Update from the Edmund Rice Mission Capacity Development Project

The capacity development project picked up momentum in the second half of the year. This Autumn, governance workshops took place with the Latin America Mission Area (LAMA) leadership team and the Africa Province leadership team. The LAMA team requested a workshop to look at their structure, which has been revised following their regional Chapter in July. The workshop in the Africa Province delved into Constitutions in their area. Governance expert Peter Moore from Caplor Horizons facilitated the discussions and offered guidance and expertise on their respective governance and oversight concerns.

In September, finance training via Zoom took place in the Africa Province. Over five weeks, 12 participants were trained in modules that included: Overview of Finance Management and Internal Controls; Donor Compliance and Reporting; Budget Preparation; Budget Monitoring; Procurement/Value for Money; and Donations in Kind. It was a great refresher for the project personnel in the province.

After the External Evaluation of the project from 2018-2021 was completed earlier this year, the consultants, Out of the Box Kenya, were contracted to do a stakeholder consultation. As the project is now under the governance of ERD, it is a good time to take a step back and reexamine the best approach in supporting our development projects. This will enable us to revise the design of the project to empower our local partners. We will receive the report before the end of the year, and look forward to incorporating the findings into our 2023 project plan.