We’re working alongside CartONG and the H2H Network to support local organisations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In eastern DRC, widespread violence between the DRC government, the M23 rebel group, and other non-state armed groups has fuelled one of the world’s largest displacement crises, with over 5.3 million people internally displaced and 24.8 million people facing extreme food insecurity at the start of 2026.

National NGOs (NNGOs) have been at the forefront of the response, delivering vital life-saving assistance to those in need, but operating with limited resources and capacity. CONAFOHD, the national NGO Forum in DRC, have been coordinating with hundreds of NNGOs as they respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis. In order to provide support, CONAFOHD recently called on humanitarian service providers including HAD to provide a package of learning services for NNGOs.

With funding from the H2H Network, and as part of a wider H2H-funded response, HAD partnered with CartONG from February – July 2026 to support NNGOs in DRC with their organisational capacity development. This initiative contributed towards strengthening the organisational capacity of over 250 NNGOs and helped to create a scalable digital ecosystem to support locally led humanitarian action in DRC.

HAD’s role in the project involved developing and piloting an Organisational Capacity Assessment (OCA) tool with 20 NNGOs, and then working together with them during a 2-day workshop in Bukavu to co-develop their Capacity Strengthening Plans. The OCA tool was developed in French and contextualised to DRC to ensure it was relevant and tailored to organisational needs.

Long-term Impact

In collaboration with CartONG, the finalised OCA self-assessment tool was integrated into the KOLData digital platform, making it freely accessible to more than 250 NNGOs. Additional resources were provided including a user guide, recommendations to follow for each scoring category, and a Capacity Strengthening Plan template for NNGOs to turn their OCA self-assessment results into actionable development points.

By providing free access to these resources, this project has provided NNGOs in DRC with tools and guidance to comprehensively assess and develop their organisational capacity, ultimately contributing to improving the quality, effectiveness, and accountability of the humanitarian response in DRC.

Participant feedback

Collectif de Jeunes Engagés pour le Développement (COJED-RDC)

FR: “La formation d’aujourd’hui qui concerne l’évaluation des capacités organisationnelles vient renforcer encore nos capacités au sein de notre organisation, surtout dans le département de la gouvernance, la finance et les ressources humaines.”

EN: “Today’s workshop on organisational capacity assessment further strengthens our capabilities within our organisation, particularly in the areas of governance, finance and human resources.”

 

Femmes Unies pour la Promotion des Droits et le Développement Intégral (FUPRODI)

FR: “À travers cette formation, nous avons eu à découvrir que nous avons déjà des forces, mais nous avons aussi des points à améliorer pour amener les organisations à être capables de faire face à certaines exigences de certains donateurs.”

EN: “Through this training, we have come to realise that we already have strengths, but we also have areas for improvement to ensure that our organisations are able to meet certain requirements set by some donors.”

Health Focus RDC

FR: “Merci de nous avoir donné l’opportunité de participer à l’Atelier d’auto-évaluation qui nous à permis d’expérimenter cette approche innovante qui nous a permis de nous regarder dans le miroir afin d’améliorer notre savoir-faire… Le travail de planification auquel nous avons été soumis à l’issue de l’atelier a été facilité malgré son caractère laborieux par les enseignements recus pendant l’atelier. Dire que nous avons énormément apprécié cette initiative parce qu’elle permet aux ONG non seulement de se rendre compte de leurs insuffisances, mais aussi d’avoir l’opportunité de les améliorer en les identifiant eux-mêmes par le processus d’auto-évaluation.”

EN: “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to take part in the OCA Self-Assessment Workshop, which enabled us to try out this innovative approach and take a hard look at ourselves in order to improve our expertise… The planning work we undertook following the workshop, whilst laborious, was made easier by the lessons learnt during the workshop. We greatly appreciated this initiative because it enables NGOs not only to recognise their shortcomings, but also to have the opportunity to improve them by identifying them themselves through the self-assessment process.”

 

This project was funded by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the H2H Network, who drive change by strengthening coordination between inter-humanitarian support services.

HAD and CartONG remain committed to locally led humanitarian action, helping local partners to build systems and tools that they can own and sustain long after a project ends.

A huge thank you to CONAFOHD and all the participating NNGOs for their collaboration and commitment throughout.