INTRAC Newsletter November 2021

Welcome to our November 2021 newsletter

For INTRAC, November 2021 is a significant month because it marks the 30th anniversary of our founding back on November 18th, 1991. As we reflected in a recent news story about the milestone, the world has changed a great deal in three decades. Much remains the same, however, including the sense of a world undergoing upheaval, and the crucial role of civil society in seeking positive change. The passion to support civil society to do this was at the root of the founding of INTRAC in 1991, and continues to animate the organisation today. That is the theme of Peter Sargent’s viewpoint article (page 2).

Change and transition are our themes for the last three months of 2021, and they play out in a number of ways in this issue. Our guest contributor is Charlie Buxton, who shares reflections on the situation for civil society in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia more widely (page 3). After discussing recent events in Afghanistan as an example of how “exit” can prove challenging, the article looks at the implications for civil society “staying in” when fewer people “are ready to take its benefits and role for granted”.

Our publication and blogs section (page 8) focuses on a recent series of articles dealing with leadership succession, capacity strengthening and exit in Ethiopia. This continues the longstanding INTRAC interest in responsible exit processes, which inspired a previous blog series in 2020.

Finally, the “Our Work” section (pages 4-7) provides updates on six recent or ongoing pieces of work, comprising support with coaching, MEL, resource development, research,  and more as well as an update on the M&E Universe, to which further new papers will be added in December.