Building Governance Capacity at the Organizational Level: Facilitating Local Ownership in Zambia

Abstract

This case example presents a small Zambian non-profit, non-governmental organization poised to transition from a sub-grantee, to the prime grantee of PEPFAR funding. During a two year period from 2010 to 2012, the organization received an initial assessment of transition readiness, technical assistance, and re-assessment. In the context of the PEPFAR re-authorization and the mandated transfer of programs to local ownership this case uses assessment reports, interview responses and surveys to identify lessons learned in relation to 1) assessment methods used to identify capacity needs, 2) the delivery of technical assistance and 3) outcome evaluation feedback. These lessons may be beneficial to other local organizations interested in building governance capacity or donor organizations looking to build the capacity of grantees to better manage large dollar grants from international donors.