The third in the series of STAR-Ghana’s national convenings on the sustainability of Ghana’s Civil Society has begun in the capital city of the Western Region of Ghana, Takoradi. The event, organised in collaboration with the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), forms part of STAR-Ghana’s series of convenings with the broader range of stakeholders for dialogue, and to support the identification of opportunities and critical entry points for action and engagement

The purpose of the event is to harness learning, examples and best practices of how Ghana’s Civil Society Sector can be Sustainable and make recommendations for the achievement of same. It is expected that: at the end of the series of convenings across the country, STAR-Ghana in collaboration with WACSI, and with input from other Civil Society organizations will develop a national strategy for CSOs to respond to Ghana’s changing context.

Charles Kojo VanDyck, Head of Capacity Development at WACSI, shared findings of research conducted by WACSI on “The State of Civil Society Organisations Sustainability in Ghana” The research revealed that sustainability of civil society is quite far from satisfactory with an overall Civil Society Sustainability Index (CSSI) composite score of 2.7/5.

“The study further gives an indication that several civil society organisations are currently just surviving and struggling to thrive” he said.

Mr VanDyck explained that: Financial sustainability showed the most pressing challenge for civil society in Ghana. The overall picture deduced from the study is that: several organisations are striving to operate; others are just surviving the change while many others are actually thriving, at least presently, he added.

Mr Michael Ohene Effah, Co-Founder of LeadAfrique International, and co-facilitator of the event provoked the thoughts of participants by drawing on their respective organisational experiences and responses to sustainability. The key learning questions raised bordered around the main sustainability challenges that confront the organisations and the mitigation strategies used to respond to these challenges, the strategies/tactics that worked, as well as those that need to be improved?

Mr Ohene Effah urged CSOs to employ deliberate efforts to be socially accountable to their project beneficiaries, share their success stories and educate the masses about the kind of work they do as a way of attracting the interest of the local people and for that matter attract local funding.

The two-day event was attended by representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), Trade Unions and Professional Associations from the Central and Western regions of Ghana. Also present were representatives of WACSI and STAR-Ghana. The next in the series will be held on the 4^th and 5^th of October 2018 at the Eastern regional capital, Koforidua.