22nd September 2026
Evidence from the EU-funded local SPACE project shows how tailored, needs-led organisational coaching can strengthen local and national NGOs – and how flexible delivery can sustain meaningful support across complex humanitarian contexts.
Across humanitarian contexts, local and national organisations bring deep knowledge, relationships and experience to crisis response. Yet leading humanitarian action also requires strong organisational systems, confident leadership and space to reflect on challenges, test solutions and turn learning into practice.
Through local SPACE, the Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA) supported 24 local and national NGOs, four organisations in each of six countries through tailored organisational coaching. Each organisation received approximately 10 days of coaching, amounting to more than 240 coaching days overall.
Importantly, “10 days of coaching” did not mean a continuous 10-day course or a short two-week intervention. The coaching was a longer organisational journey, delivered over seven months. Sessions were spaced to give organisations time to reflect, apply learning, test changes and return to their coach with new priorities and challenges. This longer process also allowed the coaching relationship to evolve alongside each organisation’s needs.
Learn more about the 24 organisations involved in the project
Not a standard training package
A defining feature of the approach was that it was not a standard training package. The coaching was shaped around organisational needs – it began with the priorities of each organisation and was adapted around its context, systems, leadership challenges and development ambitions.
For Better World Organisation for Community Development in Iraq, this practical and responsive approach was particularly valuable:
“We highly appreciated the coaching programme and found it practical and relevant to our organisational development priorities. One of the strongest aspects was the coach’s flexibility and responsiveness to our organisation’s actual needs.”
Participating organisations described progress in areas including governance, strategic planning, policies, accountability, organisational management, leadership and resource mobilisation. Rather than focusing only on transferring knowledge, the coaching created space for organisations to diagnose challenges, identify priorities and develop practical ways forward.
Adapting the coaching to different contexts
Delivering organisational coaching across six different humanitarian contexts also required flexibility in how support was provided. Travel, access, security and other contextual constraints meant that one delivery model could not work everywhere.
Coaches and country teams therefore adapted the modality according to what was feasible and useful for each organisation. They used in-person coaching where possible, remote sessions where necessary, and blended or adapted approaches as circumstances changed. In some contexts, in-person consolidation was used to deepen work that had begun remotely.
This adaptability became an important part of the learning from local SPACE: the coaching approach was shaped around the realities of participating organisations rather than asking organisations to fit a fixed delivery model. Maintaining the coaching journey through changing circumstances required commitment from the organisations, coaches and country teams.
Strengthening organisations, not just individuals
Organisations that had previously operated with informal or fragmented systems reported that coaching and organisational support helped them develop clearer structures and more deliberate approaches to organisational development. Case studies highlighted changes in governance, strategic planning, policies, accountability and organisational management.
The value was not new knowledge alone, but increased confidence and practical support to put that knowledge into practice. Organisations were able to work on priorities that mattered to them and revisit those priorities as their coaching journey progressed.
Building stronger organisations for a more sustainable future
Resource mobilisation emerged as another important area of the organisational coaching experience.
“The mentorship training gave me practical skills and confidence I didn’t expect… It also opened doors for our organisation, we built stronger networks, improved our resource mobilisation, and even formed a consortium with another organisation we met through the local SPACE project.” – Victor Musa, Grant Manager, CDHI Nigeria
Participants described becoming more proactive in donor engagement, fundraising, proposal development and partnership building. Some developed resource mobilisation plans and began exploring new funding opportunities. Two-thirds of respondents to the end-of-programme survey agreed or strongly agreed that local SPACE had increased their organisation’s capacity to obtain funding.
These findings suggest an important connection between organisational capacity and sustainability: strengthening systems, confidence and networks can create new possibilities for organisations to engage with partners and pursue resources.
Leadership that creates space for others
Participating organisations also described changes in leadership and organisational culture. Across the case studies, organisations reported stronger communication, teamwork, self-awareness and leadership confidence. Some described reduced internal conflict and a greater ability to identify challenges collectively and develop solutions.
As one participant from Sahei Gender Development Initiative (SGDI) in Nigeria reflected:
“It has changed my perception, making me more empathic and patient. It has helped me grow and positioned me to become a more accountable leader.”
Beyond individual organisations
The coaching journey also created connections beyond individual organisations. Participants described sharing knowledge internally, supporting peers, strengthening networks and applying organisational development approaches more widely.
“We entered local SPACE expecting a network for coordination, advocacy and information sharing, but we left with a much broader understanding of what a network can be: a space for learning, capacity strengthening, exchange of experience, organisational development and collective action.” – Mohammed Ibrahim Hossam, Judy Relief and Development Organisation, Iraq
This is central to the idea of capacity sharing: learning becomes more valuable when it can move through organisations, partnerships and networks rather than remaining with the people directly involved.
What did we learn?
The experience of coaching 24 organisations across six countries reinforced several lessons. Meaningful organisational coaching takes time.
It works best when it responds to the organisation’s own priorities, allows space between sessions for application and reflection, and can adapt its delivery modality when the operating context changes.
Participants also highlighted demand for more peer-to-peer learning, cross-country exchange and longer-term support. They recognised that organisational change does not end when the final coaching session finishes and suggested continued support to implement and review organisational action plans.
They also highlighted the importance of connecting strengthened organisational capacity with opportunities to put that capacity into practice — including partnerships, funding pathways and opportunities to contribute to and lead humanitarian action.
Continuing the journey towards locally led action
The local SPACE experience offers a useful reminder that localisation is not only about who delivers humanitarian assistance. It is also about who has the knowledge, confidence, relationships, resources and decision-making power to shape humanitarian action.
Evidence from the project suggests that when organisational support is tailored to local actors’ own priorities and delivered with enough flexibility and time, the benefits can extend into organisational systems, leadership, partnerships and wider networks.
The next challenge is to build on that foundation: create more opportunities for organisations to learn from one another, sustain support beyond individual interventions, and connect strengthened organisational capacity with real opportunities to lead and act.
Access the full report: Contact Raquel Tebaldi
