Project Manager Training for context-specific capacity strengthening in Burkina Faso and Ghana

Client/Donor: Robert Bosch Foundation (RBF) 

Funding amount: 23.704,80 EUR 

Timeline: 10/2024-03/2025 

Location: Online 

Implementing partners: MatchLocal e.V. (Berlin, Germany), African Label Group (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso), Numeria e.V. (Berlin, Germany)

Participating organisations: AGEREF CL (Burkina Faso), Graine de Paix (Burkina Faso), NORTHCODE GHANA (Ghana)

Context

Violence in the Sahel region continues to rise, driven by terrorist groups, organised crime, and inter-communal conflict. What was once concentrated in Mali and Niger has now extended southwards into the northern parts of the Gulf of Guinea’s coastal states via Burkina Faso. The tri-border area between Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana is particularly affected. Hence, the Robert Bosch Foundation launched the KAPOK Peace Project to amplify the voices of communities most affected by violence in the Sahel region and to foster dialogue and trust both within communities and between local populations and state security actors. A core focus of the project is to recognise and strengthen traditional mechanisms for conflict resolution and to invest in long-term local capacity. Crucially, this includes not only technical skills but also organisational development as a cornerstone of institutional resilience. Strengthening these internal capacities is essential to ensure that three grantees of the KAPOK Peace Project - AGEREF CL, Graine de Paix and NORTHCODE GHANA - can continue to play a central role in peacebuilding since they bring extensive regional experience in conflict prevention, community mobilisation and peacebuilding.  

Project objective

The project aimed to support locally rooted and locally led organisations in the tri-border area to strengthen their strategic and organisational capacities through a demand-driven, participatory process that reflects their realities and addresses their needs. 

Project approach

MatchLocal e.V. developed a two-phased, modular training approach consisting of an initial organisational self-assessment followed by tailored workshops in key areas of organisational development and project management. Due to security risks and travel restrictions, the training was conducted online in English and French, including live interpretation.

Phase 1: Organisational Self-Assessment 

The first phase included a six-hour strategy and assessment workshop, centred around a comprehensive online self-assessment questionnaire developed by MatchLocal, which addressed key areas of organisational development (e.g. finance & accounting, fundraising, PMEAL, organisational structure, communications, etc.). By engaging in these activities, the local organisations reflected on their organisation’s internal strengths and external challenges, gaining a clearer understanding of the necessary steps to drive their growth trajectory. After analysing the results of both the workshop and self-assessment, MatchLocal, together with the local organisations, identified the most relevant and necessary modules for the subsequent skills development workshop series.   

Phase 2: Organisational Development Workshops 

The second phase consisted of six workshops, each addressing a key area of project management. The workshops were conceptualised to include interactive exercises and group discussions to foster peer-to-peer learning and provide a dynamic learning environment that allowed participants to directly apply new methods to their work. The following workshop topics were selected after phase 1: 

  • Programming, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (two workshops) 

  • Fundraising 

  • Organisational Structure 

  • Communication  

  • Finance and Accounting 

For this project MatchLocal also worked closely with its partners African Label Group, a Burkina Faso-based consulting company specialised in strategy development and NGO consultation, and Numeria e.V., a Berlin-based association specialised in supporting organisations in managing grants, who each delivered a module.  

After the workshop series, MatchLocal held a follow-up session to collectively reflect on the training. Together with the participants, the session focused on the progress made since the workshops, sharing changes implemented in their organisations, and identifying future learning needs.

Outcomes and Impact 

Unlike traditional, pre-packaged capacity-building models, MatchLocal applies a co-creative approach tailored to each organisation’s context. It focused on strengthening locally defined priorities, enabling partners to steer their own development journey while learning from one another. Participants reported increased clarity around internal roles, proactive engagement with donors, and first steps in implementing internal reforms. Beyond skills, the process fostered ownership, mutual trust, and a sense of collective progress.  

The Project Manager Training ultimately provided an opportunity for local organisations to enhance their organisational capacities and kick off a longer process of organisational development as foreseen by the Robert Bosch Foundation.