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2020-01-01
West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI);
Despite the recognition of the instrumentality of governance and leadership to the sustainability of nonprofit organisations by researchers and practitioners around the world, there is still very limited knowledge on the effectiveness or otherwise of governance in Ghana's civil society sector. This paper is based on an extensive research into governance systems institutionalisation and effectiveness in selected civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana which revealed among other things that governance systems and structures of many CSOs in the country are poorly instituted and largely ineffective. It also discovered ineffective management of executive transitions and abrupt departures of key staff and leaders which were due mainly to the absence of succession plans and roadmaps. The paper argues on the basis of the evidence that in the absence of sound governance systems and structures, a CSO cannot be properly described as sustainable irrespective of the amount of financial resources the organisation can mobilise.
2020-01-01
Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF);
Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana are generally fragile and dependent on donor funding mechanisms for survival. Recent studies show that financial sustainability of CSOs is challenging, which has spurred conversations on new alternative funds mobilisation routes, innovative methods and strategies to ensure its sustainability. This scoping report highlights the opportunities and challenges associated with faith-based giving as a domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) strategy that CSOs could explore in Ghana. Specifically, the report highlights the experiences of funds mobilisation, the strategies, the opportunities and successes and the challenges. It draws on in-depth interviews from 6 faith-based organisations (FBOs), three CSOs that have funds mobilisation connections with FBOs and 2 key informants or experts working within the civil society space in Ghana. The report stresses four key messages.First, the key sources of domestic faith-based giving for Faith-based organisations are: (i) Special collections and offerings collected by affiliated religious bodies to support the FBOs; (ii) Individual contributions, appeals, pledges and gifts from members of religious affiliations (local and foreign); (iii) Allocations from headquarters or the 'root' organisations from which the faith-based organisations were formed and (iv) Volunteers and in-kind contributions from partners and stakeholders. However, faith-based domestic resource mobilisation has not been systematically integrated into the core strategy of domestic resource mobilisation efforts of some faith-based organisations as they draw their funding mainly from external sources.Second, religious organisations affiliated to Faith-based organisations use multiple strategies to encourage and mobilise funds and resources from givers. Four commonest approaches identified are: i) using education, doctrines and psychological preparation towards giving; b) instituting 'special days' for collection from givers; iii) being accountable and effectively communicating results and iv) effectively communicating mission to givers.Third, opportunities for mobilising funds and resources from faith-based sources exist because (i) large religious base of the country who are motivated by faith to give; (ii) indigenous systems and culture of giving in Ghana and (iii) growing technologies and digital infrastructure that provide convenience for givers. Strong connections to a 'base'/constituents is important for generation of funds.However, there are some challenges that constrain the prospect of domestic mobilisation of faith-based funds to boost financial sustainability of CSOs while also promoting socio-economic development in Ghana. Six key challenges have been articulated below: (i) general perceptions of CSOs and development actors ; (ii) culture of giving is skewed towards ad-hoc social welfare causes than long-term development actions that address systemic changes ; (iii) The difficulty of working with rising middle class and high-net worth personalities and (iv) weak transparent and accountable systems of CSOs. Some non-faith-based organisations also find it difficult mobilising domestic faith-based resources because of: (i) unfavourable perception and risk of associating with faith-based organisations and ii) clash of religious doctrines and some principles and values held by organisations.
2020-07-01
African Women's Development Fund;
Available statistics indicates that, women form about 35.1% of the agricultural work force in Ghana, and account for 70% of production of subsistence crops. Also, about 90% of the labour force in the marketing of farm produce are women, yet they have limited access to and control over land and other resources necessary for economic development. Thus, the unequal access of women to productive resources such as land has largely led to a worsening poverty situation among many women resulting in increasing illiteracy rate, less access to health and education services with its associated unpaid care work. This Article examines the issue of women land rights in Ghana, focusing on legal literacy as integral to women ability to access land. The first part of this Article operationalizes basic fundamental concepts germane to the discussions. The second part mirrors down on a general overview of land tenure, contextualizing legal frameworks on land rights in Ghana. It then turns to explore the conundrum of socio-cultural issues affecting women land rights in the country. The Article then moves further to lay out the WiLDAF innovative approach in promoting women legal literacy on land rights and finally narrows in on lessons and best practices for future legal literacy and women's land rights in Ghana. Key concepts are operationalized to situate the discussion.
2020-01-01
Indego Africa;
The 2018-2019 Annual & Social Impact Report, which reflects data collected between June-July 2019, marks Indego's twelfth social impact assessment.The first Social Impact Assessment conducted in March 2008, established baseline data to measure future growth and consisted of response data from 44 women from two of Indego Africa's partner cooperatives in Rwanda. This year's report includes the results of comprehensive interviews with artisans across of our partner cooperatives in two countries, Rwanda and Ghana. As we grow and scale as an organization, this data serves as a powerful tool to ensure that our programs are fully and successfully serving the needs of our artisan partners. While this report focuses on metrics collected from our annual Social Impact Assessment, we have also included data from program-specific surveys conducted at the beginning and end of each of our education program semesters.How it worksIndego's field team in Rwanda traveled to of our partner cooperatives to gather quantitative and qualitative metrics from women. Our field team in Ghana also collected social impact data, surveying artisans across artisan groups.The 75-question survey gathers data across a range of development indicators, including income, education, and quality of life. The questions track year-over-year changes in the demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal information of our artisan partners.Results obtained from the surveys are presented and compared for each question at an aggregate level by combining the results from Rwanda and Ghana.Historical data gathered in Rwandan Francs and Ghanaian Cedis was converted to U.S. Dollars utilizing the average FX rate for each year.
