Commitment

Increase # of member-led communities of practice within the CSN Network

Civil society organisation / United Kingdom

January 2021 — December 2025

Description

The aim of this commitment is to ensure all CSN members can access training and technical assistance in areas in which they require upskilling. The Network responds to the needs indicated by regional groups, Civil Society Alliances (CSAs) and Youth Leaders by connecting them with learning, advocacy, networking and funding opportunities. Capacity building can be provided by the Secretariat or Steering Group, but through the course of the 5-year strategy, an increasing proportion of technical assistance will be delivered by one CSA to another, or within a CSA itself. To enable this, the CSN will develop communities of practice and expand the pool of country-level technical experts willing to share their skills in the service of the wider membership. The CSN Secretariat and Steering Group will continue to provide support where no country level expertise is available to ensure the smooth running of national and regional functions.

To institutionalise continuous improvement, all advocacy or programming must be backed by proven evidence, and inclusive and participatory. Knowledge Management and MEAL systems are key to enabling greater ownership and collaboration amongst CSN members and external partners. It is therefore a priority to make sure that the data generated by members is documented, evaluated, and learned from. The Network's global database, SUN LABs, enables members to collect, analyse and share data gathered from the CSN Annual Survey and other sources, and use it to inform the future priorities of the Network. That data also contributes to broader SUN MEAL mechanisms to ensure that civil society's successes and challenges influence the Movement's overall approach.

As part of the 5-year strategy, the Network, driven by SUN LABs practitioners and the MEAL working group, will create a more cohesive Knowledge Management and MEAL framework to improve analysis and build on lessons learned.

Overarching commitment (for commitments submitted pre-2025)

Title

SUN Civil Society Commitment #4

Description

Guarantee continued cross-sector and cross-country learning generated by CSN members and external experts in the 61 SUN countries. This will translate in: (a) Forming a pool of technical assistance providers from within and outside the network; (b) Setting up member-led communities of practice and organising a series of thematic webinars and events according to the different interests and needs identified; (c) Documenting and amplifying success stories led by members and partners; and (d) Improving collaboration between SUN Networks at country level, including as part of SUN Multi-Stakeholder Platforms.

The SUN Civil Society Network brings over 4,000 civil society organisations working on addressing malnutrition from local to international leves, across sectors, and together with the governement and other technical and financial partners. The breadth of knowledge, expertise and outreach in the network is therefore significant. Through this commitment, the Civil Society Network will document and share best practices with the aim of scaling up promising nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. Cross-country and cross-regional learning is already happening organically but, by putting in place communities of practice, bringing together technical assistance providers, amplifying best practices and working on improving multi-stakeholder collaboration, this evidence will be more intentionally shared and used to inform decision-making processes.

GNR assessment

Verification status
Verified
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SMARTness index

Details

Global nutrition target(s)
Anaemia
Low birth weight
Exclusive breastfeeding
Childhood stunting
Childhood wasting
Childhood overweight
Nutrition Action Classification(s)
Enabling > Operational
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Linked event(s)
  • 2021 Tokyo N4G Summit
N4G Summit theme(s)
  • Data

Measurement

Key indicator Number of member-led communities of practice within the Civil Society Network
Value Measurement date
Baseline 0 member-led communities of practice 2021
Target 5 member-led communities of practice December 2025

Progress

Status:
Off Course
Why this status?
Given the current trajectory, the target is off course to be met by the end date.
Value Measurement date
Progress report 2 member-led communities of practice December 2023

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