit, OECD (2013)
• The citizen’s handbook: Practical assistance for those who want to make a difference, Vancouver Community Network (n. d.)
• Policy engagement: How civil society can be more effective, Overseas Development Institute (2006)

Monitoring and evaluation

• Toolkit on monitoring and evaluation, CIVICUS (2011)
• Monitoring and evaluation planning: Guidelines and tools, American Red Cross (2008)
• Enhancing good practice documentation with digital storytelling, SAfAIDS and Women’sNet (2014)
• 10 tips for developing a data management system for monitoring and evaluation, AI Solutions (2013)
• Monitoring government policies: A toolkit for civil society organizations in Africa, CAFOD, Christian Aid ! and Trócaire (n. d.)

Gender and youth mainstreaming

• Gender Mainstreaming Made Easy, UNDP (2014)
• UN Womenwatch – Training tools and resources, UN Women (2014)
• Guidelines for gender mainstreaming in project stages, CIVICUS (2011)
• Gender toolkit for international finance-watchers, Gender Action (2009)
• Gender Equality eLearning Programme, UNESCO
• Gender and security sector reform toolkit, OSCE (2008)
• Youth advocacy toolkit: The education we want, Plan International (2014)
• Youth consultation for a post-2015 framework: a toolkit, Restless Development (2012)
• Building our youth for the future, National Youth Development Agency (2013)
• Act!2015 Advocacy Strategy Toolkit, UNAIDS (2014)
• Guiding principles on young people’s participation in peacebuilding, Search for Common Ground (2014)
• Enhancing youth politic! al participation throughout the electoral cycle: A good practice guide, UNDP (2013)

Networking and partnerships (with other stakeholders)

• Networking and relationship building for CSOs: A course toolkit, INTRAC (2007)
• Guidelines on Partnerships with Southern CSOs, Dóchas–the Irish association of NGOs (2013)
• Changing dynamics between voluntary organizations and the private sector, VANI India (n. d.)
• How to engage corporations, WINGS-Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (n. d.)
• Part of the solution: Leveraging business and markets for low-income people, Ford Foundation (2005)
• How to approach a foundation: An online course, The Foundation Center (2014)

Advocacy and campaigning

• Policy engagement: How civil society can be more effective, TACSO (2006)
• Guidance on how to advocate for a more enabling environment for civil society in your context: An advocacy toolkit, CPDE (2011)
• Mapping political context: A toolkit for civil society organizations, Overseas Development Institute (2006)
• Tax justice advocacy: A toolkit for civil society, Christian Aid (2011)
• Toolkit on action planning, CIVICUS (2011)
• Tips! for engaging in NGO law reforms: A toolkit, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law and National Endowment for Democracy (n. d.)
• Corruption Fighters’ Toolkit Civil society experiences and emerging strategies, Transparency International (2002)
• Freedom of association in Arab countries: A toolkit, ANND (2013)
• A toolkit for civil society, organization, engagement and advocacy, CAADP (2011)
• Tax justice advocacy toolkit, Christian Aid and Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (2012)
• The Advocacy Toolkit: Influencing the post-2015 development agenda, CIVICUS and Stakeholder Forum (2014)

Engaging with the media and social media

• Social media guide for civil society strengthening, USAID (2014)
• Are we there yet? Evaluating your online media strategy for nonprofits, The Nonprofit Network (2014)
• Mapping your online strategies: A guide for nonprofits, The Nonprofit Network (2013)
• Engaging with the media, CIVICUS and Stakeholder Forum (2014)
• Handling the media and Producing your own media, CIVICUS (2011)
• A practical guide to social media for charities and social enterprises, Social Misfits Media and Unity Trust Bank (n. d.)
• How to design an online campaign, The Association for Progressive Communications (2012)
• Finding your way with online media: An implementation guide for nonprofits, The Nonprofit Network (2014)
• Finding your tweet feet: How can Twitter help your organisation, GreaterGood South Africa Trust (2014)
• Th! e role of brand in the non-profit Sector, Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations (2014)

 

II.                  Selected training institutions

 Listed by alphabetical order:

• Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP)
• Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional par el Desarollo (AECID) – Programa Iberoamericano de Formación Técnica Especializada (PIFTE)
• American Society for Training and Development
• Asian Institute of Management (AIM)
• Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution
• Barcelona International Peace Resource Center (BIPRC)
• Bioforce: trainings in English or in French
• Capacity Africa Institute (CAI)
• Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
• Centro Internacional de Estudios Interdisciplinarios (CIESI)
• Center for International Humanitarian Cooperation (CIHC)
• Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF)
• Communication Initiative
• Cornell University’s NutritionWorks
• Coursera, a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for free
• Danish Institute for Human Rights
• Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) / International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT)
• Duke Center for International Development (DCID)
• edX (interactive online classes and MOOCs from renown universities)
• ELD Training
• Election Observation and Democratic Support (EODS)
• European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI)
• European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES)
• Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance
• Equidades: campus virtual sobre Equidad de Género
• European Training Institute (ETI)
• Folke Bernadotte Academy
• Free e-training
• Futurelean (online and free courses from leading universities)
• Gender and Non-Discrimination Programme – ITC/ILO
• German Agency for International Cooperation’s Academy for International Cooperation (GIZ), offering a lot of free online programmes for instance Measuring Governance, Democracy and Human Rights, Intercultural Communication, etc.
• Global Health Learning Centre (GHeL)
• Hague Academy for Local Governance
• Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)
• IMA International
• Institute for Peace and Dialogue (IPD)
• Instituto para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Humano (ICDH) / Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC)
• International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR)
• International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC), for instance Use of evidence (in international development) or Advocacy and policy influencing
• International Training Centre – International Labour Orga! nization (ITC-ILO)
• International Peace & Security Institute (IPSI)
• International Society for Third-Sector Research
• Management Centre (:mc)
• MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (ActionAid Denmark)
• MDF Training and Consultancy, for instance Domestic support and fundraising, Result-based management, etc.
• Montreal Institute For Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS)
• My M&E (e-Learning ! on Development Evaluation)
• Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR)
• Peace Operations Training Institute (POTI)
• PROJACS training
• Reliefweb training calendar, offering more than 710 training programmes including on Proposal Writing, Financial Management for Effective Programmes, HRBA, M & E, etc.
• United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), especially their e-learning section
• UN System Staff College (UNSSC)
• University of California’s Centre for Sustainable Resource Development (CSRD) o! f the College of Natural Resources
• University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights
• Wageningen University’s Centre for Development Innovation
• Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA)
• World Bank e-Institute