2019-03-25
West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI);
Citizen's voices are increasingly being shut down. Their rights are equally being violated and worst so, by representatives of institutions created by the state to protect the rights of citizens. However, the presence of social media and its increased use by citizens as a tool to demand social justice is helping citizens gain grounds in making their voices heard and demand accountability.
2019-01-01
STAR Ghana;
This strategy paper has been developed as a one-stoptoolbox of ideas, initiatives and strategies for making Ghanaian civil society viable and sustainable. This strategy paper analyses the different approaches, models and resourcing strategies commonly used by CSOs around the world drawing inspiration from previous work by the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) on issues around sustainability and the characteristics of sustainable CSOs. From the national CSO convenings, it has become clear that there is growing interest in the development of alternative funding models that reduce a CSO's dependence on traditional gift-incomes and official aid.
2019-01-01
Indego Africa;
The 2018 Annual & Social Impact Report includes the results of comprehensive interviews with 319 artisans across 16 of Indego Africa's partner cooperatives in Rwanda and Ghana.Indego's on-the-ground team in Rwanda traveled to 12 of our partner cooperatives to conduct our Social Impact Assessment and gather quantitative metrics and qualitative indicators (such as confidence and self-perception) from 294 women. Our team in Ghana also collected social impact data, surveying 25 artisans across 4 artisan groups.
2020-01-01
Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA);
The second edition of Social Accountability Guidebook for CSOs is a learning resource that is intended to support the building of a community of practice of social accountability practitioners, advocates, and champions in West Africa. This guidebook is an updated version of the first edition which was published in 2018. The Guidebook presents case studies of social accountability initiatives from the West African region, interspersed with definitions of terminologies related to the concept. It is intended to deepen understanding and foster appreciation of the concept of social accountability, its potential for strengthening accountability in the region, and the challenges that may be encountered in implementing social accountability initiatives in the West African Context. It is hoped that the Guidebook will serve as a catalyst for further development and tailoring of the concept of social accountability in West Africa, by CSOs, development practitioners, local and central government agencies, the donor community, and all others who are interested in advancing accountability in West Africa.
2018-01-23
SDG Philanthropy Platform;
Philanthropic giving by diverse individuals, social and communal groups, and formal institutions, forms the bedrock of Ghanaian culture, whilst providing for the most basic social and economic needs of many of its people. In fact, giving for a wide range of reasons is considered to be so intrinsic to Africans, including Ghanaians, that "at any one given time, one is either a philanthropist or a recipient of one kind or another of benevolence." However, there have been few studies that have systematically analysed the potential of philanthropy to contribute to development aspirations at the national level.
2018-04-20
Africa Philanthropy Network;
This report synthesizes the key outcomes from the Ghana Data Strategy and Capacity Building Workshop, which was held in Accra on the 29th of November, 2017. The workshop was developed based on input provided by the cross-section of Ghanaian foundations, support organizations, and civil society more broadly that participated in an earlier "Data Scoping Meeting" held on the 4th of October, 2017.During the Data Scoping Meeting, participants worked together to:- Understand the value and opportunities for advancing the philanthropy data agenda in Ghana- Establish common principles for collaborative data and knowledge management- Identify key data and knowledge challenges as well as needs- Explore existing technologies for collecting and sharing data and knowledge- Set local data and knowledge goals and priorities. The Data Strategy and Capacity Building workshop focused on how to move forward on each of these priorities.
2018-01-04
Development Initiatives;
More than 600 development organizations publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard. IATI provides up-to-date and reliable aid data to improve accountability, coordination and effectiveness. Aid flow traceability throughout the implementation chain is a key part of this.This research report shows that, using 2013-2015 IATI data, it is only possible to verify that 7% of US aid to Ghana ($28m) arrived in the country. It concludes that this traceability gap stems from limited IATI reporting by the international NGOs and firms that implemented most aid activities. To enhance traceability, the US government should require its implementers to publish to IATI.
2018-09-17
Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition;
Oxfam estimates that just one of the richest men in Ghana earns from his wealth more in a month than one of the poorest women could earn in 1,000 years. Inequality is slowing down poverty reduction, hampering economic growth and threatening social cohesion. Nearly 300,000 more men, women and children in Ghana could have been lifted out of poverty between 2006 and 2013 had inequality not increased during this period. Inequality is not inevitable and can be addressed. In 2017, servicing public debt cost Ghana more than the annual amount the government would need to pay for free quality healthcare for all Ghanaians and to deliver on its globally agreed health goals by 2030.In this report, Oxfam calls on the government of Ghana to use public spending to reduce inequality, and put women's economic empowerment at the heart of policy making.
