Most civil society organizations have ambitious programs that can have a real impact on both their respective communities and their members. Today, funding agencies and large multifaceted programme institutions, such as the United Nations, increasingly rely on community based and civil society organisation to serve as implementing partners for their programmes. In this dynamic, however, the recurrent problems remain the lack of capitalization of initiatives in the social movement, but also the informal and amateur nature that characterizes the management of projects. The informal management of associations is one of the greatest weaknesses. Rigour in management seems to us to be dictated by the donor partners because the associations have not always applied this same rigour in the context of the management of their own resources or the subsidies granted by the State. This weakness results in limitations in access to funding from both traditional donors and at home.
In short, many associations work without the adoption and strict compliance with procedural manuals. The associative environment suffers a lot from this lack of management tools because a good part of these members and even leaders erect barriers, consciously or not, to any attempt to formalize the management of structures. As a result, the decision-making process, based on the principle of collegiality, tends to create an unavoidable obstacle to any innovation in economic as well as in political governance. The movement became conservative and limited itself to reproducing the same activities with the same leadership team.
At the operational level, the very small size of volunteer staff with low qualifications often does not fit with the operating needs of the associations and these staff, after a few years of collaboration, often allowing them to benefit from capacity-building programmes, tend to migrate to other structures where they can develop career plans. The level of institutional development of their original organizations cannot offer them job security.
More generally, problems related to internal democracy, transparency, gender equality and conflictual relations between staff and their management often prevent the evolution of associative movements. Very quickly, the movements were hit by internal crises that greatly hampered the funding agencies. These crises constitute a brake on any additional financing that could revive internal tensions and call into question the implementation of projects. Conversely, good economic or political governance of organizations places them on the virtuous path of institutional strengthening and sustainable development. Thus, because of their perfect organization, associative movements generate a whole series of activities that make it possible to absorb first-time job seekers, who are estimated at nearly 500,000 in Senegal, or unemployed graduates in the formal sector. NGOs and other associative movements thus represent a real social solution for the first job of young people in particular and the reduction of unemployment in general. This is why this sector deserves professional support and special attention.
AWANA gradually shift its focus from West to the rest of the African continent. Awana undertakes research, organizes capacity-building seminars and workshops, publishes manuals and other work tools. It is also offers consultancy for funding agencies, NGOs or civil society organisations. Today, the issue of capacity building for actors is multidisciplinary, and it can only be resolved with the synergy of several skills and a good level of knowledge of the socio-economic and cultural realities of the West African region. It is in this perspective that AWANA brings together various expertise to help associative movements and NGOs concerned with strengthening their credibility and consolidation in their respective sectors of activity.
Mission and objectives
AWANA 's mission is to provide grassroots associations and non-governmental organizations in West African countries with organizational coaching and advice and to contribute to debates on issues impacting Africa’s development and stability. AWANA provides the skills and knowledge needed to strengthen institutional structures. It also contributes to the strengthening of their operational capacities and acts as an interface between donors and civil society. It therefore undertakes research, publishing and dissemination in various fields.