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Civil Society Organisations’ Contributions to National Development in Ghana

March 23, 2022

This report analyses the role and contributions of civil society organisations (CSOs)1 to Ghana's national development. In doing so, the report focuses on CSOs' engagements with and contributions to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) responses and post-pandemic recovery. It also discusses the barriers facing CSOs in their attempt to contribute to national development and towards a desired future post COVID-19 in Ghana. 

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Civil Society Organisations in Ghana

March 30, 2021

The research findings show that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CSOs in Ghana has been dramatic in the short term and is expected to have some medium to long-term effects on the civil society sector. The strategies implemented by the Government of Ghana to curb the spread of the virus placed restrictions on movement and large gatherings, amidst social distancing and other protocols. These interventions and response measures affected the operations and programmes of CSOs in the country. The CSOs could not effectively function from their offices nor engage with beneficiary communities.The restrictions imposed some restraints on staff movement, reduced staff strength, led to the cancellation of meetings, conferences, and travels (both local and international), reduced and led to the cancellation of key operations. There was also the cessation of fieldwork and community engagements, as well as the loss of funding to the CSOs. The funding landscape was also largely affected by the pandemic. Eighty-one (81%) of the CSOs reported delayed or reduced funding from donors, as well as funding restrictions and related constraints as key impacts of the pandemic on their organisational funding.

Interrogating Governance and Leadership Succession Planning in Selected Civil Society Organisations in Ghana

January 1, 2020

Despite the recognition of the instrumentality of governance and leadership to the sustainability of nonprofit organisations by researchers and practitioners around the world, there is still very limited knowledge on the effectiveness or otherwise of governance in Ghana's civil society sector. This paper is based on an extensive research into governance systems institutionalisation and effectiveness in selected civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana which revealed among other things that governance systems and structures of many CSOs in the country are poorly instituted and largely ineffective. It also discovered ineffective management of executive transitions and abrupt departures of key staff and leaders which were due mainly to the absence of succession plans and roadmaps. The paper argues on the basis of the evidence that in the absence of sound governance systems and structures, a CSO cannot be properly described as sustainable irrespective of the amount of financial resources the organisation can mobilise.

An Analysis of Leadership Transitions and Governance Within Civil Society Organisations in Ghana

January 1, 2018

Many civil society organisations (CSOs) lack governance structures and systems to support effective leadership transitions. Evidence indicates that a few organisations have plans in place to help manage leadership transition processes. This has led to a situation where organisations have been left in turmoil when founding executive directors leave. This report is an analysis of the governance structures and leadership transitions in select CSOs in Ghana. It is based on evidence from fieldwork carried out in Ghana involving fifteen research participants; ten of whom have been leaders of civil society organisations or currently serve as executive directors. The study explored governance structures, systems and processes within CSOs in Ghana and how leadership transitions and successions are managed in these organisations. The research also analysed the implications of succession planning for CSOs' sustainability and proffers measures for strengthening governance and healthy leadership transitions.