TRUSTAFRICA

Program: Democracy & Civil Society

Program Description:

Engaging Citizens in Democratic Governance

TrustAfrica works to secure the conditions for democracy by strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations.

Program Long-Term Success:

At TrustAfrica, we believe that an active citizenry is an essential part of a prospering, sustainable, and democratic society. Voting is typically the most visible way for people to engage in public life, but elections alone are not sufficient. To hold public officials accountable, citizens need timely access to information about the workings of government as well as the freedom to come together to advocate on their own behalf. The state, in turn, has a duty to honor their concerns and act on them responsibly.

Yet in many parts of Africa, nominally democratic regimes exclude, marginalize, or diminish the role of various social and economic groups. They engage citizens in ways that are largely symbolic, rather than allowing for the real and meaningful participation of autonomous and competent actors.

The recent proliferation of civil society organizations in Africa holds great promise for strengthening democracy, but these groups’ efforts frequently fall short due to lack of coordination, duplication of efforts, competing agendas, perceptions of elitism, and insufficient transparency. The sector is also hampered by poor collaboration among groups working at the national, regional, and continental levels; heavy reliance on northern donors; and institutional weaknesses that make it difficult to recruit and retain skilled staff and to develop medium- and long-term program strategies. Even more troubling is the recent spate of government efforts to proscribe the work of civil society groups through cynical and oppressive regulations.

Program Short-Term Success:

TrustAfrica seeks to build the capacity of civil society organizations to advocate for democratic governance and equitable development. We support groups and coalitions working to:

• Monitor national policies on key issues—including freedom of association, freedom of expression, free movement of people, and civic participation in setting development priorities—and conduct advocacy campaigns aimed at securing and safeguarding the right to exercise these freedoms. We also back efforts to combat policies that fuel xenophobia and religious intolerance.
• Engage regional institutions to improve the application of democratic norms and standards, such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance.
• Augment their advocacy skills and increase their access to policy makers. We provide financial support and technical assistance to help organizations in countries with particularly fragile democracies, as well as those in post-conflict countries, to attain requisite competencies.
• Improve their accountability and transparency and broaden their constituencies of support, in part by reaching out to Africa’s private sector as a potential ally in strengthening democracy.

Program Success Monitored by:

TrustAfrica routinely monitors and documents the results produced by its grants, convenings, and partnership building activities, primarily using a case studies approach that captures lessons learned in compelling narratives. As part of TrustAfrica’s results measurement system, each program activity undergoes rigorous monitoring and evaluation from inception to post-completion. Based on each project’s objectives, a comprehensive logic model is developed showing the activities, outputs, outcomes and impact that help achieve program objectives. These are defined and measured using indicators developed by TrustAfrica for each type of intervention

On a continuous basis, TrustAfrica monitors its program activities using a portfolio management database that is designed to collect and analyze information/results. Every six months a program update report is prepared showing key activities during the reporting period, key risks and how they are being mitigated. As a self-assessment process, TrustAfrica reviews and rates all program development impact results against targets, project expenditure against budget, and the achievement of deliverables against previously established timeframes. TrustAfrica has a network of program advisors and experts located in the various sub-regions of Africa, who help TrustAfrica to track local developments and connect with grantee-partners on an ongoing basis. Program staff and communication specialists also produce case studies of notable work that TrustAfrica has supported across Africa. In addition to these monitoring activities, TrustAfrica conducts rigorous triennial reviews of its program work to identify relevant lessons and results.

Program Success Examples:

Our civil society work encompasses several flagship initiatives, including one aimed at strengthening African regional organizations. We believe that bodies like the AMU, CEN-SAD, COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, and SADC can play a vital role in improving the economic climate and ensuring collective security—provided they are open to input from civil society groups. We have conducted a study, convened workshops, and forged partnerships aimed at realizing this vision.

We are also preparing to launch a civil society resource center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Co-funded by the Open Society Institute, it is designed to provide civil society organizations with technical assistance and travel support so they can engage the African Union in a more effective manner.

Our partnership to strengthen civil society in Liberia, a joint venture with Humanity United, provides funding, technical assistance, and peer-learning opportunities so that civil society organizations in Liberia can become more effective advocates for democracy and development.

