Belarus Organizational Development Support ProgramThe ODS program approaches the development of civil society in Belarus as a long-term process. The focus of the ODS program is to revitalize civil society and strengthen independent media as sectors, not simply a campaign. Building civil society in Belarus, beyond government and business, requires strong leadership, a commitment to sustainable organizational development, and active CSOs to engage those actors willing to contribute to the development and transformation of Belarus. Thus, the ODS program emphasizes organizational strengthening, constituency-building, and support for policy and advocacy initiatives. Pact and its consortium partners have focused less on “one-off’ projects. Instead it favors the weaving of strategic networks and developing civic capacity in key sectors, through what is referred to as a sectoral approach to civil society strengthening. Sectors that the ODS program engages in include environment, media, legal aid and human rights, educational and cultural activities, entrepreneurship, regional development, the policy analysis community, trade unions, women and youth initiatives.
Pact sees its main challenge as changing the way civil society thinks of itself, moving away from an identity that associates itself with victimization and confrontational activities, and moving toward joining the mainstream and thinking about sustainability. Aiming to strengthen public policy and influence public opinion, ODS operates on three main pillars that make up the methodology for project implementation:
Through the sectoral development approach, the first pillar, Pact nurtures sectoral leadership by providing institutional support to key cohort CSOs and for emerging organizations.
Capacity building, the second pillar, focuses on strengthening local capacity builders through three development components:
· the Marketplace Program creates an online marketplace where the local organizations seeking capacity building services will find local providers at the best possible combination of time, price and conditions.
· the Fellowship is an advanced, needs-based educational program for young civil society leaders. It is focused on networking, increasing the capacity of participants, and generating tangible sectoral outputs. The fellowship is strengthened by partnership with local training providers.
· the Community of Practice forms a community of practitioners that can work together to exchange skills and knowledge needed for an effective civil society to function and focus on sectoral issues.
Aiding the grassroots is the third pillar, by which Pact supports local and regional media and civil society through a small grants program known as the Community and Media Development Fund (www.cmdfund.org).
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