Issue
Enhanced advocacy and governance capabilities would provide BIOCOOR with the organisational advances needed to shift its policy impact from a grassroots service to the national level.
How we are helping
We are supporting BIOCOOR to strengthen staff capacity in grant application writing, financial oversight, and policy advocacy, enabling a transition to national influence.
About the project
The Foundation’s capacity strengthening grants stream supports smaller Commonwealth civil society organisations in smaller Member States, building their expertise and enhancing their capacity to influence policy.
BIOCOOR aims to deepen its impact by building cross-organisational capacity to influence national policy. While the organisation has made significant strides at the community level, it now seeks to expand its reach. This grant will enable targeted staff training, governance improvements, and exposure to best practices across a range of civil society organisations.
The key actions for this project are:
- Provide staff training and workshops for learning and skills development on leadership and grant writing.
- Conduct a two-day refresher course for Board Members and management on financial literacy and audit reports.
- Arrange learning visits for BIOCOOR management to other CSOs to observe best practices.
- Conduct a two-day upskilling workshop on policy and advocacy for BIOCOOR staff, focusing on effective advocacy techniques.
- Organise meetings with government officials to initiate advocacy efforts and put the newly acquired skills into practice.
As a result of the project, it is hoped that BIOCOOR will increase its capacity to access institutional funding, with more staff skilled in donor engagement and grant development. Board Members will have improved financial literacy, supporting stronger oversight and resilience. By enhancing advocacy capacity, BIOCOOR will more effectively engage with policy-makers, shifting from community-level impact to influencing structural change. These developments will boost transparency, visibility, and sustainability across all areas of the organisation.
Project Partners
Biodiversity Conservation Organization (BIOCOOR) was created by young people dedicated to act and to advocate for biodiversity conservation, ecotourism promotion, community health, environmental management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The BIOCOOR headquarters are located in Nyamagabe District of the Southern Province of Rwanda. The organisation’s geographical focus is the five districts near Nyungwe National Park. The organisation started in 2012 as a social enterprise called BIOCOOP and in June 2020 shifted to a local NGO called BIOCOOR but with the same focus. Our mission is to build a nation that is environmentally and socio-economically stable through its resources and skills.
We support people's participation in democracy and development by providing grants, platforms, and expertise.