Our religious pluralism initiative seeks to strengthen the role of religion in promoting pluralism, tolerance, and dialogue across Africa. TrustAfrica is one of the few independent, secular sources of support for work on these issues in Africa. Although genuine interfaith dialogue is rare, we see real potential to advance African development and democratization by engaging with religious groups.

We have begun to develop an electronic clearinghouse for sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices on democratic governance. This work is part of a collaborative effort involving the Open Society Institute, UNESCO, IDRC, Panos, and CODESRIA.

Program: Equitable Development

Program Description:

Fostering Broadly Shared Prosperity

TrustAfrica supports initiatives to foster African enterprise and extend the benefits of economic growth to all members of society.

Program Long-Term Success:

The lives and livelihoods of Africa’s people are shaped to a great extent by the vitality of its economy—how easily workers can find gainful and fulfilling employment, how readily businesses can clear bureaucratic hurdles and find capital to grow, and how broadly prosperity is shared. Reforms at the national level could go a long way in expanding these opportunities. Greater public investment in education and training, for example, could cultivate a more productive and innovative workforce, while clearer regulations and more coherent legal frameworks could help small and medium-sized enterprises get off the ground. Stronger regional institutions and policies that recognize the significance of informal and cross-border trade could also spur economic development in ways that alleviate poverty.

Africa’s relationship to the global economy also presents acute challenges, as evidenced by its lack of influence within the World Trade Organization. Although the continent is home to 13 percent of the world's population, it commands less than two percent of world trade and less than one percent of global investment. These disparities reflect not only the small scale of many of our national economies, but also severe inequalities and exploitative relationships embedded in the global economy. Fostering African enterprise and entrepreneurship can help the continent overcome its heavy reliance on businesses rooted overseas.

The mounting consensus that the continent needs “trade, not aid” points the way forward. Already many African nations are growing their economies at a rapid pace, and investors are beginning to see the promise their stock exchanges and capital markets hold. While creating new wealth is critical, it must be done sustainably and equitably—in ways that minimize environmental impacts and extend the benefits of development to all members of society. Realizing the Millennium Development Goals and achieving broadly shared prosperity will also require governments to prioritize such areas as education and health, as recommended by civil society initiatives like the “15% Now!” Campaign.

Program Short-Term Success:

TrustAfrica supports research, analysis, and advocacy to:

• Identify and mitigate barriers to public investments and policies that produce sustainable and equitable benefits.
• Document and disseminate best practices in investment promotion and private-sector development across Africa.
• Harmonize national policies to stimulate regional trade and investment.

Program Success Monitored by:

TrustAfrica routinely monitors and documents the results produced by its grants, convenings, and partnership building activities, primarily using a case studies approach that captures lessons learned in compelling narratives. As part of TrustAfrica’s results measurement system, each program activity undergoes rigorous monitoring and evaluation from inception to post-completion. Based on each project’s objectives, a comprehensive logic model is developed showing the activities, outputs, outcomes and impact that help achieve program objectives. These are defined and measured using indicators developed by TrustAfrica for each type of intervention.

On a continuous basis, TrustAfrica monitors its program activities using a portfolio management database that is designed to collect and analyze information/results. Every six months a program update report is prepared showing key activities during the reporting period, key risks and how they are being mitigated. As a self-assessment process, TrustAfrica reviews and rates all program development impact results against targets, project expenditure against budget, and the achievement of deliverables against previously established timeframes. TrustAfrica has a network of program advisors and experts located in the various sub-regions of Africa, who help TrustAfrica to track local developments and connect with grantee-partners on an ongoing basis. Program staff and communication specialists also produce case studies of notable work that TrustAfrica has supported across Africa. In addition to these monitoring activities, TrustAfrica conducts rigorous triennial reviews of its program work to identify relevant lessons and results.

Program Success Examples:

One of our core initiatives in this area aims to cultivate a more favorable investment climate and a more fertile business environment in Africa through research and advocacy. In partnership with the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Foundation for Sustainable Enterprise and Development (FSED), we award competitive research grants, conduct training workshops, and forge partnerships between business schools and private-sector organizations to contribute to a sustainable and equitable investment climate and business environment in Africa. The researchers we support through this initiative, known as the Investment Climate and Business Environment (ICBE) Research Fund, are analyzing such issues as regulation and reform in procurement; investment and corporate governance; supply chains and the informal sector; public and private sector partnerships; capital markets and foreign direct investments; energy and poverty in rural areas; and the creation and growth of youth and women enterprises.
We also provide financial support and technical assistance to civil society organizations that advocate for equitable development policies, economic reforms that improve human security, and more favorable terms for international and global trade. One of our grantees is conducting research and advocacy on the East African Community, focusing on the political economy of federation. Another is working to build the capacity of civil society groups to engage the media on issues of African integration related to the debate on the proposed Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union.

