Nonprofits in Asia still experience the challenges of having access to support systems that are fragmented and lack access to relevant capacity-building opportunities. Some of the insights that have been gathered from India and Indonesia suggest that the problem of support systems has been that they are too expensive, inaccessible, or not relevant to the local context. Through the ImpactCollab Capacity-Building Platform, AVPN, in partnership with the Ford Foundation, is responding to the evolving needs of nonprofits in Asia.
Building Foundations for Long-Term Impact
Nonprofits in Asia are at the forefront of addressing pressing issues such as inequality and climate vulnerability. Yet, despite playing such a crucial role, many of them still operate without access to relevant capacity support. In Indonesia and India, our ecosystem research identified a common challenge for nonprofits: a lack of access to affordable and quality capacity-building services, with many relying on word of mouth to find support. This leads to fragmented and short-term interventions instead of long-term impact.
Doing Capacity Building Differently
The ImpactCollab Capacity-Building Platform is designed specifically to address these structural challenges of discovery, quality, and fit between services offered by providers and local needs. This is done by creating a vetted community of Capacity-Building Providers (CBPs) and providing access to critical metadata such as sector specialisation, types of services offered, languages available, costing model, and geographic scope. This allows for the discovery of providers that actually meet an organisation’s specific needs. This structured approach to discovery replaces referral mechanisms with an open and accessible approach to credible support.
Beyond Providers: The Resource Hub for Immediate Use
In addition to the curated network of CBPs, ImpactCollab’s Capacity-Building Platform also includes a resource directory or library. The directory includes tools, templates, frameworks, and learning resources from reputable providers. The resources available through this Platform have been organised based on priority organisational needs such as fundraising, governance, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), and digital transformation. This Platform has streamlined previously disparate resources into one accessible place, making it easier for nonprofits to access these often-free or low-cost resources for immediate use.
How the Platform Benefits Funders and CBPs
The Platform can benefit funders by offering them a strategic way to leverage their support by directing it to verified providers and investing in context-relevant toolkits and operational support that can facilitate lasting change at the organisational level instead of the typical short-term interventions. The Platform can benefit CBPs by helping them gain visibility, generate interest in their offerings, and find a destination to publish relevant content that can extend the impact beyond the immediate engagement and transform them from one-time vendors to partners in the ecosystem. We invite funders, CBPs, and nonprofits to explore the hub, contribute practical resources, and help us pilot the features to develop relevant content that can be useful at the local level. Find practical resources and begin searching for providers at ImpactCollab Capacity-Building Platform.
