How can NGO partnerships support community- led development?: RACoP Second Thematic Event

6 JUNE, TUESDAY, 11H AM CET

NGO partnerships can play a vital role in supporting community-led development through various initiatives and strategies. Partnerships with NGOs enable communities to access funding, expertise, and technical assistance. This support can help community organizations develop more effective and sustainable programs and strengthen their capacity to manage projects and resources. NGO partnerships can also facilitate collaboration between communities and other actors, such as government agencies, private sector entities, and academia. This can lead to increased knowledge exchange, shared resources, and greater collective impact in addressing complex development challenges.

We invite you to join us at the second thematic event of the Regional Accountability Community of Practice (RACoP) group and dive deep into the concept of “community-led” development in the Balkans and, by sharing international examples, examine how it can create real, lasting change. By exploring what community-led looks like in practice, participants will exchange ideas about NGOs’ commitment toward community-led development and learn how to connect with the communities they serve with more meaningful long-term impact.

	AGENDA
11:00-11:10	WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION BCSDN ЕО
11:10-11:20	EXPLORING COMMUNITY-LED DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICAN CONTEXT Guest speaker: Ms. Christine Mbito (Viwango – Kenyan Civil Society Organisations’ Self-Regulatory Initiative)
11:20-11:30	PRACTICAL EXERCISE: CORE PRINCIPLES FOR A COMMUNITY-LED APPROACH RACoP members invited to join online exercise
11:30-11:45	TOWARD COMMUNITY- LED DEVELOPMENT: SHARING REGIONAL CONTEXT Ms. Dragoslava Barzut (Civic Initiatives) Ms. Liljana Jonoski (Rural Coalition) + Experience shared from RACoP members Questions for *participants’* *reflections:*** – What does “community‑led” look like in practice? – How community-led development can create meaningful change in the Balkans? – What tools can we use to determine the “community-led” of the NGOs/ NGO partnerships? – How do communities in the Balkans experience a connection between community‑led organizations and long‑term impact?
11:45-11:55	Q&A Session
11:55-12:00	Conclusions and Next Steps