Technical assistance for Irish Aid Civil Society support Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR

OVERVIEW

Ireland as a donor is committed to the idea that everyone has a role to play in reducing poverty and that citizens have a right and a responsibility to participate in and influence decisions that affect their lives. Civil society organisations allow citizens to come together to act collectively and participate in the development of their own communities and countries, whether through demanding better services from the state, holding their government accountable, or by acting together to respond to their own needs.

In Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR, Irish Aid adheres to this commitment and recognises that a vibrant civil society sector is an important dimension for sustainable development. Civil Society Organisations are not just channels for delivering much needed services, particularly to the poor and hard to reach, but can also make a strategic contribution to development processes, strengthen government accountability, pilot new approaches, and provide innovative ideas to inform government policy. The overall objective of Irish Aid’s support to Civil Society Organisations is to increase and improve Civil Society’s role in the national development and democratization process. Read more about Vietnam Civil Society Facility. 

Given the geographical spread of Civil Society partners and the number of partners supported, MDRI is entrusted to provide technical assistance for Civil Society Organisations funded by Irish Aid for the period of January to December 2016. The four main objectives are:

1. Organisational Capacity Assessments;
2. Monitoring of individual projects against stated objectives;
3. Capacity building and networking; and
4. Facilitating the coordination of CSO efforts supported by Irish Aid and strengthening their capacity to contribute to a harmonized and effective response, and to capture this in an aggregate monitoring framework of Irish Aid’s support to Civil Society Organisations.

Photo from LIN Center for Community Development, a grantee of Irish Aid.