Accra, May 10, GNA- Dr Samuel Dotse, the Chief Executive Officer for HATOF Foundation, an environmental NGO, has advised Civil Society organisations (CSOs), to remain focused on their set-up objectives, rather than swinging between and towards other activities.
He said such unstable practices often led to poor knowledge of issues, and a lack of deeper understanding of procedures, processes, and criteria for assessing available funding to enhance their work, resulting in low outcomes of programmes and unachieved targets.
He said people and organisations often related to CSOs based on their set-up objectives or aspirations and mission, therefore remaining focused ensured quality output of work and strengthened knowledge of issues related to a specific field.
This may also ensure clearer purposes that may be aligned with that of specific funding institutions, making it much easier for CSOs to collaborate and access financial support for their programmes, he said.
Dr Dotse gave the advice in an interview with journalists at a Capacity Needs Assessment validation workshop organised by HATOF Foundation and its partners, under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) CSO Readiness Programme.
He commended CSOs in Ghana for their great input towards national development, which had earned them recognition as partners, by the Ministry of Finance under the GCF CSO Readiness Programme for the needs assessment to be done.
He said the main goal of the GCF CSO Readiness Programme Project in Ghana was to strengthen the capacities of 10 Ghanaian NGOs and CSOs to contribute efficiently to the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) planning and implementation processes.
The Programme also aimed to develop a Civil Society Climate Change Agenda and Action Plan for 2021-2026; ensure the development of a CSO-tailored training module on how to prepare funding proposals and facilitate non-state actors’ engagement with the GCF.
It further required the creation and submission to the GCF of one high-quality concept note in line with the country’s plan and strategies and guided by the CSO Agenda and Action Plan.
Dr Dotse said pursuant to the official launch of the GCF CSO Readiness Project in Ghana in 2022, a capacity needs assessment had been conducted by a national consultant to map and identify relevant stakeholders, assess their capacity needs, and clarify the roles and responsibilities of CSOs in connection with GCF’s related issues at the national level.
He said although the assessment targeted 113 CSOs who were currently engaged in the implementation of the Rio interventions in Ghana, only 35 completed the assessment instrument, representing a rate of about 30 per cent, and even with that most of the respondents belonged to the senior management category.
“The assessment results and involvement of these CSOs clearly signifies a capacity needs gap,” he said.
Dr Raymond Babanawo, the National Consultant for the Project, said the goal and objectives of the capacity building plan under the Programme, were to enhance the organisational competencies of relevant CSOs operating in Climate Change and related areas, to facilitate their contribution towards effective and efficient implementation of the NDCs.
Among these, the plan sought to build the organisational capacities of all CSOs, specifically in the area of revenue generation and financial sustainability, strengthen their collaboration and coordination by enhancing the competencies of their workforce, and orienting the entire sector ecosystem towards a state of continuous capacity building, with emphasis on organisation accountability, collaboration, coordination and transparency, he said.
He said based on the foregoing, the assessment had outlined three strategic results that could inform skills development and learning processes, to facilitate the enhancement of project outcomes across climate change and related areas.
Dr Babanawo said it was suggested that organisational capacities be strengthened to ensure CSO’s financial sustainability and guarantee their roles in the implementation of NDCs in Ghana.
CSOs needed a competent and empowered workforce within the Environment and Climate sector, who could communicate and engage stakeholders effectively to cultivate climate-friendly rules and attitudinal changes at various levels.
Dr Babanawo said the implementation of the NDCs presented both CSOs and Government agencies with new challenges in terms of setting goals and targets, analysing the effects of various policy options, and estimating the financial and technical needs to fulfil set goals and targets.
He said the assessment envisaged four ways in which CSOs could influence NDC implementation in Ghana which included Agenda Setting, where CSOs could influence the process by which problems and alternative solutions gain or lose public and elite or political attention.
Also, in Policy and Programme Coordination, where issues related to Climate Change were extremely cross-cutting and could influence and be influenced by decisions in a wide range of other policy areas.
CSOs could also create awareness by expanding knowledge on drivers and remedial measures related to Climate Change.
They could also be influential through capacity building because the implementation of NDCs required a substantive amount of data, knowledge, and capacity to assess the potential outcomes of the various policy options, as well as financial and human resources, he said.
GNA