The Civil Society Strengthening Programme/#Shifting the Power (CSSP/#StP)

The Civil Society Strengthening Programme/#Shifting the Power (CSSP/#StP) is a long-term support to civil society in Ghana, contributing to CSAs becoming more resilient, responsive, and effective in delivering the priorities of their constituents. It is an eight-year programme implemented by STAR-Ghana Foundation (SGF) and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) with funding from Comic Relief and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

The CSSP/#StP maintains that ‘if we connect capacities at the local and national levels and we maintain civic advocacy on critical issues, then we would be strengthening agencies of groups and communities to demand and ensure accountability and responsiveness to issues of social and economic inclusion’.

The main delivery mechanism for this programme is grants and capacity strengthening. There are 3 grant components: the Catalyst Fund, Civil Society Strengthening Fund and the Matching Fund. The Catalyst Fund supports the institutional and capacity strengthening of small organizations, networks and associations. The CSSF will support CSAs to implement their strategic plans, including institutional strengthening elements. The Community Matching Fund will explore innovative funding for CSAs who want to explore local resource mobilization and diversify their sources of funding. Overall, CSSP will support about ninety (90) CSA.