Alliance in collaboration with WINGS has been commissioned by Propel Philanthropy to conduct a 10 part interview series on the work of Social Impact Support Organisations and the benefits they bring to the sector. Over the course of the coming weeks, these interviews will be published here and we continue the series with a conversation with Rose Maruru of EPIC-Africa.
AM: Rose, could you start by telling me about what EPIC-Africa does?
RM: EPIC-Africa is helping to strengthen the ecosystem for civil society and philanthropy to thrive in Africa. I guess you could say that we’re ecosystem builders. We do this through conducting research and producing data, knowledge, and actionable insights about African civil society organisations (CSOs). Examples include our groundbreaking surveys of CSOs’ experience during Covid and several funder-commissioned CSO landscape mapping exercises in multiple geographies and thematic topics. Our research makes it possible to draw new insights about African CSOs and paint a more granular and complex picture of the sector. This knowledge is necessary if we want to create a more enabling environment for the philanthropic sector, and we do. In this sense, we are about using data to tell the story of the sector. And with the data we already have, there is a lot to tell!
Our most important and unique contribution is growing knowledge and providing data-based actionable insights with potential to transform the CSO and philanthropy sectors in Africa.
The anchor of our work is the African CSO Platform, which will launch this summer. The Platform is first and foremost in service to CSOs. It is the culmination of our five-year engagement with 6000+ CSOs from 46 countries. These CSOs have told us what they need and want. They need information and services, more exchange with peers, and opportunities for alliances and investment in building their institutional capacity. The African CSO Platform has been designed around these needs. It’s a place for CSOs to connect, learn, and share the work they are doing and the impact they are having, but also to share lessons they are learning. They can post their reports, press releases, blogs, and job vacancies for a receptive audience of peers. At the same time, CSOs can access learnings through webinars and downloadable tools on various topics, and access funding opportunities and news about the sector. A key feature of the platform is a database of African CSOs.
Will it be for CSOs themselves or is it designed for funders and researchers too?
It’s everyone. But we exist first and foremost to serve African civil society organisations; that’s really our primary constituency. But, of course, the platform will benefit funders as well, especially in this moment when many are looking to transform their grantmaking to be more inclusive and equitable. Now more than ever, there’s an interest to know more about African CSOs – who’s on the ground, what are they doing, and with what impact. Our research, data, and the insights that emerge are of interest to others, for example, researchers, consultants, and even journalists seeking a civil society perspective on what’s happening in a particular country. Right now, there’s nowhere for them to go, and it’s all word of mouth, ‘asking around’. But beyond civil society, beyond philanthropy, this kind of knowledge can have enormous impact when aggregated. It’s interesting to know about individual organisations, but when you begin to aggregate 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 organisations, then you can begin to tell a more powerful story of this sector and its contribution to national development. This level of analysis can begin to unlock a lot of other opportunities that are currently out of reach for individual CSOs. Aggregation also strengthens CSOs’ advocacy with governments for a more enabling environment. The transformative power of data and knowledge is what really gets us excited, and that’s part of our long-term vision for what the African CSO Platform can enable.
Crudely put, would it be fair to say that the beneficiaries are civil society organisations, but the main users are probably going to be funders or researchers?
Yes and no. Yes, CSOs are the primary constituency. In fact, the inspiration to set up EPIC-Africa was driven by a desire to see African CSOs thrive, become more influential, recognised for their contributions, and be supported, not only by external funders but by ordinary Africans and our governments. And no, CSOs aren’t going to be passive ‘beneficiaries’ of the platform. They will be active participants. We’re offering them space and tools to connect with each other, share reports and news, and promote events and job opportunities. They can also share their best practices. When we hosted the African CSO Excellence Awards, many CSOs were willing to make their policies open source. As an example, a small under-resourced group can access the HR policies developed by a leading CSO.
If you go to a conference and somebody asks you what EPIC-Africa is, what label do you use, if you have a label?
It depends on who we’re talking to. There isn’t yet a universally agreed label to describe organisations like EPIC-Africa that are providing multiple services and tools to enable the work of others. Organisations doing this work are grappling with what to call ourselves, some use Philanthropy Support Organisation as their label, others call themselves Social Impact Support Organisations, and still others are now using a more recent appellation – Social Impact Infrastructure Organisations. Maybe this is one of the challenges of fundraising because the nature of our work – infrastructure – is invisible.
You talked about aggregation, how exciting the idea was. How far do your ambitions extend? Are you talking about certain countries or the whole of Africa?
