The program officers and managers from iCS (POs) participated in a training program with the British non-profit organization INTRAC about institutional strengthening for the third sector. The three day program also included Ana Toni, Executive Director, Luiza Souza, Institutional Development and Partnerships Manager, Silvia David, Grants Manager and Tatiana Zanotti, Financial and Administration Manager, and. The meeting, which had been indicated by the OAK Foundation , offered both tools for the POs to be capable of making a diagnosis of the situation of the grantees, and strategies to suggest the best paths to institutional strengthening. The iCS team was dedicated to the subject, understanding and questioning the best ways to interact with the entities that it supports, what it can offer, and in what form and for whom. Furthermore, it was possible to plan the institutional strengthening of iCS.

Some statements about the training:

“The workshop held by INTRAC contributed to enhance the performance of iCS in the institutional development of the grantees, through the reflection on the challenges and the building of initiatives to strengthen civil society organizations” – Gustavo Pinheiro, coordinator of the Low Carbon Economy portfolio

“Many of the conversations were related to how we, in the position of program officers (PO), could view the field. We dealt with the importance of promoting dialogue in the field as a whole, not only between iCS and its partners, but also between the actors of the ecosystem, who can exchange the “intelligence” developed in their institutions with other partners, thereby strengthening the relationships and institutions ” – Marcel Martin, coordinator of the Transport portfolio.

“The training by INTRAC was very productive and provocative, in that it expanded our horizons about the role, responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges of a PO” – Kamyla Borges, coordinator of the Energy Efficiency Initiative