Empowering communities

Marginalised communities remain underrepresented in public decision-making, which leaves their needs overlooked in essential services. They face persistent inequities in governance, resource allocation, and policy implementation, often compounded by a lack of accurate and relevant data. Without these perspectives, policies fail to reflect local realities and can perpetuate cycles of exclusion. Women and girls within these communities face additional barriers, with limited access to leadership roles or opportunities to influence change. Many grassroots organisations also lack the skills, resources, and access to decision-making spaces needed to advocate effectively for their communities. 

Our work focuses on strengthening the capacity of international and national civil society organisations to represent and include marginalised communities in decision-making processes. Through the Leave No One Behind partnership and our localisation initiatives, we equip partners our CSO and community partners with the skills, knowledge, and connections to engage meaningfully in public planning and policy discussions. We support them to operate effectively at the local level, build alliances with other stakeholders, and create enabling environments for collaboration between civil society and authorities. This approach ensures that decision-making is informed by the voices and priorities of those most affected by policy outcomes. 

Read about the Leave No One Behind Partnership

We focus on tailored capacity strengthening that responds to the specific needs of our partners, from building skills in data-informed policymaking and programme design to enhancing their ability to engage in advocacy and collaboration with authorities. We connect partners to national, regional, and global networks, enabling them to share experiences, exchange learning, and form strategic alliances. These connections help amplify community voices, create stronger links between local realities and policy processes, and reinforce the role of civil society as a driver of inclusive and evidence-based decision-making. 

The Centre brings a unique value to this work through its global network of experts and its ability to link locally led action with national and international influence. We create platforms for diverse civil society actors to learn from one another, coordinate their advocacy, and present united messages to decision-makers. By combining our localisation local-to-global expertise with capacity building for (I)CSOs and community-led organisations, we ensure that civil society organisations are better equipped, more connected, and more influential in driving fair, inclusive, and sustainable change.