Yes, absolutely, we focus on the whole of Africa. But although we are working at a continental level, the data we collect allows segmentation by country and various other dimensions. But we also want to pay special attention to certain regions and countries where the dearth of data is greatest, for example, Francophone west Africa where we recently completed a mapping of CSOs in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Are you getting comparable kinds of information across the different countries?
Yes, largely. There’s certain basic data that is comparable across all surveys – for example, location, contact information, thematic focus, and size of the organisation. But other questions differ depending on the purpose of the survey. Sometimes we ask in-depth questions around salient topics like funding: nature-restricted or unrestricted? multi-year or short-term? This level of inquiry is for us the gold standard as it allows new and more nuanced insights that inform narratives about African CSOs, and how funders, individual donors and government engage with and support them.
What do you see as your most important contribution to the sector?
Our most important and unique contribution is growing knowledge and providing data-based actionable insights with potential to transform the CSO and philanthropy sectors in Africa. For example, we published two significant reports in 2020 and 2021 on the impact of Covid-19 on African CSOs. The reports filled a critical gap and became a reference and were published in both English and French. The feedback that we often receive reinforces the value of our work. One researcher told us: ‘I keep sending the reports you released to French actors, and each time they are very interested. I have been asked to write some piece on localisation of aid and of course I am quoting largely your reports.’
Which of the initiatives you’ve run so far would you say has been the most successful?
Our first foray into this space was the African CSO Excellence Awards in 2018/19. This was our proof of concept. Many thought-leaders had told us that African CSOs would not be willing to share information about themselves. So, we were going against the grain of popular perceptions about the sector. Yet, over 1,000 CSOs registered, with close to 400 groups, from 45 countries, completing what was a long and rigorous questionnaire and submitting their applications. This response level was even more astonishing given that there was no material reward. Even more encouraging was the diversity of applicants – some large, well-known African CSOs applied, and so did some very small, totally unknown, community-based groups. Clearly, as we learned, there is a hunger in the sector to be seen, to be heard, to connect with others and to be recognised. These insights were confirmed through our two surveys on the impact of Covid-19 on African CSOs, I just mentioned. The first survey, in 2020, garnered 1,015 responses from 44 countries. When we were gearing to do the follow-up survey in 2021, there had been several others. We were again told that we should not expect many CSOs to respond because of ‘survey fatigue’. So, we were nervous as we launched the second survey. But to our pleasant surprise, the responses were slightly more than in the previous year and so were the number of participating countries. We count this as another great success and validation that what we’re doing is valued. For me, where we have not succeeded is to do this work at a faster pace and at a bigger scale, and that has to do with funding, purely with funding. It has been very difficult to get this work funded.
Any other respects in which you have been unsuccessful?
Yes. But we look at this experience not as a failure, but an opportunity to learn and innovate. As part of our effort to mobilise local giving in Senegal, we joined a global giving campaign. But we’ve struggled to grow the campaign in the way that feels authentic. I think the reason for this is that we haven’t been able to fully domesticate the campaign. We can’t simply copy and paste approaches from elsewhere. This is the big lesson and so we are now back to the drawing board to figure out how to grow an authentic giving movement that builds on our giving traditions and context.
We just talked about funding and donors are often reluctant to fund support organisations because there seems to be no direct benefit. What do you wish that donors better understood about the importance of the work that organisations like yours do?
My experience of trying to fundraise for this work has been that funding structures are organised vertically and in silos – health, education, climate change, etc – and rarely make provision for cross-cutting initiatives like strengthening the ecosystem. And so there’s a mismatch between the nature of our work and the structure of funding flows. A second challenge is that infrastructure is a public good – like a road. So this poses the free rider problem! Ideally, the nature of this work lends itself to a multi-funder approach because once built, it will benefit everybody. We need some champions to carry this message and mobilise other funders. The third challenge is that is that building infrastructure requires long-term commitment and patience because the benefits are not immediately apparent. They are also not easily measurable in terms of the programme outcomes that funders seek. Finally, this work is invisible, like plumbing hidden behind a wall. It is not easily photographed!
We are grateful for the few funders who understand this work and are committed to it. They can champion this work to help bring others on board to share the cost. Without a vibrant ecosystem, the impact of individual funders is likely to be limited and difficult to sustain.
You talked about some of the organisations you research facing internal problems largely caused by lack of funding or short-term funding. Do you face the same problems yourselves?
Absolutely. All that I described applies to us. But obviously EPIC-Africa is in a more privileged position than, say, a small community-based organisation that doesn’t have access to a wider world, or doesn’t speak English. Still, despite clearly demonstrated value of the work we do, and the strong foundation that we have built over the past five years, including critical partnerships, credibility, and experience, we are still struggling to secure significant long-term funding that would enable us to scale our work and build a sustainable organisation.
