On behalf of RCRD, Manish Prasai, Project Coordinator, and Kirtan Shrestha Duwal, MEAL Officer, supported Save the Saptari (STS) in facilitating a Two-Day CSO Capacity Development Training held on 19–20 September 2026 at Hotel RK Thakali, Jaleshwar, Mahottari. The training aimed to enhance the proposal writing and advocacy skills of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), enabling them to improve their access to grants and effectively address the needs and priorities of their communities.
On the first day, the facilitators introduced the participants to the concept and key components of project proposals. The participants represented CSOs and OPDs from Samsi Rural Municipality and Matihani Rural Municipality.
The session focused on identifying community issues and determining which issues should be prioritized based on the organization’s capacity, mandate, and available resources. The participants were then facilitated to identify local issues, their underlying causes, and their impacts on individuals and communities.
Through practical exercises, participants developed a problem analysis and preamble/background for the issues they had identified. The facilitators further guided them on how to formulate project objectives, expected outcomes, and target groups. The day concluded with a practical session on project budgeting, helping participants understand how to link proposed activities and expected results with appropriate budget allocations.
On the second day, the facilitators introduced the participants to the concept of advocacy and the advocacy process. The sessions focused on understanding how identified community issues can be addressed through strategic advocacy.
Participants discussed who has the authority or responsibility to address the identified issues, relevant legal and policy provisions that support the issues, and potential like-minded stakeholders who could collaborate in an advocacy campaign.
The participants worked in two groups and applied the learning through a practical advocacy exercise. Each group analyzed a selected issue, identified relevant duty bearers and stakeholders, reviewed the legal or policy basis, and considered possible approaches for advocacy.
The two-day training was successfully completed with active participation from the CSOs and OPDs. The training provided participants with basic but important practical skills in proposal writing and advocacy, particularly in identifying community issues, conducting problem analysis, developing objectives and outcomes, preparing budgets, identifying advocacy stakeholders, and linking advocacy issues with relevant legal and policy provisions.
The practical and participatory approach of the training provided participants with an opportunity to apply the concepts directly to issues relevant to their local context.
