NGOs learn to facilitate local strategic planning

The involvement of as many social groups as possible, representing various interests of the community, in the strategic planning process is highly important. This is what Ana Vasilache, director of the Foundation Partners for Local Development (Romania) during an interview. She is also the main trainer of the workshop for preparing trainers to develop civil society capacities in strategic planning through an approach based on gender equality and human rights. The workshop was organized between July 6 and 12, in Chisinau, by the Joint Integrated Local Development Program (JILDP), implemented with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Financial support was provided by the Swedish Government. 12 NGOs and consulting companies, selected through a contest, participated in the workshop, Info-Prim Neo reports. “We assist local communities in elaborating strategic development plans. We’ve already seen that their plans, developed in an office by experts or with their help, even when more coherent, are not executed. The goal is to make local authorities involve more social groups in strategic planning, with the help of facilitators – NGO representatives. We mean not only those groups which can speak for themselves and defend their interests, but mainly those marginalized: children, elderly people or discriminated groups like the gypsies. If we compare society with a bus, then they are those who have no place in it and always wait at the station”, said Ana Vasilache. The director of the Foundation Partners for Local Development says authorities must learn to identify local resources without waiting for others to do it. “NGO representatives participating in this workshop will perform a new and complicated social role- that of facilitators. They help people work together and advise mayors and local elected how to involve the population, to use it efficiently, to waste less time when taking a decision, to highlight the details of the problem before choosing a solution. Facilitators can provide additional information, consultancy and analyses if needed”, said Ana Vasilache. The Foundation Partners for Local Development has assisted strategic planning in small communities in Romania of up to 7000 inhabitants. Elena Tomuz, representative of CICO NGO, said that discussions within the workshop were interactive and the knowledge provided by trainers was immediately proved in real situations. The participants, representing 12 NGOs, could learn from both trainers and their colleagues, some of them having experience in facilitating participative strategic planning. The workshop is part of a series of activities organized by JILDP in order to improve local public administration capacities within the decentralization process started in Moldova. The participants will spread the acquired knowledge and skills among other organizations. Later, JILDP will launch a contest to select NGOs and consulting companies to facilitate strategic planning through an approach based on gender equality and human rights in JILDP target-communities (10 villages and 10 towns). The Joint Integrated Local Development Program assists the Moldovan Government in the process of decentralization and local autonomy strengthening. It is implemented with the help of UNDP, UN Women and with financial support of the Government of Sweden.