Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT)

Providing capacity strengthening support to selected civil society organizations to improve their institutional mechanisms through coaching and mentoring support.

The Challenge

How might we work with Business Membership Organizations in Lagos to increase productivity by enhancing their organizational systems and sustainability mechanisms?

Like Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) act as intermediaries between the public and private sector. When they work effectively, they can identify pain points in the business environment, formulate evidence-based policy proposals, and advocate for business-friendly laws and regulations.

In Nigeria however, BMOs have not done a good job in promoting a better business environment. Most BMOs in the country are known to have weak financial, human, and organizational resources and so are unable to effectively act as drivers of change. Also, they operate within a weak and complex regulatory framework, which puts their accountability and credibility in question.

The SOLUTION

The Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) program was designed by the EU in response to the identified need to invest in, and engage with civil society organizations.

In partnership with the British Council, Made Culture:

• Developed a coaching program for members of our select BMO - The Gberigbe Barbers, Hairdressers, and Cosmetologists Association (GBHCA) - focused on action-led activities that built on project management, strategy, policy, and monitoring & evaluation capacities.

• Designed an M&E framework that built evidence on what works and in what conditions to contribute to local resource strengthening and greater self-reliance.

The outcome

As a result of the coaching program, members of the Gberigbe Barbers, Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association (GBHCA) were able to:

• Articulate the organization’s vision and mission, recognize the activities most relevant to its goals and understand how the various parts of the organization work in synergy to achieve the organization’s long-term objectives.

• Develop a stakeholder analysis to understand their various stakeholders.

• Understand the relevance of coordination in advocacy, and how to target their advocacy messaging taking the stakeholders capabilities into consideration.

• Develop a one-year action plan that will guide the association’s activities towards offering more value to its members.