Incubator for Myanmar CSOs

Project name:  Project incubator: the Support to CSO Incubation Centre for Local Burmese NGOs of Chin State in Myanmar

Funder:
United Nations Democracy Fund

Timeframe:
March 2016-February 2018

Partners

Agency for Basic Community Development (Myanmar)
Development Policy Foundation (Poland)
Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation (Estonia)

Focus
The project addresses the problem of insufficient competence and fundraising skills among Chin State’s CSOs, lack of their institutional capacity and network as well as lack of experiences and opportunities for project management and implementation.
We intend to increase the potential of Burmese local organisations from Chin State to act for and empower their local communities by providing them with the institutional capacity, competence in project development and management, fundraising skills and network of contacts with other NGOs.

Activities
The Chin CSO Centre, fitted out with computers and internet access, will be established in Falam:
-the Centre will provide project-related information: handbooks and glossaries will be developed – including the first educational materials in Chin languages available on an e-learning platform and in hard-copies.
-the Centre will provide support and space for CSO gatherings and collaboration (open door program for partnership and networking) as well as fundraising backing and on-demand assistance.
- the Centre will host the Project Incubator for 24 young leaders from Chin CSOs who will be trained and assisted by tutors in writing their own project proposals addressing real local problems (learning by doing). During the training, they will be taught how to identify the needs of their communities, look for funding opportunities, write successful and tangible, results-oriented project proposals and implement important initiatives.
- the best 12 proposals will be awarded micro-grants for putting their ideas into practice under the Bridge Support by experts, while 5 most outstanding participants will go on a study tour of Poland and Estonia to benefit from the experiences on democratization and economic transition of the EU project partners.
- the Incubator’s graduates will run the Cascade Training for local Chin CSOs and Chin community leaders, thus assuring the sustainability of the project.
- the final conference concluding all the previous activities and the report presenting the lessons learned during the microproject realisation are provided for.

Project website: http://chin.ngo/

Photos: Kick-off meeting in Kalay; 29-30 April 2016