UNDP Small Grants Programme Evaluation Report June 2011

The balance between independence and dependenceUNDP staff was attentive to grantee needs, responsive to requests for assistance, andparticipated as much as possible in grantee events. There was a sense of comfort andpartnership established between the UNDP SGP Coordinator and most granteeorganizations. Nevertheless, it does seem that the degree of dependency on anddecision-making power of UNDP staff was higher than might be optimal. One of the aimsof the SGP is to strengthen civil society organizations by building their capacity to identifythe needs of their communities and more firmly establish their organizations so that thoseneeds can be met at local levels in ways designed and implemented by local people. Thebalance between encouraging local agency and capacity, even when it might mean thingsfail, and providing advice and assistance from outside, is a difficult balance to find.It is clear that there are capacity issues with most of the grantee organizations who are apart of the UNDP SGP. It is also evident that participating in the UNDP SGP did help buildcapacity in many of the organizations beyond the life of the grant. All donors andmanagers of other development efforts in Trinidad and Tobago interviewed in thisevaluation process commented on this lack of capacity. Many people referred to theneed to “hold hands” with civil society groups if they are to succeed. Given that most ofthe grantees that are part of the UNDP SGP are run solely with volunteer labour andcomprised of local membership, that balance is likely to continue to be a challenge. It hasbeen essential to some grantees that they have someone to ask or commiserate with asthey undertook the work that was funded. Active listening is central to a local capacitybuildingprogramme such as this. The question to continue to ask and put into practice ishow to build local agency, when to speak and when to remain silent, and how tosystematically build on what is being learned and experienced.Capacity DevelopmentAs mentioned above, UNDP SGP Coordinator held primary responsibility for building thecapacity of participating organizations outside formal workshops that engagedprofessional consultants. This took the form of trainings and informal exchange,prompted by grantees and by UNDP itself. Without clear guidelines for this technicalinput or organizational benchmarks to judge its success, it is difficult to be sure howeffective these inputs were beyond building capacity to meet the grant reporting andexecution requirements. Grantees do report that they are stronger after participating inthe programmes and learning how to report on their work. Many have gained skill andconfidence. However, organizational capacity and sustainability can only be trulymeasured if the organizations themselves have participated in defining theirorganizational goals and determining the indicators they will use to measure meetingthose goals.“UNDP was our gateway,” claims a leader of birdsong Steel Orchestra, “It forced us todevelop disciplines that gave us access to others later.”Resource mobilizationUNDP and the NSC had limited success mobilizing additional programme-level funds forthe UNDP SGP. When approached, government ministry staff were reported to have saidEvaluation Report UNDP Small Grants Programme June 201125