EntreMundos Capacity Building Workshop Series
Evaluation Report 2007
Areas of Success
The 2007 workshop series has accomplished all of its goals and has had a positive impact in all of the participating organisations. We have watched organisations that came in with very little organisational experience obtain the skills and tools they need to succeed in asset mapping, strategic planning, volunteer management, project planning, fundraising, grant writing, publicity, IT and web skills as well as financial management.
Other Areas of Success
We provided guides which, while basic, were sufficiently thorough enough to allow the delegates to gain an understanding of the course material as well as allowing them to replicate the training within their organisation. The guides were developed specifically to be self-explanatory, with enough examples and clear steps to eliminate the confusion which surrounds some of the technical elements of management. We have been told by many organisations that they took the manual back with them and, through it, were able to train more of their staff after attending our workshop.
The timing of the workshops was also deemed to be effective. After prior consultations with participating organisations, the sessions where designed to last just half a day, as many of the organisations are short staffed and had expressed concerns over taking a full day off for training purposes. It also prevented participants becoming too overloaded with new information and therefore maintained the overall effectiveness of the workshops.
The space which we used for the workshops is the courtyard in our offices, a very spacious area and ideal for such events. However it was open to the elements and, as a result, uncomfortable for many participants during the first few weeks. As a response to this we found a solution which was both economical and effective. We constructed a clear patio covering to keep out the rain and the strong UV rays while still allowing light and air flow. After the construction of the roof we received a lot of positive feedback on the improvements.
Improved networking between local NGOs as well as providing the opportunity to develop better relationships with new organisations, were both identified as additional benefits of the workshops. Several of the organisations which met at the workshops have begun collaborating on projects together and we have also personally become aware of the strengths and needs of many more of our partner organisations.
Developing the workshop guides has also been a boon to the resource centre of EntreMundos and the participating non-profits. The guides can be used by anyone regardless of whether they participated or not. It is also a simple way for us to help organisations who couldn’t participate in the workshop.
Unexpected Outcomes
We were delighted to see the organisations be so motivated to work with one another during and after the workshops. We distributed the names and contacts of the participants so they could maintain contact after the workshops. As mentioned previously, we are pleased to report that many have maintained contact with each other and some have begun working together on joint projects.
Another unexpected result was the training of a number of youths to develop grant writing skills. A professor at a local university contacted us asking to allow some students to participate in the workshop so they could help local NGOs write grants and to help them with their mission and vision. We only had a few young people participate but they learned useful skills to help the community
Project Indicators
Post-Exit Reports: After the completion of each workshop, EntreMundos facilitators distributed a comment sheet to participants with a request that they reflect on what they have learnt during the day's events, and what they would change about the execution and/or presentation of the development information in the future. The participants responded very positively about both the information received and the format of the workshops.
As a result of the evaluation forms, we subsequently altered the workshops to include more activities, examples and exercises to make the concepts of non-profit management easier to understand. We also improved the space we use for conferences because participants complained of the exposure to the elements. Other alterations included diversifying the facilitators, providing more comfortable chairs and using a projector for the presentations. In addition to modifications in the workshops, the post-exit reports also provided us with new ideas for future workshops including leadership skills, eco-tourism and asset mapping.
Before and after each workshop the facilitators discussed the workshop, its successes as well as areas requiring improvement or alteration. Two meetings were held before each workshop and then one after with the facilitators to discuss the best way to structure the workshop and how to improve it in the future. Suggestions for future workshops were then included in the work books, presentations and file.
EntreMundos has maintained and developed relationships with the participating organisations. We have visited 59 of the organisations in the past 6 months to monitor how they are progressing, how we can best collaborate and what their current needs are. We are in contact with 90% of our organisations via e-mail and 95% via phone. We have had in-office consultations with 43 organisations to give advice on new projects, give feedback on grant applications and help build networks within the non-profit community.
In our original proposal we intended to reach 200-250 delegates from 50 - 70 organisations. We have trained 183 delegates from 60 organisations. Below is the list of participating organisations and the numbers of participants at each workshop.
Organisations that participated in the workshops
El Nahual, COLONIQ, Clara Fantasía, Fundación Derechos de la Mujer, ASOMADIS, Ecologic Development Fund, VIM, PMG, VerdeEsfera, Health Unlimited, Juventude K’iche’, Gente Joven Guatemala, Casa Dona Flor, Embajadores Medicos, Centro de Education Indigena, Proyecto 54, Asociación Integral de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Mancomunidad Los Altos, Casa de Restauración Comunión, Asociación de Mujeres del Altiplano, Cooperación San Luis, ALIMONSA, Trama Textiles, Fundap, EDELAC, Radio Palestina, Mujlo’ab’l Yol, Asociación Juvenil Kaj Ulew, Dulzura Sterio, Saqonak , Pastoral de la Tierra, Safe Stove Project, Asociación Payaso, Nueva Alianza, Colegio de Agronomos, Asociacio Maya Mam de Investigación y Desarollo, Proyecto Ruth y Noemí, ASSCA, SERJUS, ACOICAPEP, Red Kuchub’al, Hospitalito Atitlan, Pueblo a Pueblo, Asociación Kaslimaal, Centro Cultural La Esperanza, Asociación Agua del Pueblo, Asociación Ijatz, AMIGAS, Proyecto GT, CEIPA, Iglesia La Roca, Ventanas Abiertas, Casa Ojer Tijob’al, Fundo Toriello, Kaslem, Jóvenes Juntos, UAM, Centro de Desarrollo Waxaqu’ib, Asociación Ix-Chel de Desarrollo Integral de Mujer, CONODI
Total Number of Organisations- 60
