Barbados ConSOC Making Strides in Project Development

Chairman of ConSOC, Lynette Holder could not contain her pleasure at the hosting of the first ever Barbados’ ConSOC event for the wider civil society groups on the island held at the Barbados Country Office.  Under her chairmanship the committee decided to have a number of capacity building activities of which this workshop Project Development: Building Capacity for Civil Society Organizations is the first of its kind.

IDB’s Chief of Operations, Christel Saab said that capacity building in project development was a crucial step to attain financial sustainability, which is most important for small civil society organizations. As such, she said that the IDB viewed the workshop as an opportunity for civil society to build long-term resiliency.

 Project Development

Regional development consultant Richard Jones facilitated the workshop.  He introduced the concept of project development and its role in the management of developmental projects from a practical perspective.  The project development cycle includes four phases, project initiation, project planning, project execution and project closure.  In the midst of these activities are project definition, detailed planning, monitoring and control and project review.  To successfully win a bid for a project one must be able to write a proposal from the perspective of the donor agency.  It is therefore critical to do a thorough research of the donor agency and ensure that its criteria are met.

Participants were required to work in teams to develop projects based on real life cases.  They had the opportunity to work on the current call for proposals for civil society from the Japan Special Fund Poverty Reduction Program in which selected projects would receive between $300,000 and $750,00 in funding.

 ConSOC Participants Feedback

The feedback from the participants was very positive.  Here is what Leshay Drayton, Admin Officer Events and Marketing of the Barbados Museum and Marisa Hutchinson Program Assistant Business and Professional Women Crisis Centre and Shelter had to say.