Training in the South

Training and consultancy are important parts of KEPA's work in field offices in Mozambique, Nicaragua and Tanzania.

The exact nature of such training varies from country to country, according to local needs.

In Mozambique, for instance, KEPA typically organises 10-15 courses a year on topics ranging from project administration to advocacy work; whereas in Tanzania KEPA supports the training provided for local NGOs by the Tanzanian NGO umbrella organisation.

Training in the South is mainly designed to meet the needs of the local partners of Finnish NGOs and KEPA. KEPA's field staff also provide training and advice for other local NGOs in order to help strengthen civil society and increase awareness of KEPA.

KEPA's programme officers and project advisors assess the need for training in consultation with local NGOs and their Finnish partners. Many NGOs require help with their organisational structure, financial administration, and project management all the way from the planning stage to final evaluations. The requirements of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and other wider trends in development issues must also be considered.

Recent trends in gender mainstreaming have led to an increase in the number of courses with themes related to equality, and advocacy work related to development policies is also becoming an increasingly prominent theme in training.

Finnish NGOs' partners are also often provided with advice on specific projects, and tailor-made courses are occasionally designed to deal with problematic issues. KEPA's programme officers and project advisors regularly visit Finnish-funded projects to oversee progress on behalf of the northern NGOs involved.

Examples of training provided by Kepa field offices in the South:

• Financial procedures
• Information planning workshop
• IT know-how (2 courses)
• Project budgeting (2 courses)
• Financial administration (2 courses)
• Internet searching skills (2 courses)
• Capacity-enhancing / sensitisation on agricultural policies and agro-forestry for small-scale farmers (2 courses)
• Policy work advocacy
• Report writing

• Video production and photography as reporting formats
• Managing change and risk
• Website design
• Agroforestry forum on the sustainable use of land, agricultural policies and agroforestry, and their impacts on food security

Total number of persons attending training: 296
Total number of organisations involved: 39
Total number of training days: 71
Average number of participants per course: 14.4
Average length of course (days): 3.1