On February 28, 2014, eleven Azerbaijani civil society organizations (CSO) completed the Increasing Civil Society Organizations Effectiveness Training Program. The training was delivered by USAID’s Building Local Capacity for Development (BLCD) project from September 2013 through February 2014. The training focused on helping CSOs build practical skills and develop the tools and resources to enable them to implement development initiatives.

At the closing event, USAID Mission Director Brooke Isham emphasized the importance of such training that results in obtaining the knowledge and skills that are essential to manage a successful CSO.

BLCD Chief of Party Morana Smodlaka Krajnovic commented that “the project is very pleased that the training program also worked closely with seven local experts, who worked side-by-side with international experts, lending their subject-matter knowledge and training skills, to support the group in fulfilling the training program’s learning objectives.” Shahla Ismayil, the director of the partner CSO “Women Association for Rational Development”, evaluated the training program as “useful in its every component…We will revise all the procedures and policies of our organization after this knowledge; strategy, action, and communications plans will be improved.”

Institutional strengthening and capacity development of local CSOs is critical to ensuring that this group of organizations continues to play an important role delivering services and advocating the public’s interest in social and economic reforms. The training, delivered based on USAID’s Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD) methodology, combined instructional sessions with practical application. The training program was divided into six topics delivered in three formal training events (CSO Governance, Organizational Administration, and Financial Management; Human Resources Management; and Program Management).

By completing this training program, participants are now able to improve their organizational capacity, identify critical skills and knowledge needed to recruit staff, and improve financial and management efficiencies to implement results-oriented programs, including those funded by USAID.