The Capable Partner Program (CAP) began in 2003 and is funded by USAID through a Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement to the Academy for Educational Development with MSI as its main partner. The overall goal of the program is to strengthen the organizational and technical capacity and sustainability of NGOs in developing countries. CAP activities focus primarily on networks of NGOs, rather than on individual organizations, in order to maximize impact. CAP’s web portal, NGOConnect.Net, provides resources and information for organizations and individuals around the world. It also provides a distance learning module for training in MSI’s Institutional Development Framework (IDF), which enables NGOs to build organizational capacity.

MSI’s activities have included the following:

• Organization and implementation of an 18-month advocacy training program. Led by the Advocacy Institute, 17 NGOs and networks from all regions of the world received training. In addition, MSI used the IDF to provide organizational assessments and facilitate the development of Institutional Improvement Plans within the participating organizations.
• Provided training in monitoring to representatives of the West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP). This network is comprised of over 450 NGOs organized in national networks in 12 West African countries. MSI also provided institutional strengthening for the 12 national WANEP networks, again using the IDF for organizational self-assessments. CAP then summarized the priority organizational needs of the national networks and used them to design and conduct two sub-regional workshops – one for Anglophone countries and the other for Francophone countries – held to help the networks meet their organizational needs.
• Provided evaluation training for representatives of anti-trafficking NGOs from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and India, all members of a regional network called Action Against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children (ATSEC). The training involved the delivery of MSI’s Certificate Program in Evaluation, which was carried out in collaboration with the ATSEC Secretariat in India. After receiving classroom training and conducting field research, the 24 participants in the program produced evaluations of seven projects that were designed to combat the trafficking of women and children in South Asia.

Through CAP, MSI has received Associate Awards from USAID Missions for:

• Combating human trafficking in Mexico;
• Strengthening local NGOs in Liberia; and
• Building the organizational capacity of NGOs working on HIV/AIDS programs in Zambia.

CAP was recently extended for 4 years for total of 9 years, to work on the Development Grants Program (DGP) mandated by Congress. In the past year, CAP conducted five workshops for grantees under Round One for the DGP in Ecuador, Ukraine, South Africa, Uganda and Senegal. In the coming year, Round Two will begin with additional workshops planned.

Search our Career's Page to learn more about job opportunities in CAP.