How to train civil society leaders and managers? Sharing our experience – OEEC
Research data

How to train civil society leaders and managers? Sharing our experience

What is experiential learning? Are leaders born or made? Can you make people to become part of a team?

Valeria Volkogonova, Course Coordinator and Programme Manager, Office for European Expertise and Communications.

“I often hear some people saying that after a year of the COVID-19 pandemic just everyone is sick and tired of distance learning.

Staying online means a broad outreach but a feeble motivation; an easy access but a casual engagement in the process; and a wide-reaching geography but a low completion percentage”. 

This publication is intended by us to show an approach to arranging online training that is non-formal education principles-based and intended to transform the trainees’ mindsets and attitudes. We are confident that the online courses are capable of developing skills and changing attitudes to the topic learned, not only providing knowledge. What really matters is the methods you choose.

September 2020 through January 2021 the Office for European Expertise and Communications was implementing its Online Course Leadership for Civil Society Organisations within the framework of the EU-funded Project Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility – Regional Action.

Following the results of the Course, some CSO leaders have improved their competences in:

  • understanding the leadership theories and adapting their own leadership styles;
  • team management and motivation;
  • negotiation techniques and strategies;
  • conflict transformation and building trust; and
  • strategies intended to empower women.

We shall use this publication to share our small ‘back office secrets,’ outcomes and participants’ feedback, as well as some of our own reflections on online training.

Download report in pdf.