The United State Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Lukautim Graun Program conducted a three day Project Management training for 17 NGOs in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province.
Training commenced on 28th February and ended on 2nd March with coordinators, financial and program staff from different NGOS attending. The Project Management training is part of the Lukautim Graun Program grant awarding process.
Junne Cosmas, Grants Manager for USAID’s Lukautim Graun Program explains that the training is aimed at building capacities of organisations to apply for and manage well the grants provided by Lukautim Graun Program and empower them to apply for and manage grants provided through other international development partners.
“As part of the grant awarding process, the USAID Lukautim Gruan Progrm team assesses the financial capacity of each grant applicant and conducts risk assessments related to their internal systems of management. Then we work collaboratively to provide training and support that addresses specific capacity gaps identified,” she explained.
According to Ms. Cosmas, Lukautim Graun Program grant applications from each organization are assessed on the amount each organization can effectively manage.
“In this way, we match grant amounts to the capacity of each recipient so that we don’t overload them and at the same time build their capacity to manage larger grants in the future,” she said.
This training builds the capacity of all recipients of grants from the USAID PNG Lukautim Graun Program to conduct activities on the ground that strengthen biodiversity conservation, women’s economic empowerment, local governance and livelihoods in Papua New Guinea.
Twenty-nine certificates were issued to the participants at the end of the training.
Getrude Adrias, Coordinator for Change 4 Life participated in the three day training. Getrude knows all about the difficult challenges that NGOs like hers face in attracting funding to support their biodiversity and conservation work. She expressed her gratitude for the opportunity provided by USAID to learn how her organisation can be more successful in applying for and managing grant funding.
“I have attended many workshops before, but this is the first training that has covered the topic of fraud,” she said.
USAID’s Lukautim Graun Program is led by Cardno International Development in partnership with Care International, The Nature Conservancy, the PNG Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle Washington.
Through Lukautim Graun Program’s grant program, USAID continues to support and work in partnership with the government and people of Papua New Guinea to protect biodiversity and natural resources so that current generations can meet their needs without endangering the ability of future generations to meet theirs.