Technical Support

AP offers a number of services that address the needs of our community-based partners. Most are offered through Peace Fellows who are chosen for their experience and skills, particularly in IT and social media. These services will be turned into online manuals in 2021.

Our hope is that our support will strengthen partner organizations. However, we consider this to be different from conventional “capacity-building” which is often patronizing and resented.

Instead, we ask the partner to select the services they want and work with them to produce deliverables such as fundraising appeals, proposals, annual reports, a record of receipts, budgets, and strategic plans. All will have the effect of strengthening their organizations. This “indirect capacity-building” is offered in a spirit of reciprocity: we expect AP to grow stronger from partnerships and ask partners to evaluate our capacity at the end of each year.

Visit this page to learn how we work with partners.

Service 1. Design or support a start-up for social change

Over the years, we have helped partners in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bosnia, DRC, Mali, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Uganda to design new and innovative approaches to social justice. These begin as six-month start-ups which can be extended to 18 months if goals are met.

Service 2. Tell the partner’s story

Our support for partners begin with story-telling. Vulnerable communities are often blocked from describing the challenges they face, and how they are responding. We help partners to tell their story by learning information skills, mastering the technology and by using the AP website and news service: 

•Blogs and podcasts: We help partners to produce blogs for their own websites and for the AP website. which serves as a portal for partners. Peace Fellows also produce weekly blogs about their host which are targeted at the Fellow’s network and provide content for our news service.

•Photos: All AP partners have a dedicated page on our extensive Flickr online library where they can post their photos as well as photos taken by AP staff or Peace fellows.

•Video: We have produced more than 500 videos. Each partner has a dedicated page on our YouTube channel. Increasingly, partners are producing their own video footage which we then edit.

•Partner pages on the AP website: All current partners have, or will shortly have, a dedicated partner page.

•News bulletins: We produce at least one news bulletin on the work of each partner every year. These go out to 5,500 subscribers and are widely read.

•Advocacy quilts: We help partners to tell their story through embroidery which we then assemble into advocacy quilts. Together, we then use the quilts locally and internationally to advocate for the partner’s program. Our pages carry profiles of every quilt made through AP and over 350 artists who have produced a square since 2007.

Service 3. Strengthen the partner organization

•Budgets, MOUs and plans: We work with partners to produce a joint MOU that will guide us in managing all three types of project – 6-month, 18-month and 5 year. Starting in year 2, we help partners to produce an Annual Report, which are required by many donors and can be re-used for proposals. For long-term programs, we suggest that partners develop an omnibus budget that can be submitted to several different donors and facilitate reporting.

•Monitoring and Evaluation: We understand the importance of setting clear goals, measuring outcomes and reporting regularly to donors. With this in mind, we help partners to understand M and E. Graduate students are well versed in M and E and some universities specialize in M and E. Fellows who are recruited from these universities may be asked to share these skills with staff-members from their host organization.

•Receipts: We expect partners to keep and file receipts according to lines in their budget, and submit an end of project report. This will be shared with donors.

Service 4. Use IT and social media

•Websites: Fellows help their host to develop a new WordPress website, or update an existing website. This includes producing content.

•Social media: Fellows help their hosts use social media this is widely used in the region. These could include Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Instagram. We are preparing manuals on social media.

Service 5. Fundraising

•Funding: We offer $1,000 of seed money for new 6-month start-ups, and will commit to another $1,000 if the start-up is extended for another 18 months, as well as seeking other donors. We also help partners to post microprojects on our GlobalGiving page and apply for their own page. For long-term programs, we help partners seek larger funding for a fee of 10%.

•Proposal template:  We offer partners a proposal template that can be adapted to the specific requirements of different donors.

Service 6. International Promotion

•Promotion:  We use our international network to promote the work of our partners with international agencies and embassies in their countries, and internationally. Where possible, we combine this with an exhibition of advocacy quilts that were made by the partner’s stakeholders.