Announcing PeerEx UK-Russia

Empowering social enterprise and civil society through peer learning

We are delighted to announce a new peer learning project for 2018-19, delivered in partnership with CAF Russia and the British Embassy in Moscow.

PeerEx UK-Russia aims to build entrepreneurial capacity of NGO leaders in Russia, by drawing on successful experiences of UK organisations. This should enable Russian NGOs to improve their financial sustainability and as a result, to achieve greater positive impact.

The challenge of financial sustainability

NGOs in Russia (as elsewhere) face tough challenges in ensuring a steady income. Achieving financial sustainability often requires extensive changes to an NGO’s business model, such as introducing sales of products and services, diversifying donors and partnering with the private sector.

While many UK-based NGOs are already applying or testing different models of sustainability – such as working with philanthropic donors or developing entrepreneurship activities – Russian organisations for the most part rely heavily on restricted project funds. Capacity building can help them establish a solid financial plan for sustainability. In turn, greater diversity of income can give NGOs more independence to pursue their mission.

The UK has a vibrant, dynamic civil society sector and is a world leader in social enterprise – one important way for NGOs to become less donor-dependent and more sustainable.

Connecting peers

This project will build on Euclid Network’s expertise and previous experience in hosting peer exchanges for civil society and social enterprise leaders.

Participants from the two countries will be matched and spend time together face-to-face to learn from each other, as well as learning from experts in the field of financial sustainability. The peers will also work together online before and after their visits. All costs of participating will be covered by the project.

Peer to peer learning is an excellent method to build know-how by:

• finding solutions to shared challenges, based on good practices already in place
• sharing different perspectives
• learning from each other, while levelling out the hierarchy

Maria Chertok, Director of CAF Russia, said: “We are very happy to serve as a bridge between Russian and UK NGOs. I personally hope that this exchange will help strengthen not only organisations involved but relationships between people from our two countries”.

Get involved

We are looking for leaders from UK-based NGOs keen to share their learning on financial sustainability and to learn from their British and Russian peers. You must be able to commit to hosting a counterpart from Russia for one week in late 2018, spending one week in Russia in early 2019, and to attending two online webinars. Please submit your application here by 30 September 2018.

Russian NGOs should contact CAF Russia to apply.

“Creating networks and links is crucial, and it helps with everything” – participant, PeerEx UK-Poland