MALI, Bamako – Most development aid organizations are juggling two needs: the ones from the beneficiaries on the ground, and the ones from the donor organization at the head quarters. NCA in Mali was no exception. One way to bring these needs together was by organizing a workshop for all local partner organizations involved. Due to the fact that most of our partner organizations were located 2 to 3 days drive from the capital it was no easy tasks to organize such an event.
To optimally use this workshop, both the monitoring & evaluation and the finance department were integrated to look at the various topics discussed. It was an enormous puzzle to get all actors involved in the same room at the same time with a similar idea of what would be happening. By planning this event on time, setting realistic goals and communicating clearly and regularly internally and externally to all stakeholders, it worked out well.
It was an intense week where all local partners were working closely with the relevant program officers of NCA. It created more coherence between the different projects of the partner organizations, and built bridges between the demands of the headquarters and the needs in the field. Many loose ends could be finalized, ensuring that deadlines where met.