For civil society organisations, a compelling proposal is the key to unlocking a trove of local, regional and international funding possibilities.
It is for this reason that the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) sought to demystify the proposal writing process for twenty CSOs at a National Capacity Building Workshop on Proposal Writing, held from April 12 to 14, 2022 at the Courtyard Marriott.
The activity fell under the Strengthening Civil Society to Alleviate the Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Communities in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean project (also referred to as the Strengthening Civil Society Capacity (SCSC) project). The two-year initiative is funded by the European Union and intends to build the capacity of the sector through small grants for economic empowerment to traditionally marginalized groups, strengthen NGO operations, and build a collective platform to advocate for greater attention to the needs of vulnerable groups.
The initiative sought to expose participants to the main elements of proposal writing, build skills for winning grants and provide opportunities for peer-to-peer learning experiences on proposal writing. The representatives spanned a range of social causes, including women’s advocacy, domestic violence, environmental protection, disability advocacy and the LGBTI community.
Guided by the expertise of Richard Jones, Officer-in-Charge at the CPDC, and supported by Project Officer Christon Herbert, workshop attendees received hands-on training on topics such as identifying and developing project objectives, writing project outcomes and outputs, implementing a project schedule, as well as writing a project budget.
Jones hailed the participants’ dedication to the three-day workshop. He noted that the workshop was created as a response to the needs of CSOs, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We recently completed an Institutional Assessment to gauge the challenges and opportunities confronting NGOs in the Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “We realised that it was important to have a session on proposal writing, since it is an essential element of mobilising resources for our members and other organisations. We at the CPDC will continue to use evidence-based research to build the capacity of local and regional NGOs as we all navigate this ‘new normal.’”
