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Key Factors That Influence Sustainability of Community Based Advocacy Groups After Phaseout of Donor Support

Received: 7 December 2020     Accepted: 15 December 2020     Published: 25 December 2020
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Abstract

It is the wish of every stakeholder to see that donor supported structures such as community-based advocacy groups (CBAGs) continue to operate beyond donor support. Various studies show that donor-initiated structures which are often instituted at huge costs experience difficulties with regards to sustainability. This is because such structures reportedly cease to operate after their initial funding runs out resulting into wastage of human and financial resources that could have been invested effectively. However, there is dearth of information regarding the extent to which donor-initiated advocacy groups continue to serve the grassroots, years after phasing out of the donor support. The present study investigated the sustainability of CBAGs, taking a case of advocacy groups initiated and supported by DanChurchAid (DCA) in Malawi. Specifically, the study identified key factors that influence continued operation of CBAGs after years of donor cessation. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used to collect data from 226 respondents and 16 CBAGs sampled from Karonga, Dowa, Lilongwe, Mwanza and Neno districts from May to June 2020. Secondary data provided preliminary information and cross-validation of information. Descriptive statistics, logit regression and Critical Content Analysis were used to analyze the data. The study identified nine factors that are essential for continued operation of CBAGs namely age of the respondent, marital status of respondent, responsiveness of duty bearers, availability of basic systems and procedures, unity among members, community contribution, linkages and networking, fundraising skills, and availability of exit strategy. It was also noted that need to end corruption, increased prevalence of community problems, and expectation for future benefits were key motivators for members to continue serving in the CBAGs, years after donor support. The study recommends the need to encourage supporting organisations to develop exit strategies which would help to concretize the phasing out plan for supporting the CBAGs. Donors and well-wishers should consider investing in the weak institutional areas of the CBAGs such as organization registration, fundraising and organization systems and procedures which are critical to the institutionalization of the CBAGs. Finally, supporting organisations should design integrated advocacy interventions that achieves advocacy agenda without compromising the personal needs of the CBAGs members. This would require supporting the members with livelihoods activities which will in turn offer immediate needs as the members pursue advocacy work.

Published in International Journal of Sustainable Development Research (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13
Page(s) 73-79
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sustainability, Community Based Advocacy Groups, Advocacy Work, Enabling Factors, Motivating Factors

References
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  • APA Style

    William Kholongo, Edward Lambert, Emmanuel Kaunda, Sam Katengeza, Anthony Malunga. (2020). Key Factors That Influence Sustainability of Community Based Advocacy Groups After Phaseout of Donor Support. International Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 6(4), 73-79. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13

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    ACS Style

    William Kholongo; Edward Lambert; Emmanuel Kaunda; Sam Katengeza; Anthony Malunga. Key Factors That Influence Sustainability of Community Based Advocacy Groups After Phaseout of Donor Support. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. Res. 2020, 6(4), 73-79. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13

