Irrespective of the sector of program implementation, Counterpart International engages in capacity building activities to support sustainability in that area.   

Civil society organizations (CSOs), which include non-government organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations, associations, users associations, think thanks, etc., are the building blocks of a strong civil society. CSOs can act as partners to the government for the provision of social services, and as societal watchdogs to ensure open and transparent governance at all levels. Counterpart International (Counterpart) has strengthened over 10,000 CSOs in the areas of:

• Governance and strategic management
• Financial sustainability
• External relations and communications
• Service development, management and quality control
• Human and material resources

Counterpart's participatory Organizational Certifications Process (OCP) helps civil society organizations ensure practical results and improvements that are tracked against Capacity Building Plans. To help organizations reach their institutional strengthening goals, local trainers instructed by Counterpart transfer needed skills in local languages, applying interactive techniques.

The "Civil Society Support Center" model pioneered by Counterpart is a one-stop-shop, providing management and technical services to civil society organizations, as well as government and business clients.  Most centers are located outside of the capital cities in order to achieve broad geographic outreach for civil society strengthening. Networks of 49 wholly independent centers now exist in four countries of Central Asia, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Examples:

• In Central Asia, Counterpart established a regional network of 35 Civil Society Support Centers in all 5 republics, which provide demand-driven quality services to a wide range of clients, including NGOs, governments, businesses, communities, international NGOs, and donors. 
• In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Counterpart led national associations of CSSCs through our Organizational Certification Process (OCP) Methodology, a combination of an organizational development audit and strategic planning process.  At the conclusion of this process, Counterpart certified that ARGO (the CSSC association in Kazakhstan) and ACSSC (the Association of Civil Society Support Centers in Kyrgyzstan) meet programmatic, governance and financial standards for direct contracting with USAID and other international donors.

Photo: © Kyla Springer/Counterpart International.