UDN will apply the following approaches and/or methodologies during implementation of this strategic plan:
Fostering partnerships and collaborating with other institutions including research and academic institutions: Working in partnership with CSOs, associates and local community volunteer groups will ensure greater ownership of the programme activities and increased impact.
Empowerment of civic groups:
UDN will draw on lessons from its past work and use these to enhance the capacity of civic groups to mobilize and work for the empowerment of women and men. In particular, the activities of the civic groups will increase citizen engagement with local authorities through greater understanding of local development opportunities as well as the planning and management of local resources and services.
Rights-Based Approaches (RBAs):
UDN has significant experience in applying RBAs to its work in Uganda. In line with RBAs, this programme will: (i) emphasize empowering marginalized and vulnerable groups to assert their interests and rights; (ii) simultaneously enable government to fulfil its mandate and responsibilities vis-à-vis marginalized and vulnerable groups and (iii) focus on
addressing policy constraints at national and local levels in terms of equitable sharing of benefits and access to improved services.
People-centered Advocacy:
The aim of this approach is to strengthen the ability of local CSOs and the poor and marginalized people to identify and engage with decision-makers on key policy issues. UDN will enable CSOs and the communities to increase their capacity to be more effective in advocating for pro-poor policies, and improved quality and service delivery.
Gender and HIV/AIDS mainstreaming:
In supporting the most vulnerable, UDN will be mindful of gender, HIV/AIDS and disability. A gender mainstreaming policy and strategy will be put in place to guide the process. Staff will be trained in gender analysis. At the very least, all planned activities must provide more benefits than risks to women and girls, HIV/AIDS and disability-affected households.
UDN will go well beyond the “do no harm” approach to fundamentally strengthen support systems and institutions to integrate gender into programming and provide improved support to people living with HIV/AIDS and/or disability in ways that reduce stigma.
Community Based Monitoring and Evaluation System (CBMES):
A key strategy of UDN is to establish the Community Based Monitoring and Evaluation System composed of people at the grassroots. The approach involves formation of monitoring committees at sub-county levels through which the poor and marginalized people acquire monitoring skills and information on ongoing programmes, are sensitized on their rights and entitlements, and are able to voice their concerns to duty-bearers about the servicesthey are receiving. It also includes a series of trainings on budget literacy skills and advocacy to enable them acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for inclusion in decision making processes at their levels.
Districts Peer Review Mechanism (DPRM):
The DPRM is a local governance assessment tool applied to evaluate a range of governance indicators at the local level. The participatory process is designed to ensure that the assessment itself is a learning process which delivers local actors with better knowledge and capacity to address identified gaps.
Facilitating Organizational Learning and Development (FOLD):
This model will be used to deliver the necessary institutional and organizational capacities of different Civil Society Organizations to enable them deliver on their respective mandate.
Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs)
UDN has been instrumental in supplementing Government’s efforts in community mobilization, empowerment and poverty reduction. Indeed, the UDN proposal for incorporation of the VSLA model in development was adopted by Government into the Rural Financial Services Programme (RFSP), PROFIRA and Microfinance policy as one of the approaches to deepening rural financial strategy in Uganda. To this end, and based on the learning from previous engagements in Kigezi, Karamoja and Teso sub-regions, UDN will continue to enshrine the VSLA approaches to complement the Community Based Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy across Uganda.