TrustAfrica has also supported a network of six leading institutions in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt that are conducting the research and advocacy needed to align economic policies across regions—with an emphasis on fair trade, regional investment, and the free movement of private citizens. This network enables countries large and small (like Senegal and Gambia, or South Africa and Lesotho) to align their cross-border trade and investment and judiciously coordinate their responses to global trade and investment trends.

Program: African Philanthropy

Program Description:

Cultivating African Resources for Democracy and Development

TrustAfrica leverages new and traditional forms of African giving to advance democracy and development and to minimize reliance on external donors.

Program Long-Term Success:

Africa’s epic struggle for independence is one of the most remarkable human achievements of the last century, but winning formal sovereignty was only a first step toward achieving peace, democracy, and development. Although colonialism is dead, continued reliance on money from abroad consistently weakens Africans’ ability to set their own priorities and policies for development. Foreign donors, from global financial institutions to national governments to private foundations, still wield considerable power throughout the continent. Structural adjustment programs directed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for example, set strict conditions for countries seeking new loans or lower interest rates. Even the most well-meaning funders exert subtle and unintentional forms of influence over the state institutions and civil society groups they support.

Cultivating indigenous philanthropic resources can help offset the influence of these external donors. Africa is already home to a deep-rooted culture of giving and mutual support, though it operates mostly at the family and community levels. Efforts to reenergize these traditions, and extend their reach, could give civil society organizations greater leverage with funders overseas as well as wary governments here at home. At the same time, strong economic growth in many parts of Africa is creating new pockets of wealth. With them has come a new generation of African philanthropists and a new set of formal philanthropic institutions—including corporate, private, and community foundations—that can play a vital role in sustaining African initiatives for democratic governance and equitable development.

Program Short-Term Success:

TrustAfrica seeks to align external philanthropic resources with African agendas as well as to cultivate indigenous resources that support the continent’s own priorities for democracy and development. We provide funding and technical assistance to:

• Build and disseminate knowledge about the role and potential of philanthropy through research, publications, and convenings.
• Facilitate collaboration among African philanthropic institutions to advance democratization and to minimize the dependence of civil society organizations on external donors.

Program Success Monitored by:

TrustAfrica routinely monitors and documents the results produced by its grants, convenings, and partnership building activities, primarily using a case studies approach that captures lessons learned in compelling narratives. As part of TrustAfrica’s results measurement system, each program activity undergoes rigorous monitoring and evaluation from inception to post-completion. Based on each project’s objectives, a comprehensive logic model is developed showing the activities, outputs, outcomes and impact that help achieve program objectives. These are defined and measured using indicators developed by TrustAfrica for each type of intervention

On a continuous basis, TrustAfrica monitors its program activities using a portfolio management database that is designed to collect and analyze information/results. Every six months a program update report is prepared showing key activities during the reporting period, key risks and how they are being mitigated. As a self-assessment process, TrustAfrica reviews and rates all program development impact results against targets, project expenditure against budget, and the achievement of deliverables against previously established timeframes. TrustAfrica has a network of program advisors and experts located in the various sub-regions of Africa, who help TrustAfrica to track local developments and connect with grantee-partners on an ongoing basis. Program staff and communication specialists also produce case studies of notable work that TrustAfrica has supported across Africa. In addition to these monitoring activities, TrustAfrica conducts rigorous triennial reviews of its program work to identify relevant lessons and results.

Program Success Examples:

One of our first major efforts in this area has been to develop a publication series assessing The State of Philanthropy in Africa. It reflects on theoretical and philosophical as well as historical and cultural underpinnings of the field and explores its relation to civil society, the state, regional organizations, and Africans in the diaspora.

We have also supported field research on community foundations and convened workshops and conferences to facilitate the development and launch of the African Grantmakers Network. Our partners include the African Women’s Development Fund, Foundation for Civil Society, Kenya Community Development Foundation, Mozambique Community Development Foundation, Southern Africa Trust, Uthungulu Community Development Foundation, and Youssou Ndour Foundation.