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    AMA Style

    William Kholongo, Edward Lambert, Emmanuel Kaunda, Sam Katengeza, Anthony Malunga. Key Factors That Influence Sustainability of Community Based Advocacy Groups After Phaseout of Donor Support. Int J Sustain Dev Res. 2020;6(4):73-79. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13,
      author = {William Kholongo and Edward Lambert and Emmanuel Kaunda and Sam Katengeza and Anthony Malunga},
      title = {Key Factors That Influence Sustainability of Community Based Advocacy Groups After Phaseout of Donor Support},
      journal = {International Journal of Sustainable Development Research},
      volume = {6},
      number = {4},
      pages = {73-79},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsdr.20200604.13},
      abstract = {It is the wish of every stakeholder to see that donor supported structures such as community-based advocacy groups (CBAGs) continue to operate beyond donor support. Various studies show that donor-initiated structures which are often instituted at huge costs experience difficulties with regards to sustainability. This is because such structures reportedly cease to operate after their initial funding runs out resulting into wastage of human and financial resources that could have been invested effectively. However, there is dearth of information regarding the extent to which donor-initiated advocacy groups continue to serve the grassroots, years after phasing out of the donor support. The present study investigated the sustainability of CBAGs, taking a case of advocacy groups initiated and supported by DanChurchAid (DCA) in Malawi. Specifically, the study identified key factors that influence continued operation of CBAGs after years of donor cessation. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used to collect data from 226 respondents and 16 CBAGs sampled from Karonga, Dowa, Lilongwe, Mwanza and Neno districts from May to June 2020. Secondary data provided preliminary information and cross-validation of information. Descriptive statistics, logit regression and Critical Content Analysis were used to analyze the data. The study identified nine factors that are essential for continued operation of CBAGs namely age of the respondent, marital status of respondent, responsiveness of duty bearers, availability of basic systems and procedures, unity among members, community contribution, linkages and networking, fundraising skills, and availability of exit strategy. It was also noted that need to end corruption, increased prevalence of community problems, and expectation for future benefits were key motivators for members to continue serving in the CBAGs, years after donor support. The study recommends the need to encourage supporting organisations to develop exit strategies which would help to concretize the phasing out plan for supporting the CBAGs. Donors and well-wishers should consider investing in the weak institutional areas of the CBAGs such as organization registration, fundraising and organization systems and procedures which are critical to the institutionalization of the CBAGs. Finally, supporting organisations should design integrated advocacy interventions that achieves advocacy agenda without compromising the personal needs of the CBAGs members. This would require supporting the members with livelihoods activities which will in turn offer immediate needs as the members pursue advocacy work.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Key Factors That Influence Sustainability of Community Based Advocacy Groups After Phaseout of Donor Support
    AU  - William Kholongo
    AU  - Edward Lambert
    AU  - Emmanuel Kaunda
    AU  - Sam Katengeza
    AU  - Anthony Malunga
    Y1  - 2020/12/25
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13
    T2  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JF  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JO  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    SP  - 73
    EP  - 79
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1832
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200604.13
    AB  - It is the wish of every stakeholder to see that donor supported structures such as community-based advocacy groups (CBAGs) continue to operate beyond donor support. Various studies show that donor-initiated structures which are often instituted at huge costs experience difficulties with regards to sustainability. This is because such structures reportedly cease to operate after their initial funding runs out resulting into wastage of human and financial resources that could have been invested effectively. However, there is dearth of information regarding the extent to which donor-initiated advocacy groups continue to serve the grassroots, years after phasing out of the donor support. The present study investigated the sustainability of CBAGs, taking a case of advocacy groups initiated and supported by DanChurchAid (DCA) in Malawi. Specifically, the study identified key factors that influence continued operation of CBAGs after years of donor cessation. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used to collect data from 226 respondents and 16 CBAGs sampled from Karonga, Dowa, Lilongwe, Mwanza and Neno districts from May to June 2020. Secondary data provided preliminary information and cross-validation of information. Descriptive statistics, logit regression and Critical Content Analysis were used to analyze the data. The study identified nine factors that are essential for continued operation of CBAGs namely age of the respondent, marital status of respondent, responsiveness of duty bearers, availability of basic systems and procedures, unity among members, community contribution, linkages and networking, fundraising skills, and availability of exit strategy. It was also noted that need to end corruption, increased prevalence of community problems, and expectation for future benefits were key motivators for members to continue serving in the CBAGs, years after donor support. The study recommends the need to encourage supporting organisations to develop exit strategies which would help to concretize the phasing out plan for supporting the CBAGs. Donors and well-wishers should consider investing in the weak institutional areas of the CBAGs such as organization registration, fundraising and organization systems and procedures which are critical to the institutionalization of the CBAGs. Finally, supporting organisations should design integrated advocacy interventions that achieves advocacy agenda without compromising the personal needs of the CBAGs members. This would require supporting the members with livelihoods activities which will in turn offer immediate needs as the members pursue advocacy work.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Business and Economics, Atlantic International University, Honolulu, USA

  • School of Business and Economics, Atlantic International University, Honolulu, USA

  • Faculty of Development Studies, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi

  • Faculty of Development Studies, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi

  • Research Unit, Generation Institute of Gender and Development, Lilongwe, Malawi

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