We believe that infrastructure is critical to enabling the systems change that CSOs and funders seek. We were a pioneer in highlighting this and the need to do something about it, a conviction that came from years of working in the sector and experiencing the gaps we are seeking to fill
We’ve been fortunate to obtain the support of a few incredible funders, one of whom even provided us with an organisational effectiveness grant last year. This grant has enabled us to do our first formal organisational strategy, build a more robust financial management system, and develop a communications strategy.
Putting some flesh on that, where would you like to see EPIC-Africa in two years’ time and what would you need to get there?
Oh, boy! Like I said, we have big ambitions. In two years’ time, we would want to have significant and stable funding to realise these ambitions, which include having the largest database of African CSOs. Our target is at least 20,000 organisations. We have the technology, we have the networks and partnerships, we have the credibility, and we have legitimacy as an African organisation. There’s no question that we can do it. But we need more resources to do so and do so fast. Already, we are seeing a flurry of Northern-based, well-heeled, well-funded organisations who are coming into the space. Nascent local infrastructure organisations like EPIC-Africa risk being crowded out.
But they’re not doing exactly what you’re doing…
You’re right. They’re not doing exactly what we’re doing, so we’re still unique, but without funding, we will be hard pressed to demonstrate our unique contributions at the scale that is needed to really establish EPIC-Africa as the anchor social impact infrastructure organisation on the continent. That’s what we want to be known as.
With your experience of development work and civil society, what do you see as the main needs of the philanthropy sector in Africa?
There’s need for a stronger ecosystem, everything from the laws and regulatory environment, data and knowledge about the sector, to greater visibility and recognition, and of course, more resources for CSOs.
First, there is a need for recognition for sector’s vital role and an enabling environment. African CSOs are essential to development, responding to crises and local needs, and advocating for social justice. But in holding decision-makers to account, civil society groups often come under attack and have to divert their focus to respond to existential threats. Data that details their impact and reach can help tell the story of the sector and make a case to policymakers and to a new generation of African donors.
Second, there is a need to see what groups are on the ground, what they are doing, and how effective they are. Their relative invisibility means that many deserving CSOs and grassroots groups don’t receive the support they need. Many northern funders channel funds through international NGOs instead of directly funding African CSOs. As momentum builds toward localisation, we need support for institutions that map what groups are on the ground, what they’re doing, and how effective they are.
The failure to fund African-led infrastructure has left a gap that is being filled by Northern groups who might well crowd out local organisations
Third, there is an enormous need for capacity support and full resourcing of African CSOs. An unstable funding environment inhibits their ability to hire the staff they truly need, implement effective governance and management practices, and contribute to important national debates and policy processes, individually and as a sector. CSOs have told us they are keen to invest in building capacity and we saw funders change their practices to accommodate challenging circumstances, and some of these practices, like offering general support and removing onerous reporting requirements, are a great start. Funders can send a powerful message by funding efforts to build thriving organisations (administration, strategic planning and fundraising) alongside programmes.
We know these needs can be met because we can see functioning ecosystems in other world regions that boast a full array of different types of infrastructure support.
What’s your biggest source of pride about EPIC-Africa’s achievement, and what’s the biggest disappointment?
When we started this in 2017, we were the first organisation intentionally set up to do this work across Africa. We did not start this work as an offshoot. We believe that infrastructure is critical to enabling the systems change that CSOs and funders seek. We were a pioneer in highlighting this and the need to do something about it, a conviction that came from years of working in the sector and experiencing the gaps we are seeking to fill. Now, it’s becoming a subject of discussion in ongoing conversations on the continent, a recent one being the UAF–TrustAfrica initiative on Reimagining Pan-African and Feminist Philanthropies.
We can call this an achievement because we helped to bring the issue to the fore. Also, we are constantly being invited to spaces where we have haven’t been before. Recognition of peers, support from two major funders, and increasing demand from funder for our CSO landscape mapping services, all speak to the space that we are holding.
What is our biggest disappointment? We have been disappointed with the slow recognition – and slow support – of this work. The failure to fund African-led infrastructure has left a gap that is being filled by Northern groups who might well crowd out local organisations that have been doing this work with little support.
So we’re calling on funders to support local infrastructure groups. Especially at a time of localisation and listening to people who are most affected. Funders want to walk with proximate leaders. But how will this happen when your adviser is looking through an external lens? So we’re also disappointed that localisation is not encompassing the whole ecosystem, it must go beyond finding local implementing partners. It should also include organisations that can provide locally grounded advice, ideas and solutions.
Andrew Milner is special features editor at Alliance magazine
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