Amid the worldwide refugee crisis, Uganda has welcomed over 1.5 million refugees from neighbouring countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and South Sudan. It is estimated over 890,000 of them are children. Organisations like Street Child play an important role in making sure that refugee children get an education, alongside many Local and National Non-Governmental Organisations (L/NNGOs). These local organisations often struggle to get enough funding when they must compete with bigger International NGOs (INGOs). Street Child are committed to supporting and working with these L/NNGOs as leveraging their expertise is crucial to effective, efficient, and lasting interventions.

(Localisation is) “Getting power to communities for them to lead solutions that best support their needs. Nothing about us without us” - Dora, THRIVE Gulu, Street Child local partner, Uganda.

Street Child was recently chosen by Save the Children to lead as the technical advisor on localisation for two Education Cannot Wait (ECW) funded programmes in Uganda – the Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP) and the First Emergency Response (FER) for refugee education. ECW is a part of the United Nations that makes sure that education is provided effectively in emergency situations, providing necessary  funding to organisations to implement programmes. Street Child’s goal was to advise on how best to support local organisations in accessing this funding. This blog will give you a short overview of a recent report on this process.

Street Child conducted research to understand the barriers L/NNGOs faced when seeking funding. Some of the key challenges identified include competition with INGOs, discovering funding opportunities too late, lack of dedicated grant personnel, and complex application processes, with English often being the second language of the organisation. Based on these findings, Street Child Uganda and Save the Children came up with the following recommendations and actions to ensure localisation is a priority in the ECW MYRP and FER programmes:

1.     There would be a separate funding avenue for L/NNGOs to eliminate competition with INGOs.

2.     The application process would be simplified for L/NNGOs.

3.     At least 10% of funding would be ring fenced for L/NNGOs.

4.     Successful organisations applying via this funding stream would receive ongoing and tailored capacity strengthening support from Street Child.

The above was all achieved through the establishment of a Localisation Unit (LU). The LU acts as an intermediary between the donor or grantee and the L/NNGO. The LU seeks to address the key barriers identified by overseeing the full grant life cycle, including creating a simplified application process and providing tailored support throughout project implementation.

“Definitely. One of the challenges we face when we have these proposal opportunities, is facing the competition of large INGOs and the high-level criteria required. The LU has made the process easier for us to fit in“ - Robert, Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID), Street Child local partner, Uganda.

Street Child collaborated with Save the Children to open a second window for funding, specifically targeting L/NNGOs. This second window was exclusively for L/NNGO’s, inclusive of CBOs, and eliminated competition with INGO’s and allowed for a simpler application process.

This localisation drive resulted in 33% of Multi Year Resilience Programme funding going directly to L/NNGOs, rising from 8% the previous year, and 26% of First Emergency Response funding going directly to L/NNGOs, surpassing the Grand Bargain commitment of 25%.

“This [Localisation Unit] is a litmus test of a bold step - we are all watching to wait and see after these processes. The process has been excellently handled. What happens after three years [throughout implementation]. It will frame the next engagement and actions from the donor community“ - Jessica, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

In conclusion, through thorough research Street Child were able to advise ECW on how to begin eliminating the barriers that prevented local organisations applying for funding. By creating the Localisation Unit as an intermediary between the donors and the local organisations, Street Child demonstrated practical steps in addressing these barriers through tailored support and separate funding windows. The success of these efforts is demonstrated in the high percentage of funding granted to local organisations which surpassed the Grand Bargain commitment of 25%.

“The Localisation Unit in Uganda is an embodiment of our approach to supporting and empowering local partners at Street Child” – Tyler, Director of Global Programmes, Street Child.

Localisation is not merely a buzzword; it is a fundamental necessity to ensure the sustainable and impactful delivery of quality education globally. Street Child is committed to continue providing local and national organisations with the support and resources they need as we have in Uganda.